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A Pennsylvania lawmaker is preparing a bill that would block access to licensed online gambling apps on school property, aiming to keep students away from sports betting and online casino play.
Republican Rep. Jason Ortitay said this week that he has written the proposal and plans to file it soon. His goal is to stop anyone on school grounds from opening regulated gambling apps, whether they are inside a classroom, elsewhere in a building, or anywhere on exterior school property.
Ortitay’s plan would place the responsibility on licensed operators. The bill would require online sportsbooks and casinos to use what he described as “geospatial technologies” to prevent logins or wagers whenever a user is physically located on school premises.
“Pennsylvania has authorized interactive gaming and sports wagering under a licensed and regulated framework,” Ortitay wrote.
“That framework was built for adults making lawful choices. It was never intended to reach into our classrooms. Yet the reality today is that a student can sit in a classroom or stand on a playground and, using a smartphone, access online gaming and sports betting platforms. In some cases, minors are using a parent’s account and credentials to do so.”
More geo restrictions for PA
Ortitay said the push for tighter limits came from a personal story that stayed with him. He pointed to a young man from Pennsylvania who developed a gambling addiction while still in school, an addiction that eventually cost him his life.
“His father has asked that we act so that no other family endures what his family has endured,” Ortitay wrote. “As he told me, if this legislation helps even one person, it is worth it. I agree. This bill is for Ray.”
Pennsylvania’s licensed operators already rely on geolocation tools to block anyone outside the state from accessing their platforms, and they use age checks, identity verification and other safeguards to keep underage users and excluded groups off their apps.
Ortitay now wants to extend that same level of control to school grounds by creating a full ban on online gambling access whenever someone is physically on school property.
Three other gambling bills in the works
Alongside Ortitay’s proposal, Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing a broader package aimed at tightening online gambling rules and treating problem gambling as a public health issue.
The effort, led by Rep. Tarik Khan and Rep. Jamie Flick, focuses on how constant access to betting apps and aggressive marketing can harm young adults and families. Khan said, “we should address problem gambling the same way we address other public health challenges: with prevention, education, treatment and commonsense safeguards.”
The package includes the Pennsylvania Online Consumer Protection Act, which would cap how often players can deposit within a day and curb push notifications and youth‑leaning ads.
A second bill would block the use of credit cards for online gambling, while a third would strengthen self‑exclusion rules by stopping operators from sending marketing to people who have chosen to ban themselves.
Source: SBCAmericas
