Pennsylvania Court Will Decide Whether Skill Game Terminals are Gambling Machines
By: Mark Scolforo and Marc Levy
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court will determine whether cash-paying electronic game terminals prevalent in convenience stores and bars are unlicensed gambling machines requiring shutdown. The decision could establish lasting legal standards for these machines, which manufacturers claim rely on skill rather than chance.
Speaking with The Associated Press, Christopher Carusone, who represents Champions Sports Bar, highlighted the significance of these machines to the bar and restaurant industry in Pennsylvania, “They were a lifeline for these businesses coming out of the pandemic.”
Pennsylvania’s highest court will decide whether the cash-paying electronic game terminals that have become commonplace in convenience stores, bars and elsewhere are unlicensed gambling machines and, as a result, must be shut down.
The state Supreme Court said this week that it will consider an appeal by the attorney general’s office of a lower-court decision that found that what are often called skill games are based on a player’s ability — and not solely on chance, like slot machines and other traditional gambling games.
For years, the state has maintained that the devices are unlicensed gambling machines that are operating illegally and subject to seizure by police. Machine makers, distributors and retailers contend they are legal, if unregulated, games that are not subject to state gambling control laws.
