Pa. Supreme Court rules skill games should be considered slot machines

Key Points:

• The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that skill games, slot-machine lookalikes found widely in bars and stores, are legally slot machines and should be regulated and taxed as such under state gambling laws.
• The ruling includes a 120-day safe harbor period before enforcement begins, allowing lawmakers time to potentially amend legislation; if unchanged, the estimated 70,000 machines must be regulated and confined to licensed casino locations.
• Skill game operators like Pace-O-Matic expressed concern that the ruling could harm small businesses reliant on these games for revenue, warning that heavy regulation and taxation may force them to cease operations.
• Governor Josh Shapiro proposed taxing skill games at the same 52% rate as slot machines, projecting nearly $766 million in new state revenue in the first year to help address budget needs.
• The decision has bipartisan support among lawmakers seeking gaming reform as part of the state budget, while Philadelphia has banned skill games locally due to crime concerns, and legal cases continue involving violence linked to these machines.