A Virginia Senate subcommittee rejected bills to legalise online casino gambling and regulate electronic skill games. It approved a separate measure to establish a Virginia Gaming Commission by an 8-0 vote; that bill now goes to the full Senate Finance Committee.
The bill outcomes shape the prospects for online casino regulation and a new state gaming authority.
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Pennsylvania businesses and nonprofits were required to remove skill-game terminals by Wednesday after lawmakers failed to agree on regulation, according to reports. The state Supreme Court ruled in June that the machines count as slot machines and are unlawful without licences, then gave lawmakers 120 days to establish a regulatory system. State police warned that remaining terminals could be seized and owners prosecuted.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruling classifying skill game devices as illegal slot machines ends their legal operation after 13 October. From 14 October, businesses hosting an estimated 70,000 terminals risk raids, seizures and criminal prosecution.
Pennsylvania lawmakers have issued matching memoranda proposing a framework to keep skill game machines operating. The outlet said businesses must remove the machines by 13 October 2026, but attributed the underlying ruling to Virginia’s Supreme Court.
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have released two matching co-sponsorship memoranda, House Memo 49310 and Senate Memo 49312, proposing a regulatory framework to keep skill game machines in operation, according to the memoranda. The proposals come ahead of a removal deadline of 13 October 2026 for businesses hosting the machines.
York State Fair organisers plan to offer skill-game machines for cash prizes when the event opens on 24 July 2026, reportedly. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in June that the games constitute illegal gambling under state law, but allowed a temporary stay through 27 October 2026.
It was reported that Pennsylvania lawmakers left skill game regulation and taxation out of the 2026–27 budget. The state Supreme Court had ruled the previous month that the machines are illegal slots.