- Pennsylvania HB 2879 would ban microbets, same-game parlays, signup bonuses and VIP programs for online bettors.
- The bill also sets deposit, loss and time limits, and bans credit cards for funding accounts.
- It lands as Congress widens its own probe into sportsbook VIP programs.
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania’s newest gambling bill goes well beyond microbets. HB 2879, introduced last week by Reps. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia) and Jamie Flick (R-Lycoming/Union), would also wipe out same-game parlays, signup bonuses, push notifications and VIP programs for the state’s mobile customers.
Online Pennsylvania sports betting took in $8.1 billion in bets in the 2025-26 fiscal year. Under the bill, every one of those bettors would face new rules:
- No microbets on a single play, and no props that combine multiple outcomes from the same game, which would effectively end same-game parlays
- No more than two deposits a day, no bets within 15 minutes of a deposit and an affordability check for deposits over $5,000 in 180 days
- Accounts funded only by bank transfer, wire or paper check, with credit cards banned
- Loss limits of $750 a day or $2,500 in 30 days for bettors ages 21 to 25, and $1,500 a day or $5,000 in 30 days for everyone older
- A default two-hour daily time limit, a 72-hour wait to raise it and only one device logged in at a time
- Biometric checks at login and before any sports bet over $500
There wouldn’t be push notifications or sportsbook bonuses when signing up, and no ads could air between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. or during live sports broadcasts. Ads with athletes, celebrities or influencers likely to appeal to minors would be out, and so would AI-targeted offers based on a bettor’s losses.
VIP programs that assign hosts or reward bigger deposits, losses or play would be banned.
The bill also adds a 0.75% assessment on sports betting revenue for problem gambling programs run by the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Based on the Gaming Control Board’s 2025-26 revenue reports, that would come to roughly $4.7 million a year.
Khan and Flick point to a July state study that came out of Khan’s 2025 resolution. Per the lawmakers, nearly three-fourths of VIP revenue came from less than 1% of bettors.
Khan said the bill doesn’t ban recreational betting, but “the gambling industry shouldn’t be allowed to exploit addiction for profit.”
Congress Turns Up the Heat
The bill lands in the middle of a national fight over VIP programs that started in Pennsylvania.
Congress began pressing FanDuel in August after a VIP host sent a personalized Bryce Harper video to a gambler in the Philadelphia suburbs who struggled with addiction. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Paul Tonko and Valerie Foushee later sent FanDuel a follow-up letter over the videos.
Last Thursday, the same three Democrats widened their probe to DraftKings, Fanatics, BetMGM, Caesars, Kalshi and Polymarket. They want to know how much revenue each company makes from VIP customers, what perks those customers get and whether AI shapes their offers. Responses are due Nov. 5.
That puts both legal sportsbooks and prediction markets on the clock, and HB 2879 cites those congressional investigations in its findings.
HB 2879 was referred to the House Gaming Oversight Committee on Wednesday with nine cosponsors. No committee vote has been scheduled, and the 2025-26 session ends Nov. 30.
