Pennsylvania could take a major step against underage gambling with a new bill aimed at preventing students from betting while in the classroom.
Key Takeaways
- A new Pennsylvania bill would require sportsbooks and iGaming operators to use geolocation technology to block access within schools.
- The legislation was inspired by Ray Mikesell, whose gambling addiction began as a student and who died in 2024.
- The proposal comes as Pennsylvania continues tightening gambling regulations, including recent action against unregulated gaming devices.
Rep. Jason Ortitay on Tuesday introduced House Bill 2631, which would require iGaming and online sportsbook operators to block access from within Pennsylvania schools using geolocation technology.
“Our schools should be a place for learning, not a place to lose your future one bet at a time,” Ortitay said, according to the Times Observer. “The technology to stop this already exists. We are simply asking the operators who profit from gaming to make sure their products cannot be used by a child sitting in a classroom. This is common sense, and it is long overdue.”
Pennsylvania sports betting and iGaming is legal within the Keystone State under a regulated framework for individuals over 21 years old. Some underage users have been able to bypass safeguards through smartphone access and by using parents' personal information or payment methods.
The responsibility would be on licensed operators to make use of geospatial technology, a process already used to ensure bettors are within state lines.
Ortitay said the legislation is being introduced in honour of Ray Mikesell, a young man who began to suffer from a gambling addiction as a student and later died in 2024 as a result.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“If this legislation helps even one person, it is worth it,” his father, Raymond Mikesell Jr., said, per the Times Observer. “This is for my son.”
Pennsylvania continues push to tighten regulations
Ortitay’s proposed bill follows a series of measures in the state as efforts to tighten oversight continue.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced earlier this week that it overturned rulings by two lower courts, determining that “skill” based slot machines are unlawful under existing state laws.
“The Supreme Court recognized what our office has argued from the beginning - these machines operate as gambling devices and cannot legally exist without the same oversight, regulation and accountability as other forms of legalized gaming in the Commonwealth,” Pennsylvania Attorney General James Sunday said in a statement.
“Pennsylvanians deserve protections that ensure games are fair, transparent and operated within the bounds of the law.”
