The stakes in the growth of online gambling are enormous, and Pennsylvania’s Senate is eager to make a hefty wager now that New Jersey and Delaware are in the pot.

Add the approval of casino gambling in New York outside its Native American-run gaming houses and you have a classic face-off of states vying for slightly more than gamblers’ loose change.

That got the Pennsylvania Senate’s attention. Its members overwhelmingly approved a resolution to have the Legislature study — and report back by May 1 of next year — on the possible benefits and downsides Internet gambling might hold for the state’s small and major players.

With an $800 million-plus deficit looming for 2015, both Houses will be grasping for the nearest available financial straw. There’s a clue in what’s to come with the recent expansion of games-of-chance allowances for social clubs and privately operated taverns.

Naturally, there will be the usual swell of moral outrage from corners of the Legislature, and screams from the state’s entrenched gaming interests about Pennsylvanians abandoning the casino floor, placing bets instead in the comfort of their living rooms.

Abc27 News quoted Pennsylvania Senate President Joseph Scarnati in saying the commonwealth should take note of New Jersey’s recent actions. “With New Jersey doing Internet gaming, and I believe the main intent was to get customers back from Pennsylvania,” Scarnati said. “We need to be a bit more aware of where we want to head with gaming. And what we want to do is keep those customers.”

Here’s betting the Legislature Budget and Finance Committee’s study turns up aces when it comes to the state’s expected take from online gambling. After all, the odds are always with the house.

This is a reprint from abingtonjournal.com. To view the original, click here.