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PA leaves money on the table as skill games proliferate

  • Writer: Amy Ruffo
    Amy Ruffo
  • Jul 26
  • 2 min read

Updated: Jul 27

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Skill game machines that offer opportunities for video-facilitated game playing in gas stations, convenience stores, and other retail facilities across Pennsylvania are at the center of a fierce political conflict that, if unresolved, will leave the state unable to gain several hundred million dollars in new revenue this year.


Unlike slot machines, in which the amount that a player receives is based purely on chance, skill games reward a player based on performance in completing the game. Also unlike slot machines, skill games in Pennsylvania are not subject to the same licensing and taxation requirements that apply to slot machines. In 2023, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania found that skill game machines “are not slot machines as commonly defined” and “are not gambling devices per se.” 


Should skill games be taxed? According to Franklin and Marshall’s Center for Opinion Research, 60 percent of respondents to  a 2024 survey question expressed agreement that skill games should be “regulated and taxed like casino-based games” (31 percent were somewhat opposed or strongly opposed). Skill games taxation at the 52% level currently paid by PA casinos would generate an estimated $369 million in new revenue during the first year of taxation, according to Governor Shapiro’s 2025 budget presentation. 


Between April and June 2025, four bills calling for licensing and taxation of skill games were introduced, two in each chamber of the legislature: HB1141 and HB1619 were referred to the Gaming Oversight Committee; and SB626 and SB756 were referred to the Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee. But as both chambers recessed for the summer, none of these bills had been considered in committee,  apparently due to legislative leaders’ inability to overcome disagreements involving representatives of the skill game industry (who favor lighter regulation and taxation), casino and horse racing interests (some of whom favor an outright ban on skill games), and legislators representing districts where many retail businesses depend on skill games as a revenue source.



The skills game conflict is not between PA’s two chambers or two major parties. Instead, it seems evidence of the undue influence of industry lobbies and donors, who invest large sums in PA politics and in return demand specific policy outcomes. As budget negotiations drag on “with no skill games policy in place, key questions of public safety and  appropriate regulation remain unresolved , with millions in potential tax revenue  unrealized.


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