A Pennsylvania government study suggested ending live betting and requiring self-imposed limits at online casinos and sportsbooks.
The Joint State Government Commission released a report this week that recommends a number of changes aimed at addressing gambling addiction in the commonwealth. Additional suggestions include limiting promotions and more advertising restrictions.
The growth of sports betting and online casinos in Pennsylvania has likely spurred increasing credit issues, domestic violence and harassment of Pennsylvania athletes, according to the report.
The report cites mental health experts calling the gambling industry an “urgent and escalating public health challenge.”
Changes focus on responsible gaming
Recommended changes include:
- Ban credit card funding of gambling accounts.
- Ban in-game wagers.
- Require bettors to implement self-imposed limits.
- New restrictions on gambling advertising, including where audiences are under age and the use of misleading language like “risk-free.”
- Limits on VIP programs.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are two of the top-5 largest markets for gambling advertising in the country, according to a report.
More than 1 in 4 Pennsylvanians are estimated to be at risk of gambling addiction, according to the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society and Pennsylvania Society of Addiction Medicine.
Pennsylvania benefits from online gambling
The report acknowledges the need to balance consumer safety and the revenue generated by the gambling industry.
“There is no denying that the revenue from online gambling and sports betting can be economically beneficial overall for the states where iGaming is legal,” the report reads.
One recommendation was to require gambling companies to provide an agency with anonymized data about each gamblers to stop at-risk individuals “to more precisely protect gamblers while continuing to maximize revenue.”
That would better protect the industry revenues than some of the other recommendations that could be implemented quickly and as a blanket.
Pennsylvania gambling generates billions in profits annually
Pennsylvania gambling resulted in more than $7.7 billion in profits last year.
A Penn State University report from earlier this year found between 60% and 73% of all Pennsylvanians engaged in some form of gambling in 2025.
Sports betting was the most popular form of online wagering for the fifth-straight year. The state lottery took the top spot for offline gambling.
The Penn State study found that between 2.5% and 6.4% of residents might be a problem gambling.
States continue to put new guardrails
Several states implemented new protections on the gambling industry this year. That includes Colorado, where lawmakers tightened industry regulations to prohibit credit card funding and how many deposits a bettor can make in a day.
It also bans advertising where a majority of the audience could be under the age of 21.
Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced bills that were informed by the Colorado package earlier this session.
