Report: Online gambling could raise $426M in Pa. tax revenue by 2022 – Central Penn Business Journal

Legal online gambling in Pennsylvania, which has been in the works and is baked into the state budget as another way to boost tax revenue, could generate more than $400 million for state coffers by 2022, according to a new report.

Produced by Play Pennsylvania and onlinepokerreport.com, two online gambling industry organizations that would reap the benefits of casino expansion, the report projects that the commonwealth could collect $126 million in upfront licensing fees from casinos operating the online sites.

A 20 percent tax rate could then add $46 million in 2018 a number that would grow to $72.8 million by 2022. Over the six-year period, the state would bring in $426.3 million in tax revenue.

The report, which uses New Jersey as an example of legalized gambling growth, projects that online casino and poker revenue in Pennsylvania would total $230 million in the first year, growing to $364 million by 2022.

In New Jersey, online gambling revenue grew from about $123 million in 2014 to nearly $200 million last year.

"Of any state that has already legalized some form of online gambling or is actively exploring the idea, Pennsylvania represents the biggest economic upside," said Robert DellaFave,author of the report. "Other contenders, namely New York and California, may own a larger population, but are only considering online poker legislation. Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey either offer, or plan to offer, both online poker and casino games, but their populations are a tier lower than Pennsylvania's."

The commonwealth has about 12.8 million people.

Online gambling will be a major topic for state lawmakers this spring. The current state budget assumed an extra $100 million in revenue from a gambling expansion, but legislation did not pass last year.

Gov. Tom Wolf's latest budget proposal for 2017-18 assumes that $100 million in revenue this year, plus another $150 million for the upcoming budget year that begins July 1. But the governor did not mention specific proposals for expansion in his budget.

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Report: Online gambling could raise $426M in Pa. tax revenue by 2022 - Central Penn Business Journal