County aging offices are calling on state lawmakers to tax PA Skill Games machines across the Commonwealth.

This comes after the PA Association of Area Agencies on Aging reported that the game machines were taking away around $170 million from the state lottery fund.

“I think [state lawmakers] need to wake up. I’m very disappointed with Harrisburg,” Lynn Deardorff, the executive director for the Adams County Office for Aging, said.

Deardorff said the lottery fund primarily funds services such as meals-on-wheels and in-home care. She said the funding challenges have forced the Adams County Office for Aging to rely more on community fundraiser events to support these services.

“The last two years, we have been doing every fundraiser possible that we can do. Without the fundraising we wouldn’t be able to service the amount of people we do,” she said.

Patty Plempel, the in-home service director for Adams County Office for Aging, added that the funding gaps have placed dozens of seniors on wait lists for services. According to officials, roughly 30 people are on the wait list for Adams County’s meals-on-wheels program.

“When we say we have to put you on a waiting list and we don’t know when we’re going to start services for you, people are really sad when we tell them that, and they think they’re putting their loved one at risk because those services aren’t being provided,” Plempel said.

During his budget address, Governor Josh Shapiro proposed a 52% tax on skill games, which his office estimates will generate $2 billion in revenue.

In a statement, Pace-O-Matic, the developer of PA Skill Games, supported efforts to tax game machines. However, they denied drawing away any money from the lottery fund.

“The financial pressures facing Area Agencies on Aging are real, and they are being driven by government funding cuts, rising costs and a rapidly growing senior population,” the statement read.

Advocates are asking lawmakers to step up and provide more support for Pennsylvania’s aging population.

“This is not going to go away; we’re going to continue to grow; what are they going to do to help us?” Deardorff said.