Pennsylvania Considering Bill to Ban Microbetting

Pennsylvania lawmakers just completed a study regarding sports betting, and one has his eyes on a bill that could ban microbetting in the Keystone State.

Rep. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia) said that he’s looking at a bill to ban microbetting and further attempt to curb gambling addiction in Pennsylvania. This comes after a study by the Joint State Government Commission of Pennsylvania, which recommended several measures to try to combat gambling addictions in the state.

According to industry projections, around $167 billion was wagered on sports in 2025. A growing part of that was microbetting, or live bets on single-event outcomes within the game. For example, a bettor might wager on the outcome of a single at-bat in a baseball game.

These bets have become problematic for two reasons. First, they’ve led to scandals involving players’ abilities to affect a single play without affecting the outcome. That led Ohio lawmakers to start investigating whether they could ban microbetting, and Major League Baseball eventually instituted restrictions on the practice.

Second, they make it easy for gamblers to chase losses. Because microbetting happens so quickly, it can be easy for a bettor to make several bets in short succession.

That’s what Khan wants to stop. He’s proposed several bills before to impose limits on gambling in Pennsylvania, mainly to prevent too many bets in a short time span.

“Sometimes you have to be very clear on what companies can and can’t do, especially when money is involved,” he said.

Besides a ban on microbetting, the study made multiple other recommendations. The study recommended a ban on credit card deposits, which already exists. It also recommends a ban on advertisements on college campuses, which Pennsylvania has already suggested.

When Could a Bill Potentially Come to The Floor?

The Pennsylvania legislature is currently in session, although only one chamber is currently meeting. The Pennsylvania House returned to session on July 23, while the Senate is on recess until Sept. 28.

Khan has yet to write the bill, but he doesn’t have to rush. The legislature remains in session through Nov. 30. The session ends on that date, and the next one would begin when the new legislature takes its seats in January.

Whether he gets the bill to the floor or not, Khan’s re-election is assured. He represents one of the most heavily Democratic parts of Philadelphia. In three elections, he’s never failed to get less than 91% of the vote. With only write-in opposition against him, he will return for the new session in 2027.

How Likely Is a Bill to Ban Microbetting?

It depends on how hard the sportsbooks fight. Pennsylvania is very friendly toward sports betting and iGaming, and Gov. Josh Shapiro has been part of that. In 2025, Shapiro signed legislation to bring Pennsylvania into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, which brought online poker to the Keystone State.

But with microbetting getting a difficult reputation, reining it in could be possible. Pennsylvania is a closely divided state politically, so any bill to reach Shapiro would need a bipartisan coalition.

What’s the Next Step?

Before Khan’s bill comes to the floor, it would need to go through the Gaming Oversight Committee. Most likely, a bill to ban microbetting would follow the same timeline as Rep. Jason Ortitay’s (R-Washington) bill to eliminate sports betting advertisements on school campuses.

That bill is currently stuck in committee and has been since mid-June. With the Senate not set to return until September, a lengthy debate is likely.