The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has overturned a Philadelphia city ordinance banning so-called “skill games” at city businesses.
The controversial machines, which resemble and pay out cash like slot machines but purport to involve a level of skill that contributes to winning, have long been opposed by Pennsylvania’s casino owners and the industry at large, because they are not required to undergo the strict regulatory and licensing requirements of slot machines and return no tax money to the states, and because they have no player protection guarantee such as responsible gaming measures.
However, skill game distributors, operators and Georgia-based Pace-O-Matic (POM), developer of the prominent game family branded as “Pennsylvania Skill,” have won several court decisions overturning law-enforcement seizures of the game.
This latest decision addresses a ban on skill games passed in March by Philadelphia City Council and signed by Mayor Cherelle Parker. The ban was challenged in a lawsuit filed by skill game distributor G&B Amusements and local gas station owner Harry Sandhu, who operates the games. A Common Pleas Court judge upheld the ban and denied a motion for an injunction to prevent enforcement of the ordinance.
In holding for the skill-game operators in a ruling issued Dec. 6, Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia A. McCullough cited a former court decision that held games not located in regular casinos are not subject to the state’s gaming laws. “As the law stands today, POM games that are located outside of regulated facilities are neither illegal nor regulated,” McCullough wrote.
