Skill games are slot machines under Pennsylvania law and must adhere to the commonwealth’s crime and gambling statutes, the state’s highest court ruled Monday.However, the ruling says that law enforcement can’t take any action for 120 days. That gives the legislature a four-month window to decide whether to regulate the machines, which have proliferated across the state in taverns, gas stations, and corner stores despite existing in a legal gray area. An estimated 70,000 machines are operating in Pennsylvania.Republicans who control the state Senate said the ruling makes addressing skill games a “critical piece” of resolving this year’s budget, while Democrats who lead the state House said the caucus is still reviewing the decision.Taxing skill games as part of a regulation scheme could eventually bring in more than $1 billion annually in much-needed revenue, according to the Independent Fiscal Office. Should the legislature fail to act, the devices would be subject to seizure by law enforcement.
There were two skill games cases before the court. The justices ruled on both together.One, a 2019 case in which a bar and skill games supplier filed a petition for return of property after police seized their machines, centered on the question of what the devices are: Do they involve enough luck to be considered gambling, or enough skill that an experienced player can consistently win?
