Pennsylvania Bill HB 2879 Would Ban Microbets, Cap Deposits and Curb Gambling Ads

A Pennsylvania House bill filed on 21 October 2026 would ban microbets, limit online bettors to two deposits a day and restrict when sportsbooks and online casinos can advertise. Pennsylvania HB 2879, the Pennsylvania Online Consumer Protection Act, is sponsored by Rep. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia) and sits in the House Gaming Oversight Committee, which has not scheduled a hearing.

The bill amends Title 35 (Health and Safety) rather than the gaming code in Title 4, which frames online gambling as a public health matter. Its nine cosponsors are Democrats Joe McAndrew, Ben Waxman, Tarah Probst, Benjamin Sanchez, Robert Merski, Daniel Deasy, Joe Ciresi and Heather Boyd, and Republican Jamie Flick of Lycoming and Union counties.

What the bill would ban

HB 2879 goes after betting products and marketing tools rather than taxes. The core prohibitions, drawn from the official bill summary and the sponsors' memo:

• Microbets, meaning live wagers on the result of a single play, and in-game proposition bets on specific plays
• Games with very fast play cycles (under 15 seconds) and autoplay
• VIP and loyalty programs that reward more play, deposits or losses
• Sign-up and deposit bonuses, and wording such as "free bet" when the player's own money is at stake
• Push notifications soliciting bets, and algorithmic targeting based on a player's losses
• Credit cards and government assistance cards as funding sources

Covers reports that the bill also bars wagers combining several outcomes from one sporting event, which would in effect end same-game parlays, one of the most profitable products for US sportsbooks. The official summaries we reviewed do not use that term, and Casino.org describes the ban as one on prop bets. The bill does not appear to single out prop bets on college players, the issue behind earlier state and federal proposals.

Deposit, loss and time limits

The account controls go further than the rules in force in any US state we are aware of.

Covers also reports a 15-minute wait between a deposit and a wager and a 72-hour delay before raising a time limit. We could not confirm those details in the official summaries.

Advertising limits

Gambling ads would be barred during live sports broadcasts and on college campuses, along with ads aimed at minors and young adults. The bill summary describes an 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ad ban, the same window as the federal SAFE Bet Act. Covers words the provision the other way, as limiting ads to those hours, so the final text will settle it.

Where the bill came from

Khan has worked on gambling harm for most of the session. In May 2025 the House passed his resolution, HR 60, 189-14, directing the Joint State Government Commission to study sports betting marketing and problem gambling. On 3 June 2026 he and Flick circulated a co-sponsorship memo for a three-bill package:

The credit card idea has a long history in Harrisburg, going back to Sen. Wayne Fontana's earlier proposal to ban credit cards for online gambling. The self-exclusion bill builds on a program whose registrations passed 20,000 in 2023.

Khan has said the research behind the bill found "deeply troubling" practices, according to RG.org. Flick said "the drug of choice now just sits right in your pocket." A bipartisan Problem Gambling Caucus launched in the same week.

Realistic chances

HB 2879 is very unlikely to pass this year. The 2025-2026 session ends on 30 November 2026, and bills not enacted by then die. Little floor time remains before then, the bill has no hearing scheduled, and it would still need to clear the Republican-controlled Senate. A bill this broad would also draw heavy industry opposition: operators argue such limits push players to offshore sites that follow no state rules.

Its value is as a marker for 2027. Narrower pieces, such as the credit card and self-exclusion bills, have better odds of moving on their own.

Pennsylvania's market and tax burden

Pennsylvania is one of the largest US gambling markets and one of the most heavily taxed. Online sports betting pays a 34% state tax plus a 2% local share, 36% in total, and lawmakers floated a higher rate during the 2025 budget fight. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), which licenses and regulates operators, reported $591.1 million in revenue for July 2026, including $249.0 million from online casino and $51.8 million from sports wagering. Covers puts September revenue at $555 million. Our earlier coverage tracked the state's record $5.89 billion in gaming revenue.

The 0.75% assessment would stack on top of those taxes. Combined with the bans on promotions and some bet types, operators would face higher costs and fewer products.

How it compares

HB 2879 borrows heavily from the federal Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act) of Rep. Paul Tonko and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, which proposed strict federal rules on sports betting and was reintroduced in March 2025. Both include credit card bans, affordability checks, AI targeting limits and the 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ad window. The federal bill also bans prop bets on college athletes, the focus of the narrower PROTECT Act.

Among states, the Ohio Casino Control Commission banned college player props in 2024, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has called for a microbet ban. New Jersey has microbet bills pending and has made player-risk monitoring mandatory for online operators. No state has enacted a package as broad as HB 2879.

Status reviewed on 29 October 2026. Bill status, sponsors and committee referral are from the General Assembly's bill page; some provisions are labeled as reported by Covers and Casino.org because the full bill text could not be retrieved. More legislation news and North America coverage.