Pennsylvania Has Six Session Days to Save 70,000 Skill Games From Seizure

The Supreme Court's stay runs out on 13 October and state police will start seizing machines the next day. Three rival bills, a proposed six-month delay and no agreed tax rate are waiting for lawmakers when they return on Monday.

• Pennsylvania's House and Senate return on 28 September with six voting session days scheduled before the 13 October deadline set by the state Supreme Court, Spotlight PA reports
• The court ruled in June that skill games are slot machines under the Gaming Act and criminal law, and state police say machines outside licensed venues can be seized from 14 October
• An industry-backed bill would charge $500 a month per terminal with a cap of 50,000 machines, while Representative Russ Diamond proposes a 20% tax, five machines per venue and a cut in casino and online slot tax to 49.9%
• Representative Brad Roae is seeking co-sponsors for a six-month extension, saying a full bill is "unlikely" by the deadline
• About 70,000 machines operate in bars, clubs and shops, and the legislature has made no public move on them since the summer recess

Eighteen Days, Six Voting Days

Pennsylvania's General Assembly returns to Harrisburg on Monday 28 September, and both chambers have six session days scheduled before the state Supreme Court's stay expires on 13 October, Spotlight PA reports. In June the court ruled that the "skill" machines made by Pace-O-Matic and others are subject to the Gaming Act and the criminal gambling laws, and gave lawmakers 120 days to legislate before the ruling takes effect.

Pennsylvania State Police have told businesses what happens next. From 14 October, any such machine found outside a casino or truck stop licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board can be confiscated, along with associated equipment and money, and hosts may face criminal charges. "Simply powering off an otherwise operable machine or unplugging them is not sufficient to comply with the law," the police guidance says, according to CDC Gaming. An estimated 70,000 machines sit in bars, taverns, restaurants, social clubs and other premises across Pennsylvania.

Leaders in both chambers say they want to act. "The Supreme Court ruling gave us great clarity. I do believe the legislature should act before the Oct. 14 deadline," Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman told Spotlight PA. "I believe we should have acted in June." House Speaker Joanna McClinton said the machines "absolutely" should be taxed, and House Majority Leader Matt Bradford said "the contours of a final agreement have been known to all parties for months," adding that the House still awaited Senate action.

Three Proposals, No Agreement

The industry-backed option is Senate Bill 1079, from Senators Gene Yaw and Anthony Williams, with its House companion HB 2213 from Representative Danilo Burgos. It would have the Department of Revenue regulate the machines, charge $500 a month for each terminal, allow up to 50,000 statewide and let local governments set standards for host premises; backers estimate $300 million a year in revenue.

Russ Diamond, a Republican from Lebanon County, has circulated a two-bill package that would tax skill games at 20% of gross terminal revenue and limit them to five per location in clubs, liquor-licensed bars and restaurants and qualifying truck stops. It would also cut the tax on casino slot machines to 49.9% and set 49.9% for all online casino games, against a current 54% on online slots, and direct the proceeds to a property tax "gaming dividend" for homeowners. Governor Josh Shapiro proposed a 52% tax on skill games earlier this year, but it was left out of the fiscal 2027 budget.

The third option is delay. Brad Roae, a Republican from Crawford County, is seeking support for a six-month extension. "It is unlikely that legislation to make skill games legal, establish a tax rate, establish regulations, and decide how to spend the revenue will get done by October 13," he wrote in his co-sponsorship memo. Pace-O-Matic says inaction threatens the veterans' posts, fire companies and fraternal clubs that host the machines; Pennsylvanians Against Gaming Expansion, a casino-backed group, declined to comment to Spotlight PA.

The Tax Rate Is a Proxy for Who Wins the Next Decade of Pennsylvania Gaming

The gap between the proposals is not technical. A $500 monthly fee on 50,000 machines is a flat charge that rewards the busiest terminals, while a 20% rate on revenue is a fraction of the 54% casinos pay on slots, which is why Diamond pairs it with a cut for the casinos. Either way, legalising tens of thousands of lightly taxed machines in bars would compete directly with casino slot floors that pay among the highest rates in the United States, and the casinos have fought that outcome for a decade. The court has changed the default. Until June, doing nothing left skill games operating in a grey area; after 13 October, doing nothing makes them contraband, so inaction now favours the casinos rather than the machine makers.

An Extension Is the Likeliest Outcome, and It Has a Cost

Six session days, an election in November that will decide control of the General Assembly, and a dispute over how to spend the money make a full framework unlikely before 13 October. An extension would itself have to pass both chambers and be signed by the governor, and it would do little to clarify the position of the thousands of hosts who have to decide now whether to remove machines. If no extension passes either, the state police's own guidance means seizures can begin on 14 October. For operators in the licensed market, the practical question is whether a deal, when it comes, trades lower casino taxes for legal skill games.

Pennsylvania's lawmakers have known this deadline since June. The next six session days will show whether they regulate the machines, delay again, or let the police decide.