A recent report from the Pennsylvania Lottery indicated unregulated “skill games,” which have proliferated in bars, fraternity clubs and retailers since 2017, have cost the state $650 million. Spokesperson Pete Shelly said,
“The lottery funds Meals on Wheels, affordable prescription drugs right to the doctor, tax abatement, rental support. Basically, lottery funds help seniors live longer, live better and live at home. All that’s on the table.”
He added skill games lead to crime and can endanger children, saying, “They have no safeguards. The safeguards in a casino versus the lack of, say, court safeguards surrounding these machines, could not be starker.”
Shelly stated the machines are illegal, according to the Pennsylvania State Police in a 2019 ruling. However, citing a 2014 Beaver County ruling, Pace-O-Matic Inc., a major skill games distributor, said the games are not illegal. Pace-O-Matic Chief Public Affairs Officer Mike Barley said, “Otherwise, how would there be so many out there?”
Barley said the games took in more than $4.7 billion from gamblers last year. He added, “Every dollar that’s made with seal games, over 92 percent stays with small businesses and 2 precent stays in the Commonwealth, staying in small business, and fraternal clubs. It’s literally been a lifeline, especially through COVID,” Barley said.
Legislation to legalize the games has been introduced in both the Pennsylvania House and Senate. Senate bill sponsor Gene Yaw said, “Regulating and taxing skill games not only supports small businesses but will also bring in annual revenue of more than $300 million to the state.”
Shelly noted, “They should be legalized before you start to talk about regulating them.”
In April, Pace-O-Matic filed suit against the Pennsylvania Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, for targeted harassment, collusion and conspiracy.
