Pennsylvania casino operators go to court over state lottery's online games

Concerns by Pennsylvanian land casino operators over the launch of online casino-style games by the state lottery earlier this year (see previous reports) escalated to litigation Wednesday when seven operators – half the number licensed in the state – filed suit in the Commonwealth Court against the Pennsylvania Lottery.

The filing petitioned the court to stop the lottery from offering the games, arguing that state gambling law reserves such activity exclusively for licensed casino operators.

The operators claim that several of the Lottery’s games improperly imitate the look, sound and feel of slot machines in a number of ways, including:

* Using similar titles to gambling machines found on casino floors;
* Presenting games with spinning wheels, cascading tiles or other animations typical to casino games;
* Duplicating coin denominations typical of casino games which have not been deployed in porevious lottery presentations;
* Requiring a player to set bets, a term that traditional Lottery products do not use;
* Offering casino-style incentives such as free play offers and a patron loyalty program;
* Violate state laws prohibiting the lottery from offering “simulated casino-style lottery game, including video poker, video roulette, slot machines or video blackjack.”

The filing further alleges that the lottery is contravening state laws restricting persons under 21 years from entry to gaming floors by selling tickets to 18 -year-old punters.

A lottery spokesman reiterated the lottery’s position that the games are part of a continuing initiative to give lottery customers what they want, at the same time generating revenue to maintain the lottery’s market position and generate funds for social projects.

The majority of Pennsylvania’s land casino operators have applied for $10 million online gambling licenses, and have a competitive interest in the lottery’s activity online which has been launched ahead of them.

Our readers will recall that earlier this year the casino operators also approached the state Revenue Department, which supervises the lottery, seeking collaboration rather than confrontation.

Following those discussions the lottery made some amendments to its marketing approach to the iLottery games, but not to the games themselves.