The Pennsylvania Lottery escaped an injunction filed by a group of casino operators earlier this month following Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer’s denial of the request. The injunction sought the limitation or outright termination of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s ability to offer iLottery games to players online.
Casinos’ arguments vs. lottery
Casino operators from all around the state came together to argue that iLottery games appeared and operated too similarly to many of the games found on Pennsylvania casino floors. Their two days of testimony arrived ahead of several online casino launches of the participating casino brands.
The state lottery is estimated to bring in $30 million in profit from iLottery games for the current fiscal year, which amounts to nearly 3% of the lottery’s total profit in the state.
Case to move forward
Cohn Jubelirer concluded that the casinos failed to prove competition from the iLottery games would cause them to incur any significant loss in revenue. The judge added that, in this case, while the iLottery games in question revealed “striking similarities” to casino games, gambling laws in the state did not entitle casino operators a right to relief. However, despite the judge’s initial decision to deny an injunction, the case will move forward.
The casino operators have until Aug. 30 to exchange relevant evidence, provide expert reports and file pre-trial motions.
