Hearing today on gaming measures
A public hearing today in Harrisburg will address two pieces of gaming legislation, including a bill introduced by Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Washington/Allegheny, intended to streamline the state’s gambling assistance programs.
House Bill 1887 would require the state Department of Health to maintain one toll-free gambling assistance number that all Pennsylvania casinos would be required to use.
Helplines identify local resources for those seeking help for a gambling problem.
Ortitay said the legislation would streamline the commonwealth’s problem gambling assistance programs, ensuring consistency and efficiency among operations, therefore saving taxpayer dollars.
Current law requires the department of health to maintain a number and also requires casinos to make gambling assistance numbers available to patrons. But a recent hearing before the House Gaming Oversight Committee – of which Ortitay is a member – uncovered several numbers being used by the state’s casinos.
The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane Township uses a number maintained by Council On Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania; Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh uses The Problem Gamblers Helpline, a service of the Pennsylvania Council on Problem Gaming.
Today’s hearing at 9 a.m. in the State Capitol Complex also will address House Bill 1925, sponsored by Rep. James R. Santora, R-Delaware. The bill would require unused Local Law Enforcement Grant program funds to be transferred annually to the Compulsive and Problem Gambling Treatment Fund.
Rep. John Payne, R-Dauphin, head of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, Ortitay and Santora will be joined by representatives from the Council on Compulsive Gambling in Pennsylvania, state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and the state Gaming Control Board.
The meeting will stream live at www.reppayne.com.