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The state police are responding to a June 15 court decision<\/a> that classified skill games as slot machines, therefore subjecting them to the state Gambling Act<\/a> and Pennsylvania\u2019s criminal code.<\/p>\n The ruling makes it a criminal offense to own, operate or maintain skill games without a license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Most businesses that operate skill game terminals \u2014 including veteran halls, convenience stores and social clubs \u2014 won\u2019t be able to register them, as current law restricts slot machines to approved casinos and truck stop establishments.<\/p>\n The state police\u2019s guidance differs from what the manufacturers and owners of skill games have been telling businesses. According to Lena Keares, who operates K&S Games in Lancaster, the software that powers games will be turned off at the end of Oct. 13. Operators will then visit each venue to remove dongles, small pieces of hardware that allow games to run, from each machine.<\/p>\n The skill game terminals, Keares said, will stay put. She said Pace-o-Matic, the leading skill game manufacturer, communicated these plans with the state police and their business partners.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to be seized if there\u2019s no software,\u201d Keares said. \u201cIt is essentially just a wooden box.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania State Police did not respond to a follow-up question about whether removing the software from game terminals would allow businesses to comply with the law.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Vital revenue for Lancaster\u2019s social spaces<\/p>\n Businesses and nonprofits that host skill game terminals say the revenue from skill games<\/a> is essential for keeping them open.<\/p>\n Jim Drier, commander of American Legion Post 34 in Lancaster, said the post relies on skill game revenue. He estimates that they receive between $500 and $1,800 a month from three machines, which goes toward operations and charitable donations. He said if that revenue is lost, donations, staffing and other spending may be cut.<\/p>\n Drier hasn\u2019t personally played the games but has watched others take away up to $3,000 in winnings. He said he believes skill is required to win, not simply chance. Drier said the machines at Post 34 will lose their software at midnight of the deadline and then eventually be retrieved by the operator.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state police sent out these memos, and it made it sound like it\u2019s going to be Prohibition, and they\u2019re going to drag all the machines out in the parking lot and bash them with axes, but it\u2019s not going to be like that,\u201d Drier said.<\/p>\n Political gridlock<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania supreme court gave legislators 120 days to regulate or tax skill games and avoid a ban. The idea to tax or cap skill games has bipartisan support, but specific proposals are locked in partisan division. In August, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, an Indiana County Republican, said there hadn\u2019t been discussions between legislators<\/a> on a solution since July.<\/p>\n In February, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a statewide cap of 40,000 skill game machines and a 52% tax on gross terminal revenue in his budget. According to a report from the Independent Fiscal Office<\/a> on Shapiro\u2019s proposal, the tax would generate $487 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The revenue projections escalated to over a billion dollars annually for the following years due to a slow phase-in of the tax. The Pennsylvania Attorney General\u2019s Office<\/a> estimated there are 70,000 skill game machines in the state in June.<\/p>\n Pittman said Republicans supported Shapiro\u2019s proposal, and blamed Democrats\u2019 focus on transportation funding for the plan falling apart. In turn, Beth Rementer, spokesperson for House Democrats, said Republicans have had years to regulate skill games but failed to take action.<\/p>\n Sen. Chris Gebhard, a Republican serving Berks, Lancaster and Lebanon counties, introduced legislation in 2025 to tax skill games at a 35% rate. He said he believes skill game regulation will be the primary issue when legislators reconvene late in September.<\/p>\n
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