The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) is already publishing responses to is the sports betting regulations that it proposed last month in a preliminary framework draft. As it turns out, the stakeholders of Pennsylvania’s budding sports betting industry took full advantage of the window for public comment that was allowed by the board after announcing the temporary regulations. There was a considerably large number of responses from various divides including the pro sports leagues and the teams. Their responses will certainly have a huge impact on the final regulations since all four of the United States’ professional sports leagues have franchises that are based in the Keystone State.
The pro sports leagues and teams aside, casino operators were also not left and many of them tabled their complaints and recommendations to the PGCB. Perhaps the most vocal was Penn National Gaming who probably are the most invested in the Pennsylvanian gambling market – Penn National owns both the Meadows Casino and the Hollywood Casino. In addition to this, Penn National also happens to be the only operator that purchased more than one (two to be precise) mini-casino licenses that the PGCB auctioned as part of the state’s expanded gaming plans.
While most of the regulators only sort to comment on what they could control, Penn National did not shy away from airing its grievances on the issue pertaining to the high sports betting fees and taxes. A related excerpt of the letter goes as follows:
“While the existing sports wagering licensing fee and tax rate are outside the PGCB’s purview, PNG first notes that the $10 million license fee and 36{93fa3391d045ad62d85f5b4acc59e4ea93bc96dcbcee191d978edcb4e860b34d} tax rate established in the Gaming Expansion Legislation are the highest in the world and may make it impossible for a casino operator to make any return on its investment of capital.”
Considering the dynamics of the sports betting economy, Penn National estimated that if the proposed sports betting taxes stood then they would lose close to 40 cents for every $100 that will be wagered on sports. According to the gambling operator the legislature, through the gaming control board, should borrow a leaf from West Virginia and New Jersey whose models are quite favorable for both the state and the operators. Penn believes that this will “allow for the Commonwealth’s gaming operators to effectively compete with bordering jurisdictions and, importantly, the unregulated and untaxed illegal sports betting market.”
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Penn National went on to ask for something that will certainly pass off as an entirely self-serving request – but hey, its business. Here is some of what they had to say:
“PNG is opposed to the issuance of any “skins” that would allow for new “white label” online/mobile sports wagering operations by third parties in Pennsylvania which utilize brands that are currently not in use in the state (for example, DraftKings or Fan Duel).
The failure to prohibit “skins” with respect to online/mobile sports wagering would present significant new competition to the incumbent casino operators and result in overall saturation of the marketplace, as is occurring in the online gaming marketplace in New Jersey.”
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