PA Gambling Industry Spent $8.1M in 2026 GOP Senate Primaries to Defend Tax Status Quo
Spotlight PA reporting shows skill-games and sports-betting interests poured a combined $8.1 million into three Republican state Senate primaries; and all three industry-favored incumbents survived.
What Happened
Pennsylvania's gaming industry spent at least $8.1 million in the run-up to the May 2026 primary, concentrated on three state Senate races: Lisa Baker (Luzerne), Camera Bartolotta (Washington) and Chris Gebhard (Lebanon). A super PAC aligned with sports betting accounted for roughly 60% of the identified spending, defending incumbents who killed Governor Josh Shapiro's 2025 per-wager sports-betting tax proposal. The remaining ~40% came from skill-games developers operating through a network of conservative groups targeting the same incumbents from the opposite direction. All three incumbents won their primaries.
Background & Context
Pennsylvania's 36% sports-betting GGR rate is one of the highest in the US and the highest in any state with mass-market online betting. Governor Shapiro's 2025 budget included a per-wager tax on sports betting that was rejected by the legislature. The 2026 primary spend was effectively pre-emptive; the industry working to lock in legislators who blocked the 2025 tax before any 2027 budget cycle reopens the question.
What It Means for PA Bettors
For PA bettors, the practical effect is stability: the operators and incumbents most committed to defending the current tax structure won. A meaningfully lower tax rate is now unlikely in the next 12–18 months, but additional per-wager fees or surcharges are also less likely to pass given the same legislative coalition. For the long term, the spend confirms PA gaming as a top-tier lobbying force in Harrisburg politics.
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