House Judiciary and State Government Committees, chaired by Pennsylvania state Rep. Thomas Gannon, recently held a joint-hearing that focused on Internet gambling. The joint-committee heard testimony on House Bill 2271 (sponsored by Gannon) and House Bill 2438 (sponsored by Rep. Paul Clymer, R-Bucks County, PA). Both bills concern online gambling.
"Both Representative Clymer and myself have concerns about the explosion of gambling on the Internet," Gannon said. "This week we heard testimony that in 1996 Internet gambling generated $60 million in the United States and in the following year it skyrocketed to $600 million. By the year 2000 it is expected to soar to $8 billion."
"Virtual casino customers have no idea who they are dealing with, what the odds are or whether on-line casino operators are scrupulous or not," Gannon said. "Cyber casinos don't even offer the limited advantages traditional casinos offer. They don't invest in buildings, they don't employ large numbers of people nor do they provide any benefit to the taxpayers."
Gannon's bill amends the criminal code to define online gambling and allow for its punishment under current law, while Clymer's bill makes a violation a misdemeanor in the first degree and allows for the seizure of any computer equipment used for gambling purposes. The measure is also directed at online gambling providers by prohibiting Web servers from offering online gambling in Pennsylvania.
"At the hearing we learned that while online gambling is illegal in theory, the laws were not written with this problem in mind," Gannon said. "As a result, we have statutes that are vague, out of date, up for debate and are not being enforced at the federal level by the U.S. Justice Department."
David Post, a law professor at Temple University, pointed out the difficulties of enforcing an online gambling prohibition and creating a state law that doesn't conflict with federal control over interstate commerce. He also said that tracking where an online gambling web site originates is extremely difficult.
Gannon sees it differently. "Traditionally, states have regulated gambling," he said. "It is up to the commonwealth to take that necessary first step to address this growing problem. I want Pennsylvania to lead the way on this issue. It will be up to the courts and federal government to follow."