On the online gaming front, September raised more questions than answers, as two states continue to consider online gambling legalization and a new federal online gambling prohibition bill has surfaced in Congress.

The Pennsylvania Senate’s unwillingness to act on the gaming reform bill the House passed back in July has created a cloud of uncertainty when it comes to online gambling legalization in the Keystone State.

A reworked online gaming bill could be introduced in Michigan any day now, but legislative action isn’t expected until after the November elections.

Meanwhile, over in New Jersey, the North Jersey Casino Referendum appears to be headed towards a resounding defeat on November 8.

And finally, a new federal bill that would prohibit online gambling has been introduced, courtesy of Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton.

New wrinkle emerges in Pennsylvania

The clock continues to tick on online gambling in Pennsylvania, but a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court may have bought the Senate a bit more time to consider passing the legislation, and the House a bit more time to convince the Senate to pass the bill this year.

In a case originally filed by Mount Airy Casino, the court found the local tax obligations each casino (with the exception of Category 3 and Philadelphia area properties) is required to pay unconstitutional.

Essentially, each casino is required to pay the greater of $10 million or 2% of their slot revenue to local town(s) and the county, but, since no casino has ever paid more than $10 million, the tax is far more burdensome to smaller casinos.

The court has given the legislature just 120 days to fix it.

House members see this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, while Senate members have indicated they’d prefer to tackle the tax issue on its own.

Because the tax issue cannot be brushed aside, the legislature may add extra session days, which would keep online gambling alive, even if it doesn’t pass before the final scheduled session day, October 26.

Michigan will soon be on the clock

Pennsylvania may be the best bet, but the Keystone State isn’t the only state that could legalize online gambling this year. Online gambling legalization is still on the table in Michigan.

Based on the legislative chatter, the Michigan legislature is still a good month away from considering online gambling, which will happen post-election, during the lame duck session, … if it happens at all.

The Michigan Senate only has three scheduled session days between now and the November 8 election, October 18-20. The House is in session for one day during this time span, October 19.

Conversely, the Senate is in session for 14 days from November 9 – December 31; the House is in session for 11 days over the same period of time.

Gambling Compliance’s Chris Krafick recently reported that a substitute online gaming bill was in the works, designed to address some taxation and revenue sharing issues some potential stakeholders had objected to in the original bill.

1/ Substitute #iGaming bill lingo forthcoming in #MI, sponsor’s staff told me. Timing unclear, staff said, but could be this week or next.

— Chris Krafcik (@CKrafcik) September 14, 2016

2/ Our understanding, per sources, is that the sub. #MI lingo will, in part, address taxation (for casinos) and rev-sharing (for tribes).

— Chris Krafcik (@CKrafcik) September 14, 2016

RAWA is back and it’s weaker than before

Another United States Senator, Tom Cotton (R-AR), has signed on to Sheldon Adelson’s anti-online-gambling campaign.

Cotton introduced a bill that would roll back a 2011 Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion, which would theoretically make online gambling illegal in the United States, and force New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware to cease offering licensed online games – not to mention the four states with online lottery products.

Fortunately, the Cotton Bill is even more hypocritical than its predecessors, as it requires Congress to disavow the 2011 DOJ opinion, but enforce the 2002 DOJ opinion that initially decreed all online gambling was covered by the Wire Act.
You can takea deeper dive into this contradiction here.

Support for North Jersey casinos faltering

Support for casino expansion in North Jersey is at its lowest point in recent memory.

Polling data from the Rutgers Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling puts opposition to the North Jersey Casino Referendum in the Garden State above the 50% threshold for the first time, with support dwindling to 40%. A similar poll in March had opposition at 49% and support at 44%.

It’s unlikely the trend will reverse, as the main group supporting North Jersey casinos, OurTurn NJ, has announced its pulling its advertising.

“The data, however, speaks for itself. The current political climate in New Jersey and voters’ concerns about the lack of details relating to the effort have proved overwhelming,” OurTurn NJ said in a statement.

“Even knowing that an out-of-country gaming company that’s ends New Jerseyans’ gaming dollars to Malaysia is funding opposition ads does not have an impact. As such, with great reluctance we have decided to suspend the paid media component of the statewide campaign.”