Businesses offering skill games in Pennsylvania secured a major win after a court decision last week. On Thursday, the Commonwealth Court in the state sided with a lower court’s decision that recognized winnings from skill games as legal, a report released by 8 WGAL reveals. Dauphin County’s court ruled 7-0 in favor of a previous ruling that acknowledged skill games are not slot machines. Moreover, the court’s decision recognized that skill games are not illegal gambling machines and cannot be seized by law enforcement, explaining that such games require hand and eye coordination rather than pure chance which is the case for slots.
The new decision represents a major win for businesses across Pennsylvania, including gas stations, bars and restaurants that currently offer skill games. Such games have proven to boost the revenues of businesses across the state while offering a new form of entertainment. Besides businesses, non-profit organizations can also continue to offer skill games, despite opposing parties claiming that such machines are similar to slots.
Mike Barley, the chief of public relations for Pace-O-Matic, a skill game manufacturer, revealed that the court’s latest decision reaffirms the legality of their product. He explained that this decision may pave the way for the taxation of such products. “We’re in a unique position where we have a legal product — the court has said so — and we’re saying, ‘Please come tax us. Please come regulate us.’ It’s not something you hear very often in Harrisburg, but we’re hoping to get some action,” he explained.
Opponents of Skill Games Disagree with the Court’s Decision
The latest court’s decision represents a signal for lawmakers to greenlight laws that regulate and tax skill gaming machines. Proposals filed in Pennsylvania called for a 16% tax on proceeds from skill gaming, a figure that is significantly lower when compared to the 54% tax casinos pay for their slots.
Despite the court’s decision, the future of skill games is not certain yet. This is because the state attorney general may consider appealing the Dauphin County court decision to the Supreme Court in Pennsylvania.
While the recent court decision brought excitement for businesses and skill games manufacturers, not everyone agreed with it. Pete Shelly, a spokesperson for a group against the expansion of skill games created by casino operators called Pennsylvanians Against Gaming Expansion, warned about the dangers of the expansion of skill games. He said that if lawmakers do not take action considering the new court’s decision, the state may be flooded with tens of thousands of skill games.