{"id":109270,"date":"2019-07-15T17:41:43","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T00:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=109270"},"modified":"2019-07-15T17:41:43","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T00:41:43","slug":"judge-denies-injunction-request-by-casinos-against-pennsylvania-lottery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/judge-denies-injunction-request-by-casinos-against-pennsylvania-lottery\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Denies Injunction Request by Casinos Against Pennsylvania Lottery Over Online Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pennsylvania Lottery scored a big win in the courts last Friday when a state judge refused to grant a temporary injunction on its online games sought by seven casinos in the state.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Pennsylvania Lottery offers more than 40 online games, which award cash prizes to bettors in the state. Casinos have questioned the legality of some of the games.\u00a0 (Image: Pennsylvania Lottery)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Initially, the casinos wanted all of the lottery\u2019s online games shuttered because they felt they closely resembled the games they offer on their floors. However, they eventually adjusted their request last month and sought to stop<\/a> to any online game that offered autoplay, reveal all, adjustable betting, an bonus games. All those features are \u201ccharacteristic of slot machines, which the Lottery is not allowed to offer, the plaintiffs argued.<\/p>\n

Judge Ren\u00e9e Cohn Jubelirer of Pennsylvania\u2019s Commonwealth Court noted that both parties provided \u201cdifferent and reasonable interpretations\u201d of the state\u2019s gaming and lottery laws and that those arguments point out the vagueness of the state\u2019s statutes.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Jubelirer declined to issue the injunction, claiming in a 50-page order the casinos did not meet the necessary level of proof needed for their claims.<\/p>\n

Both the Lottery and the state\u2019s casinos received the ability to offer online games in 2017 when the General Assembly approved an expanded gaming law. Pennsylvania\u2019s iLottery games launched in May 2018 and currently offers 42 games, while the casinos just began testing their online gaming platforms this week. The casinos paid a $10 million license fee<\/a> to offer online games.<\/p>\n

Case Will Proceed<\/h2>\n

Ewa Dworakowski, the Pennsylvania Lottery\u2019s press secretary, told Casino.org on Monday the state agency was satisfied with the judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs we have said in the past, Act 42 of 2017 authorized the launch of PA iLottery and the games are being operated in accordance with the law,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are working every day to ensure the Pennsylvania Lottery continues to fulfill its mission of responsibly generating profits for senior programs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, just because the Lottery won the first round, that does not guarantee the Commonwealth Court will ultimately rule in its favor.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason why Jubelirer opted against the preliminary injunction was that the plaintiffs were required to prove the injunction would not harm the general public. The casinos failed to show clearly that the iLottery games violated state law.<\/p>\n

There is evidence that the public interest would be affected by an injunction to the extent that there would be less funds available to support programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians,\u201d<\/strong> the judge wrote.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The case will still continue through the court system. Jubelirer has asked the parties to propose a pre-trial schedule and deadlines for discovery and exchanging expert reports by Aug. 30.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs in the case are: Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc., which operated Parx Casino and Racing; Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, which operates the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course; Chester Downs and Marina, LLC, which operates Harrah\u2019s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack; Washington Trotting Association, LLC, which operates The Meadows Racetrack and Casino; Stadium Casino LLC, which is constructing the Live! Casino and Hotel in Philadelphia; Valley Forge Convention Center Partners, LP, which operates the Valley Forge Casino Resort; and Downs Racing, LP, which operates the Mohegan Sun Pocono.<\/p>\n

Lottery’s Impact<\/h2>\n

While several state lotteries devote their proceeds to improving education or deposit proceeds into the state\u2019s general fund, Pennsylvania\u2019s lottery is the only one that earmarks its revenues for senior care. Since 1972, the lottery has funded more than $29 billion for such programs and services as prescription drug cost assistance, reduced-fare transportation, meal services, and property tax and rent rebates.<\/p>\n

The iLottery games officially went live on May 29, 2018. In its first 33 days, the online games generated $20.1 million in revenue, according to information from the Lottery.<\/p>\n

Revenue figures for the state\u2019s 2019 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, were not yet available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pennsylvania Lottery scored a big win in the courts last Friday when a state judge refused to grant a temporary injunction on its online games sought by seven casinos in the state. Initially, the casinos wanted all of the lottery\u2019s online games shuttered because they felt they closely resembled the games they offer on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":109279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13699],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJudge Denies Injunction Request by Casinos Against Pennsylvania Lottery<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Seven casino operators have filed suit in Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court claiming some of the Lottery's online games too closely resemble casino games.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge Denies Injunction Request by Casinos Against Pennsylvania Lottery\" \/>\n<meta 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