Skill games face approaching ban in October across Pennsylvania
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Skill games throughout Pennsylvania are facing an effective ban in mid-October — unless state legislators find a solution.
Why it matters: The fight over the ubiquitous table-top machines in gas stations and corner stores is at a tipping point after years of the games going unregulated and untaxed.
Catch up quick: The state Supreme Court ruled over the summer that skill games are slot machines "several times over" and must abide by state gambling laws.
State of play: Pennsylvania's divided government has put forward a handful of proposals to regulate and tax skill games but hasn't reached a consensus.
- State police are warning business owners that are operating illegal skill games they will face enforcement beginning Oct. 14 — if state lawmakers don't act.
- That includes possible confiscation and forfeiting the machines.
- Businesses cannot simply unplug their skill games — they must remove them entirely.
Worth noting: Skill game machines can continue operating at locations licensed by the state Gaming Control Board: casinos and truck stops.
The big picture: An estimated 70,000 skill games are operating across Pennsylvania. The machines are both celebrated and maligned, depending on whom you're asking.
- 👍 For: Small businesses, gas stations, American Legions and stop-and-goes see skill games as a boon to their business.
- 👎 Against: Critics say the casino-like machines are a nuisance and a danger to communities, while Parx Casino has blamed them for crime and money laundering.
🤯 1 stunning fact: Skill games far exceed the number of regulated casino slot machines, per the state attorney general's website.
Zoom in: In Philly proper, most skill games are found in economically depressed areas, including Kensington and Olney, per The Trace.
- Meanwhile, few are found in well-to-do neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill.
Flashback: Philly's attempts to regulate skill games in 2024 were later blocked by a state court.
What we're watching: If a statewide ban goes into effect, local municipal police may take their own enforcement action, a state police spokesperson tells Axios.
- Philly police as well as Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration declined Axios' request for comment.
What they're saying: In the absence of a legislative solution, a black market of unregulated, illegal skill games could flourish, State Sen. Anthony Williams (D-8) tells Axios.
- Williams, who is a main sponsor for one of the bills to regulate skill games, says new revenue generated from the machines could boost state mass transit funding.
The other side: Philly Councilwoman Quetcy Lozada tells Axios that she wants skill games out of residential communities and that residents have been raising concerns about their impact on quality of life for years.
- "[Skill games] raise concerns about crime, gambling by minors, and problem gambling, and they can turn corner stores and other businesses into gambling establishments," she says.