The casinos know who you are, and where you are located

But there is one place in the commonwealth where you can't engage in interactive wagering — and that is from inside the state's 13 licensed casinos.
Under Pennsylvania's expanded gaming law passed last year, which legalized a range of new ways for gamblers to put their money on the line, licensed operators must prevent players from accessing interactive games while they are inside casinos, using the same cell-phone technology to determine whether they are actually within the state's borders.
Some officials say the curious exclusion, which does not apply to sports betting, was inserted into early versions of the legislation to protect tax revenue — the tax rate for betting online was originally lower than the tax rate for betting in casinos.newest casinos
The bill that was finally approved by the General Assembly equalized the tax rate for online gaming and land-based casinos — 54 percent for slot machines, virtual or real. However, the language requiring the electronic ring-fence around casinos survived, they say.
"It probably slipped through in the final version," said Tony Ricci, chief executive of Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc., the parent company of Parx Casino. "Frankly, it is quirky now when you look at it, what the point of it is. It complicates things in many ways."
Some insiders say the casino exclusion was not an oversight, but a small concession to the horse-racing industry, which receives about 10 percent of the revenue from casino slot machines — a $239 million share last year. Under the new law, the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Trust Fund will still get its piece of the slots action, but it will receive nothing from interactive gaming, including online slots.
"You won't want anyone placing a bet on online slots while on the casino floor, and horsemen wouldn't be getting that cut that they have been promised," said Lindsay Slader, vice president of regulatory affairs for GeoComply, a vendor of geolocation services that online operators use to verify the exact position of online players.