Pennsylvania bill intends to allow sports betting kiosks in bars, taverns

Pennsylvania’s state Senate has introduced legislation that would allow kiosks in taverns as another sports betting outlet.

Senate Bill 843, sponsored by Senator Wayne Fontana of Pittsburgh, was referred Monday to the Senate’s Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee. 

This bill aims to allow current sportsbook licenses that operate land-based and/or online sports betting to partner up with taverns, to permit sports betting kiosks inside bars and restaurants that have valid state-issued liquor licenses. 

Under Fontana’s bill, a restaurant would retain 25% of the gross revenue their sports betting kiosk generates. The remaining 75% would go to the sportsbook operator and their tethered land-based casino. 

Pennsylvania already has in-person sports betting at 14 casinos and two off-track betting locations, in addition to the 13 online sportsbooks operating in the state. More than 90% of the betting occurs digitally by phone or computer. 

Much of the betting in the retail locations, which accounted for $48.2 million of the statewide $308.8 million in sportsbook revenue in the 2020-21 fiscal year, occurred at self-service kiosks within the casinos. Overall, more than $5 billion was wagered legally on sports in Pennsylvania in the fiscal year. 

Fontana wants taverns to be able to host those same kinds of kiosks, which would be done under an arrangement with a casino that has a sports wagering license. New tavern sports wagering certificates would be issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board after a review. 

Casinos that conduct sports wagering would be required to pay a $10,000 fee for the opportunity to place kiosks in taverns. They would enter into a “terminal placement agreement” with any participating tavern, and the tavern would receive a $100 monthly sitting fee from the casino for placement of a kiosk, in addition to receiving 25% of revenue. 

According to a memo from Fontana to colleagues in May, the proposed sports betting expansion comes in response to the revenue challenges faced by “local small bars and taverns”, as a result of the pandemic. 

As he expressed, “I believe this proposal will help bolster both state revenue and the incomes of these small businesses struggling as a result of the COVID-19 crisis”. 

As the bill was introduced by a Democrat, given the fact that the Senate and the House are both controlled by Republicans and the bill lists no co-sponsors, there is no indication it is headed for any action or passage in the 2021-22 legislative session.

While some two dozen states have legalized sports betting in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 2018 PASPA ruling that made it possible outside of Nevada, it is rare for the activity to be authorized in bars or taverns. Montana is one exception, where there is no online sports betting or casinos with sportsbooks, but any licensed liquor establishment can host sports betting terminals.