DUPONT — Business owners, civic-club members, and the firm that is the nation’s leading developer of the “skill games” now ubiquitous in Pennsylvania, held a rally Thursday evening at the Dupont VFW Post 4909. The rally was organized to press for state legislation that would keep skill games legal — and make taxes on them low — before a Pennsylvania Supreme Court order goes into effect that would shut them down.
Rachel Albritton, the senior vice president of communications for the Georgia-based skill-game development firm Pace-O-Matic, served in a master-of-ceremonies role for the rally. She said the survival of skill games was crucial for small businesses and volunteer organizations throughout the commonwealth.
“Since this ruling came out, the number of places that have come to me that have said they will not be able to remain open if nothing’s done before the deadline is truly heartbreaking,” Albritton said. “These small businesses and organizations are the cornerstones of our communities.”
Skill games at the Dupont VFW. Attached to them is a card from the Pennsylvania Taverns and Players Association asking players to contact their representatives in the state House and Senate to ask them to keep skill games legal in Pennsylvania with a framework to keep them lightly taxed (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO)
Skill games are consoles people pay to play for a cash prize. They are a fixture in countless bars, shops, laundry mats, gas stations, and clubs throughout the commonwealth.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in June that skill games are a type of slot machine subject to the state Gaming Act and Crime Code — and as such are currently unlicensed gambling devices. Given their prominence in the state, the Supreme Court stayed its order for 120 days, creating a safe-harbor period during which the General Assembly could legalize and regulate skill games. This creates an Oct. 13 deadline for the General Assembly to act.
Those gathered at the Dupont VFW on Thursday called for that prompt action.
State Rep. Jaime Walsh, R-117, Ross Twp., speaks at a rally about skill games legislation Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO)
Mark Kowalczyk, the bar manager of the local Polish American Citizens Club, said skill games were vital to the growth of his organization. He said they helped fund necessary work on its facilities, as well as community-service initiatives. Given the revenue it generates, Kowalczyk said the now uncertain future for skill games have left clubs like his adrift.
“We have been able to do so much for the community since that point,” Kowalczyk said of the club’s acquisition of skill games. “And without the skill income, or not knowing what it’s going to be, it’s really making us hesitate…it’s going to put the club between a rock and a hard place. We don’t know what to do.”
Ron Vaccaro, of an area Italian American Citizens Club, said the survival of his company was on precarious footing around two decades ago. He said the club’s acquisition of skill games reversed its fortunes, providing an influx of funds that has allowed it to survive, make renovations. The revenue has also allowed the club to donate around $60,000 annually to community and school organizations around Plains.
Kurt Masser, the owner of the Wayside Inn and a former state House representative who now works as a lobbyist advocating for Pace-O-Matic, speaks at a rally for skill games Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 at the Dupont VFW (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO)
“We were ready to close,” Vaccaro said. “Through these machines and doing better business practices, we were able to turn our club around….”
Vaccaro warned that policies that banned or taxed skill games out of existence would damage his club and hamper its community-service efforts.
“We’re going to be barely staying alive,” Vaccaro said about the possibility of skill games becoming illegal. “If you take that away, the Boy Scouts now suffer. Plains Borough now suffers.”
Ron Vaccaro, of the Italian American Citizens Club, speaks at a rally for skill games Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 at the Dupont VFW (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO).
How to regulate skill games is an issue that divided state government even before the Supreme Court ruling. Gov. Josh Shapiro asked in his last two budget proposals for skill games to be regulated by the state Gaming Control Board and subject to a 52% tax on gross terminal revenues. This tax is similar to that paid by casino slot machines and video-game terminals at truck stops. The Shapiro administration estimated in February 2025 that this tax would generate an additional $1.6 billion in annual tax revenue on average over the next five years.
Pace-O-Matic and the Pennsylvania Taverns and Players Association have stood in vehement opposition to Shapiro’s proposal. They have supported legislation — House Bill No. 2213 – that would have skill games regulated by the Pennsylvania Lottery and subject to a monthly $500 flat fee per terminal — something they said would generate $300 million in annual revenue for the commonwealth. That bill and a corresponding one in the Senate have a bipartisan set of sponsors.
Rachel Albritton, the senior vice president of communication for Pace-O-Matic, center, presents a $1,000 check to Bob Lopata, the president and vice commander of the Dupont VFW, left; and Gary Kaspriskie, the Dupont VFW bar manager, right. (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO)
Kurt Masser, a former state House representative who now works as a lobbyist advocating for Pace-O-Matic, also spoke at the rally. The owner of the Wayside Inn, Masser said he installed skill games in his business during the COVID-19 pandemic and they helped him keep pace with inflation and rising wages.
Masser urged attendees at the rally to call their representatives in the state House and Senate and ask them to pass H.B. 2213 “fair taxation” — and warned of dire consequences for businesses and clubs like VFW posts if skill games are banned or taxed out of existence. He also said the casino were supportive of the measure to drive Pace-O-Matic skill games, which they view as competition, out of business.
“That’s what the casinos want, because the casinos know that’ll put us out of business,” Masser said of the governor’s proposal. “Nobody’s going to go for 52%. It’s just not sustainable in our business model.”
Jim Mack, of the game-vending company Mack Novelty, also disputed the idea that skill games were analogous to gambling at casinos and that they should be taxed at the same rate.
“The casinos, they got the hotels, they got the restaurants, they got the whistles and bells, they’ve got a thousand people coming through the door, thousands of people,” Mack said. “With your clubs and bars, you got a hundred people coming through the door.”
Legislation that would put relatively light taxes on skill games has some support among Northeastern Pennsylvania’s delegation to the state House and state House candidates.
Luzerne County Council member John Lombardo, the Republican nominee for the 118th House district, said he supported efforts to ensure they stayed legal, as long as there were regulations in place to prevent their use by minors. (Albritton,of Pace-O-Matic, said skill games currently have store clerks or redemption terminals verify players are 18 or older before cashing out winnings.)
Rep. Jamie Walsh, R-117, Ross Twp., speaking Thursday, said he was generally supportive of H.B. 2213, though he said he would make his final determination once the amendment process was finished. He argued Shapiro’s proposal would have a devastating effect on small business and volunteer organizations.
“At 52%, the governor’s proposal…would literally put all of these machines out of these establishments,” Walsh said. “So, I think we need to have a reasonable proposal that everyone can get behind.”