Senator Edwin Erickson’s soon-to-launch bill seeking to legalise online poker in Pennsylvania (see previous reports) is to be supported in the state Assembly by a similar bill sponsored by Republican Representative Nicholas Miccarelli.
It is understood that both bills will include anti-competitive “bad actor” clauses barring operators like Pokerstars who continued to supply US services after the UIGEA was passed in 2006.
There are also provisions to punish players who use unlicensed online poker sites – the first time this has been attempted outside Washington State’s draconian anti-online gambling laws.
The Miccarelli bill will probably follow Erickson’s lead in proposing a 14 percent tax rate on GGR and heavy initial licensing fees, and both bills are expected to include arrangements for the protection of player account balances.