The Pennsylvania State Police introduced a public channel for reporting suspected illegal skill game operations after an enforcement deadline on 14 October. Police said switching off or unplugging a machine does not constitute its removal, and businesses that retain the machines face possible seizures and criminal charges.
Businesses with the machines face enforcement action if they do not remove them after the deadline.
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Pennsylvania lawmakers and industry groups sought to extend a court pause due to expire on 13 October. Their petitions seek more time before authorities can seize skill game machines. Governor Josh Shapiro supports a 52% tax, while state Treasurer Stacy Garrity proposes a $500 monthly charge for each machine.
Pennsylvania lawmakers and industry groups have asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to extend a pause that was due to expire on 13 October, according to a report. The petitions seek more time before authorities can seize skill game machines. The court imposed a 120-day pause after ruling on 15 June that skill games fall under the state's Gaming Act and Crimes Code, meaning operators must be licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Reportedly, Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering HB 2801, which would prohibit sweepstakes casinos and regulate skill game machines. Representative Russ Diamond introduced the bill, which reached the House Gaming Oversight Committee on 24 September. The proposal also addresses gaming taxes and revenue distribution; no hearing or vote had been scheduled.
House Bill 2801, sponsored by Representative Russ Diamond, was sent to the House Gaming Oversight Committee on 24 September. The General Assembly's most recent recorded action shows the proposal still in committee, with neither a hearing nor a vote arranged. The measure would ban sweepstakes casinos and set up rules and taxes for skill game machines.
Pennsylvania Representative Russ Diamond is seeking backing for a skill games regulatory framework with a 20% tax. Lawmakers face a 13 October safe-harbour deadline following a state Supreme Court ruling concerning the machines.
It was reported that Pennsylvania law enforcement is preparing to act when a court stay expires on 13 October. The state Supreme Court found skill machines illegal, but officials are waiting to see whether legislators create a regulatory framework.
Pennsylvania’s pause on skill-game enforcement expired without legislation after a June Supreme Court ruling. State Police warned venues of machine seizures and criminal charges. DeLeo Games said it had an agreement to collect disabled cabinets by 4 November without proactive seizure while its conditions were met, not permission to operate them.
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania had 120 days to pass rules covering skill games, and that period ran out on Tuesday with no bill in place. As a result, the terminals have been unlawful across the state since Wednesday. The deadline stemmed from a June ruling by the state Supreme Court that treated the devices as illegal slot machines. Enforcement was held back for 120 days so the legislature could weigh rules administered by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), yet no measure emerged before the window closed.