KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Pennsylvania lawmakers formed the first legislative caucus focused specifically on addressing problem gambling concerns.
- Members will advocate for “common-sense safeguards” in the state’s gambling market, particularly citing risks posed by “frictionless online gambling.”
- Some Caucus members filed bills this year to implement a range of new player protection measures, including a microbet ban and push notification restrictions.
Pennsylvania lawmakers this week formed the state’s first legislative group focused specifically on addressing problem gambling.
State legislators announced on Wednesday a new bipartisan Problem Gambling Caucus to promote research and education around the potential risks and harms associated with gambling.
Members said at an unveiling that they formed the Problem Gambling Caucus in an attempt to identify and implement “common-sense safeguards” around sports betting and casino gambling. The group will gather formally for the first time in January 2027, when the General Assembly reconvenes for its legislative session.
Members of the caucus include:
- Rep. Danilo Burgos (D)
- Rep. Jamie Flick (R)
- Rep. Tarik Khan (D)
- Sen. Nick Miller (D)
- Sen. Joe Picozzi (R)
- Rep. Ben Sanchez (D)
What is the mission of new PA Problem Gambling Caucus?
At a press conference, lawmakers said the dedicated Problem Gambling Caucus is needed in particular given that state residents have ubiquitous access to gambling apps via their phones. Pennsylvania’s legislature approved iGaming and online sports betting in 2017.
“The drug of choice is no longer alcohol,” said Flick, as quoted by Penn Live. “The drug of choice now just sits right in your pocket.”
Picozzi said that the state particularly needs to tackle the “new and emerging challenge of frictionless online gambling.”
“As the youngest senator in Pennsylvania, I can tell you that gambling, sports betting, this frictionless betting we’re seeing has touched almost all the lives of people of my generation,” said Picozzi, who will serve as the Problem Gambling Caucus’s Senate Chair.
“Online gambling requires a modern response … Convenience cannot mean the absence of guardrails. We need to look at some common-sense reforms to the online gambling experience.”
Founding members of the Problem Gambling Caucus referred to several priorities during the announcement, including:
- Reducing youth exposure to gambling advertising
- Developing public education campaigns on the risks tied to various forms of gambling
- Advocating for controls like meaningful deposit and time limits and transparent information about spending and losses
Research suggests PA has growing gambling problems
Problem Gambling Caucus members pointed to data they said highlighted the need for a dedicated legislative association.
As an example, they cited figures suggesting that Pennsylvania residents are roughly twice as likely to experience gambling addiction as the national average rate and that more than one in four residents are considered at risk of developing a gambling disorder.
Those numbers come from a Penn State University study published this year which surveyed more than 3,500 adults in the state about their gambling habits. That report found that:
- Up to 6.4% of all Pennsylvania adults showed some indicators of gambling problems in 2025, compared to an estimated national average of 3 to 4%
- Between 25.4% and 29.9% of Pennsylvania adults were classified as at-risk gamblers
- 30% of Pennsylvania adults participated in some form of online gambling during the year, up from 20% in 2024
- As many as 73% of Pennsylvania adults engaged in some form of gambling
- State residents who gambled both via online platforms and at in-person venues were at the highest risk for problem gambling
On Wednesday, Picozzi particularly noted the vulnerability of the young male demographic, referencing data suggesting that gambling disorder diagnoses have more than doubled among men aged 18 to 29 in the last decade. He also noted research from Common Sense Media and the American Institute of Boys and Men found that 59% of adolescent boys learned about gambling from gambling content that appeared on their social media feeds.
Pennsylvania gambling market hits $7bn and counting
Pennsylvania’s gambling industry is one of the most lucrative in the U.S. in terms of revenue generation. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported that 2025 was the fifth consecutive year of record revenue across all forms of gambling.
The regulator noted that uptick was fueled by a 27% year-over-year rise in iGaming revenue, which contributed $2.8bn of the total $6.8bn in Pennsylvania gambling revenue last year.
In its annual report published at the end of September 2026, the PGCB said that overall gaming revenue grew to $7.05bn in fiscal year 2025-26.
Caucus members filed Colorado-inspired RG bill after study
Amid that context, Pennsylvania published a legislative study of gambling in July of this year, commissioned by a resolution that Khan brought before the Assembly in 2025. That study examined gambling addiction, industry marketing practices, and consumer protections and identified potential measures such as prohibiting ‘micro’ betting markets and restricting VIP programs.
“What we found was deeply troubling: Gambling companies using predatory practices to keep people betting, even as they’re losing everything,” Khan said in a news release on Wednesday.
Khan and Flick subsequently filed a bipartisan legislation package which would do the following, among other things:
- Establish parameters including deposit and loss limits
- Restrict the use of push notifications and text messages to induce gambling
- Ban ‘micro’ bets
- Restrict VIP programs and the use of AI-driven promotions
- Restrict gambling advertising aimed at minors and young adults
- Fund addiction prevention, treatment, and independent research
Khan and Flick first indicated their intention to file the legislation in June, noting that they were inspired by a gambling-related bill signed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
“The gambling industry shouldn’t be allowed to exploit addiction for profit,” added Khan on Wednesday. “We studied the problem, we followed the evidence, and now we’re taking bipartisan action to protect Pennsylvanians.”
