{"id":243049,"date":"2026-07-14T12:08:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/243049\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:08:17","slug":"berks-fire-company-social-quarters-voice-support-for-fair-and-reasonable-skill-games-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/243049\/","title":{"rendered":"Berks fire company social quarters voice support for ‘fair and reasonable’ skill games laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

Without the income from skill games, the Berkshire Heights Fire Company would cease to exist.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the opinion of Mike Paulson, president and treasurer at the social club in Wyomissing.<\/p>\n

Paulson was one of several fire company social club presidents who spoke in favor of the financial boon that skill games provide fire company social clubs and other community groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be totally candid, if in 120 days (skill games) are illegal and seized, we are out of business. Done,\u201d\u00a0 Paulson said. \u201cThat\u2019s not a problem just for us, it\u2019s many smaller clubs just like us that would disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paulson spoke at a recent conference at the Liberty Fire Company No. 1 social club. He was joined by skill games manufacturers and local officials, all of whom urged state lawmakers to enact \u201cfair and reasonable legislation\u201d to regulate the games.<\/p>\n

In June, the state Supreme Court ruled that skill games could be considered slot machines, subjecting them to current rules banning slots from the convenience stores, bars and social clubs where skill games have become common.<\/p>\n

The ruling provided 120 days for lower courts to work out the details, preventing law enforcement from acting against the games or their owners during that time.<\/p>\n

It also may push state lawmakers to update the law to account for skill games, creating new rules on where the games are allowed, and if they should be taxed like slots.<\/p>\n

Skill games resemble slot machines in appearance, but allow some form of player input beyond luck, like solving puzzles or aiming precisely.<\/p>\n

Game manufacturers such as Pace-O-Matic, which makes most of the state\u2019s skill games, say that input influences player outcomes enough to differentiate them from slot machines.<\/p>\n

For nonprofit social clubs like Berkshire Heights Fire Company, the games have become a lifeblood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use the skills money for all kinds of things,\u201d Paulson said. \u201cA lot of it has just been on general upkeep of the building. We\u2019ve been able to raise the hourly rate of our employees. We do things for the kids in the community, Easter egg hunts. In the past we\u2019ve had Christmas parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Paulson, president of the Berkshire Heights Fire Company, speaks about how skill games contribute to fundraising during a meeting with club members and other interested parties at the Liberty Fire Company Social Quarters in Sinking Spring on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Many community programs provided by nonprofit social clubs could be at risk if legislators do not act, said Justin Mancias, president of Liberty Fire Company No. 1 social quarters.<\/p>\n

Mancias said Liberty\u2019s situation isn\u2019t as dire as Berkshire Heights, but the social club is still at risk of losing funding for the programs and events it supports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be crippling our ability, not necessarily to operate, but just to give back as much as we\u2019re used to giving back,\u201d Mancias said.<\/p>\n

Initiatives supported by Liberty Fire Company include a charity billiards game that funds the American Heart Association, Toys for Tots funding, and outdoor summer festivals that fund organizations like IM ABLE and the Adalyn Rose Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"ManyMany community programs provided by nonprofit social clubs could be at risk if legislators do not act, says Justin Mancias, president of Liberty Fire Company No. 1 social quarters.(BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just breaking the ice on it (what the skills money funds),\u201d Mancias said. \u201cWe have a pretty tight-knit community with our private clubs, where we donate to their causes, they donate to our causes. Overall, it\u2019s just keeping together a huge sense of community, which the world severely needs these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

The groups at the press conference voiced support for House Bill 1079 and Senate Bill 2213, which would enact a statewide monthly tax of $500 per machine.<\/p>\n

The new laws would generate an estimated $300 million in annual tax revenue.<\/p>\n

The legislation would also limit the number of skill games to 10 in nonprofit establishments, like fire company social clubs, and five in for-profit locations.<\/p>\n

Jeff Millay of Miele Manufacturers, Lycoming County, noted that his organization, which manufactures Pennsylvania skill games in partnership with Pace-O-Matic, supports that legislation and those limits.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a company, we don\u2019t participate in mini casinos,\u201d Millay noted. \u201cThis is supplemental income. This is so you can pay your electric bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that Miele employs 170 people, including 15 in its Leesport office, all of whom may be out of a job if skill games are made illegal.<\/p>\n

Miele and others urged members of the public to contact their representatives and ask them to support the proposed skill games regulations.<\/p>\n

\"JeffJeff Millay of Miele Manufacturers, Lycoming County, said his company, which manufactures Pennsylvania skill games in partnership with Pace-O-Matic, supports that pending state legislation that would set a tax and limits on the machines. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do with the (skill games) profits?\u201d Millay asked the conference. \u201cYou helped out the Little League team. You helped out the neighbor down the street that was sick and couldn\u2019t pay the bill. This is what we need to share (with lawmakers).\u201d<\/p>\n

State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz shared a similar sentiment at the conference.<\/p>\n

\"StateState Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz says many nonprofits rely on skill games to help fund community projects. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is about more than just skill games,\u201d Cepeda-Freytiz said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the volunteer fire companies that rely on every available resource to purchase lifesaving equipment. It\u2019s about veteran organizations that continue serving those who serve us. It\u2019s about community organizations that open their doors to people in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the conference, Jace Gring and Ryan Wilkes took the opportunity to play a few rounds of their favorite skill game: Living Large.<\/p>\n

Both said they serve on the Liberty Fire Company social quarters board.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt (the money) does pay a lot of our (expenses),\u201d Wilkes said. \u201cStuff breaks, we have money to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SocialSocial club members and other interested parties listen to a presentation on skill games legislation at the Liberty Fire Company Social Quarters in Sinking Spring on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Without the income from skill games, the Berkshire Heights Fire Company would cease to exist. That\u2019s the opinion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,16420,706],"class_list":["post-243049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-sinking-spring","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}