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The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), an outspoken advocate for legal online casinos and sports betting, is making a hard push against possible gambling tax rate hikes in Pennsylvania.
The organization’s website features a page through which concerned citizens can send a form email to lawmakers expressing opposition to proposed tax hikes.
“Pennsylvania already has some of the highest tax rates on legal online betting,” the page says. “Raising them even higher would hurt your betting experience, stifle innovation, and push players toward the illegal market — risking both state revenue and vital consumer protections.”
The page is a good example of the heart of the issue for the SBA.
A letter to build momentum for the SBA anti-tax movement
This past month, the SBA sent a letter to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Josh Shapiro encouraging them to stop any attempts to raise taxes on gaming revenue, though no official bill or documents have come out confirming a rate hike.
The letter is a key moment for PA gambling, as its most prestigious gaming operators are a part of the SBA:
Pennsylvania’s current tax rates are 54% for iGaming slot machines, 14% for online casino table games, and 36% for sports betting.
Online casinos would certainly feel the sting of higher tax rates, but that sting isn’t as bad as it would be for sports betting operators.
In general, iGaming operators won’t see huge shifts in real versus projected revenue. However, sports betting operators can jeopardize already thin margins if the right bets are made at the right odds.
SBA ran an ad campaign highlighting its position
In addition to the letter sent to the governor, the SBA launched an ad campaign highlighting the drawbacks of increased tax rates.
While the SBA hasn’t published a public statement about PA’s possible tax increases, gamblers can expect that the organization’s argument is similar to what it used when pushing back on a proposed doubling of the sports betting tax rate in Louisiana.
“Doubling the tax rate would force operators to pass the increased costs onto consumers, either through reduced promotions or less favorable odds,” SBA member Scott Ward. “This could make legal sports betting less attractive compared to unregulated options.”
That’s an issue for state tax revenue, Ward said, because any bets lost to illegal offshore operators are lost chances for tax revenue.
