Pennsylvania lawmakers are proposing blocking access to all sports betting and online casino platforms on school campuses. 

Representative Jason Ortitay said he intends to introduce the legislation in honor of Ray Mikesell, who killed himself after struggling with gambling addiction. 

The legislation would require igaming and sports betting operators to use geospatial technologies to prevent registered players from accessing their platforms while physically located on school property.

“This is a common-sense protection for our children, and it honors the memory of a young man whose loss should not be in vain,” Ortitay said in a press release, before using fellow lawmakers to co-spnsor the bill. 

Gambling Addiction Started In School

Ray Mikesell committed suicide in 2024 when faced with an eviction notice from his home in South Fayette. His financial problems had been mounting due to years of gambling, which began when he was a high school student. 

“That addiction followed him for years and ultimately cost him his life,” Ortitay stated. “His father has asked that we act so that no other family endures what his family has endured. As he told me, if this legislation helps even one person, it is worth it.”

A recent report said that as many as 1 in 3 American boys aged 11 to 17 years old are gambling, with video games acting as the top way youths encounter gambling-like activities.

Lawmakers Want Operators To Take Responsibility

Lawmakers have also demanded that betting companies detail what measures they are taking to address issues of problem and underage gambling.

Last month, a group of five Democrats sent a letter to the CEOs of 10 major betting and prediction market operators expressing their concerns about young Americans’ gambling.

The letter references multiple ads run by the companies, which the lawmakers see as problematic. For example, a Kalshi TikTok ad that included the tagline: “I was about to be unable to pay my rent, but I got two years of rent through Kalshi’s predictions. It’s amazing!”

Kalshi has stopped running this ad and has signed up to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), claiming it is committed to responsible practices. It does, however, continue to allow 18-year-olds to effectively gamble on sports in Pennsylvania, despite the legal betting age being 21. 

This ad is particularly poignant to Mikesell’s story as his death came at a time when he was unable to pay rent due to gambling problems. To suggest that gambling is a way out of financial difficulty, rather than the route towards it, is irresponsible, say the lawmakers. 

Gambling groups have invested heavily in supporting Pennsylvania politicians they believe would oppose additional restrictions on the industry.

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A new lawsuit has been filed against major gaming companies Roblox, Microsoft, Epic Games, and Mojang AB in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit alleges that the companies encourage compulsive gaming that has led a 15-year-old girl to develop significant social and mental problems. 

The lawsuit says that Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite have incorporated operant conditioning into their games, offering players rewards to continue playing. Operant conditioning is a learning process where behavior is modified by stimuli. 

It says the companies use the “outrageous, unethical, reckless” technique with the goal of increasing the time children spend playing their games. 

Girl Suffering From Gaming Addiction

The unnamed girl began playing Minecraft at 6 years old and later extended her gaming to Roblox, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and several other titles. She now plays games for more than six hours a day and suffers a range of problems as a result. 

Problems cited in the lawsuit include social isolation, physical inactivity, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, digestive issues, loss of interest in previous hobbies and entertainment, deceiving family members or others regarding the amount of gaming, and the use of games to escape or relieve negative emotions.

The lawsuit claims that the companies employ psychologists with the specific goal of creating addicted gamers. In addition, they have suppressed the American Psychological Association (APA) from recognizing video game addiction as a disorder. The APA offers a more general definition, placing it under the category of internet gaming disorder. 

“This deliberate misclassification has resulted in patient abandonment, leaving children

suffering from video game addiction without access to the necessary medical diagnosis and

Treatment,” says the complaint.

Companies Profiting From In-Game Purchases

The 87-page complaint demands compensation for the girl’s spending on the games. It says each company “is aware that continuous and excessive use of video game products

increases its revenue, as the more time a player spends on its products, the greater the likelihood that the player will make in-game purchases.”

It likens in-game purchases to microbetting, terming small, low-cost purchases as microtransactions, which quickly accumulate to lead to financial losses. 

In addition to seeking damages, it also wants the games to display warning messages that they are conditioning players. 

Similar Lawsuits Seek Damages

A similar lawsuit was filed against the same companies in March, claiming that they have irresponsibly created addictive games that harm children. 

The complaint was filed by the family of an 18-year-old in Michigan. The complaint said that he started gaming at 11 years old and now plays for 12 to 14 hours a day. According to the lawsuit, 

“he is incapable of restraining his own usage, as are the people around him”.

Last month, Roblox agreed to pay $23 million to Alabama and West Virginia to settle child-safety investigations. The states claimed that the platform exposed young users to predators, grooming, and sexual and violent content.

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Gambling interest groups are spending big in campaigns ahead of the Pennsylvania primaries this month. 

The Super PAC Win for America, which is funded by sportsbooks FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics, has now given over $5 million to Win for Pennsylvania. 

The money is largely used to back incumbents’ campaigns after gambling groups successfully lobbied to prevent increases in the state’s sports betting tax. Pennsylvania takes 36% of sportsbook revenue in taxes. 

The Win for America PAC primarily supports Republican candidates. Money has been used in Pennsylvania to back the campaigns of Sens. Lisa Baker, Camera Bartolotta, and Chris Gebhard, according to a report from Spotlight PA. 

Sportsbooks Thankful For No Tax Increase

Primarily, gambling companies are backing the candidates who declined to raise taxes on the industry in last year’s budget. 

After the budget passed with no increase, the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) ran ads thanking Gebhard and Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman for “standing with PA sports fans and against raising taxes.”

The SBA, which includes the three sportsbooks funding Win for Pennsylvania, as well as bet365 and BetMGM, argues that increasing sports betting taxes would “force the companies to pass on the costs to consumers.”

Companies largely passed on the costs to consumers when hit with a new per-bet tax in Illinois last year. The SBA has sued the city of Chicago after it added another levy on top of the new betting surcharge. 

Esports Betting Push Could Be Renewed

Republican politicians have also introduced legislation to expand legal betting in Pennsylvania, including allowing esports gambling. 

Rep. Ed Neilson introduced HB1636 last year, which would legalize esports betting and give the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board the power to authorize other events as it sees fit. 

The legislation was referred to the House Gaming Committee in June last year, but has not made any progress since. 

If the gambling-backed incumbents win re-election, it could help renew the push for esports gambling to be authorized. 

Pennsylvania Proposes Regulating Esports Prediction Markets

In the meantime, residents can wager on esports prediction markets, but the state has also introduced legislation to regulate this. 

A group of Democrats introduced HB2497 last week. The bill proposes charging prediction market platforms a $1 million license fee and imposing a 20% tax on revenue. 

The legislation would also allow the Board to restrict certain markets relating to “sensitive matters,” including elections, military conflicts, judicial rulings, and natural disasters.

It would not, however, restrict esports or other markets on sporting events. 

Skill Gaming Industry Spending On Rival Campaigns

Another key gambling interest in the elections is coming from the skill gaming industry. Sen. Bartolotta, who has been backed by the sportsbooks, said skill games proponents are “trying to take the Senate of Pennsylvania hostage” through campaign spending.

Citizens Alliance, a conservative political group funded almost entirely by skill game developer Pace-O-Matic, has spent millions of dollars in campaigns against Bartoletta, Baker, and Gebhard. 

Gebhard introduced a bill that would restrict and tax skill games across the state. Cliff Maloney, CEO of Citizens Alliance, said the group is  “working to hold Senate Republicans accountable that proposed a new tax on certain small businesses.”

Like Bartolotta, Gebhard spoke out against the campaign against him. He stated, “Seeing the sheer power of third-party money, we probably should be having a conversation on: ‘Is this a positive for the system and the people of Pennsylvania?’”

The primaries on Tuesday will give an indication of which group has spent its money wisely.

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