A bill that would give local municipalities the power to veto truck-stop video gaming terminals by resolution, even where they have been licensed by the state Gaming Control Board, has cleared committee in the Pennsylvania State Senate. It will now be slated for a floor vote, expected by June.
The bill, sponsored by Republican state Senators Scott Martin and Ryan Aument, would allow municipalities in third-class counties such as York, Chester and Lancaster to prohibit video gaming terminals through a resolution.
The VGTs, created by the 2017 gaming expansion law, gives Pennsylvania locations qualifying as truck stops the right to offer up to five of the video slots each. The law has been challenged by Lancaster County and rural townships such as West Hempfield and Strasburg Borough, which have sued to prevent Rutter’s convenience stores from adding VGTs.
Several Lancaster County public officials have complained that the VGT program, unlike the mini-casinos created under the 2017 law, does not include an opt-out provision for local municipalities to ban the new activity by local vote. The new bill would provide that ability.
