PRIMOS — Pennsylvania bars can now start applying for state licenses to offer pull-tab games, daily drawings and other forms of gambling approved by the Legislature last year, and at least one prominent owner predicts that small games of chance will eventually be found in most of the state’s drinking establishments.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board started accepting applications about a week ago.

“The paperwork is going to be a nightmare — at least until people get used to it — but I think in six to eight months 75 (percent) to 80 percent of (liquor) licensees are going to go for it,” Tom Berry, owner of Tommy’s Tavern in the Philadelphia suburb of Collingdale and a former president of the Pennsylvania Tavern Association.

“Hopefully it will lead to an expansion of gaming in taverns,” he said.

The bill allowing thousands of bars to offer small games of chance — the state’s largest expansion of gambling since table games were permitted inside Pennsylvania casinos — only narrowly cleared the House before sailing through the Senate and getting Gov. Tom Corbett’s signature in November.

Some lawmakers who voted against the law worry it will draw business away from veterans clubs that also serve liquor and are allowed to raise money through the games. Until this year, the games could only be offered by veterans posts, fire halls and other fraternal organizations.

State officials believe that a 60 percent tax to be levied on the games could generate more than $150 million annually.

Bar owners had been pushing the expansion for years, and more than 1,700 people attended state-sponsored seminars to learn about tavern gambling and licensure.

It also costs money: There’s a $2,000 non-refundable application fee, to be split between the liquor board and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. On approval, the applicant must pay another $2,000 for the license. The annual renewal fee is another $1,000.