NEWS ABOUT SKILL GAMES IN PA
PA Skill applauds raid on illegal VGT mini-casino
Pace-O-Matic of Pennsylvania, which markets legal, court-adjudicated Pennsylvania Skill gaming devices, released the following statement regarding a massive seizure by law enforcement of illegal Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs) from an unregulated mini-casino in Berks County on August 20, 2020.
“Pennsylvania Skill has been pulling the alarm with regard to the issue of mini-casinos filled with illegal VGTs for over a year,” Pace-O-Matic of Pennsylvania Vice President Tom Marino stated. “We fully support law enforcement’s efforts to shut down these large gambling dens. These illegal games and massive gaming halls are located in strip malls across the Commonwealth."
Last year, Pace-O-Matic of Pennsylvania held press conferences and filed nuisance complaints against illegal mini-casinos. These types of places are not in the best interest of the Commonwealth and hurt legal, regulated casinos across Pennsylvania, as well as legal Pennsylvania Skill games and the small businesses in your district that financially benefit from them. Of note: One of the companies actively engaged in lobbying in favor of legislation legalizing VGTs in the Commonwealth had their illegal video gambling devices seized in this raid.
“Pennsylvania Skill works to ensure we operate in a manner that is fully compliant with the law. We employ a team of former Pennsylvania State Police officers, including those who worked directly in the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement, to ensure our operators and locations are complying fully with the law, regulations and terms and conditions of their contract. Pennsylvania Skill strongly supports legislation to regulate and apply an additional tax on legal games of skill. We will continue working with the legislature to seek regulation, additional taxation and strict enforcement.”
Pennsylvania Skill gaming devices are manufactured and distributed in Pennsylvania by Miele Manufacturing. To date, Pace-O-Matic, Miele Manufacturing, our Operators, and the small businesses we support have paid tens of millions of dollars in taxes to the state. Pennsylvania Skill also limits the maximum number of devices that can be placed at any one location and we do not allow our games to be located at a business that is solely designed to be a gambling hall.
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The Beaver County Court of Common Pleas previously ruled Pace-O-Matic's Pennsylvania Skill games legal, as games of predominant skill.
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Earlier this year, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that our games are presumptively legal.
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Last year, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania stated that our Pennsylvania Skill games are not regulated by the Gaming Act and are not slot machines.
IMPORTANT
Gracie Machines found to be illegal in Commonwealth Court.
For more information, click here.
Quick facts about skills games in PA
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Only two skill games have been approved by a court in Pennsylvania and can operate with out risk of criminal prosecution.
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Pennsylvania Skill video game by Pace-O-Matic.
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Red, White and Blue mechanical slot machine.
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A court ruling for Pace-O-Matic or Red, White, & Blue will only cover those machines. If a machine operator tells you that the machine they are using does the same thing and therefore is covered under that court ruling, they are wrong and being dishonest to you. They are putting you in harm's way of criminal prosecution.
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Many other game manufacturers are pushing so called "games of skill" that have never been approved by a Pennsylvania court. Just because the game says "Skill" on the outside it's what's inside that the courts use to determine if it's a gambling device or not. Don't be fooled by these so called "Skill Games."
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A number of so called "Skill Games" have been found by Pennsylvania courts to be in fact a gambling device. Despite these rulings, many of these machines are still being operated in locations in Pennsylvania by operators that don't mind putting location owners at risk of criminal prosecution. See the court rulings tab on this site for the case information on these company's found to be gambling devices.
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Along with the increase in illegal and non adjudicated skill games in Pennsylvania, we have also seen a resurgence of the old-style coin pusher games. These games have been determined to be gambling devices in two separate court cases in Pennsylvania. These new coin pushers seem to be designed to attract youth players to them by dispensing bright colored gum-balls and decorating the machines with popular cartoon characters. The court rulings on these types of machines can also be found on the court rulings tab on this web site.