Pennsylvania skill games now illegal as 120-day legislative window closes without a regulatory bill

Tens of thousands of skill games in Pennsylvania bars, corner stores and other small businesses became illegal on Wednesday, after a 120-day window for lawmakers to pass regulation expired on Tuesday without action.

In June, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the slot-like machines are illegal slots rather than games of skill, and therefore not exempt from state gambling regulation. The decision overturned several lower court wins for the games. The court had paused enforcement for 120 days so legislators could draft a bill placing the machines under the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, but no such law was passed. State police have now said businesses still operating skill games face seizures and criminal charges.

The state says that only licensed casinos and qualifying licensed truck stop establishments may legally operate slot machines or video gaming terminals, and only machines inspected and approved by the PGCB may be used in licensed locations. A PGCB spokesman told iGB that, contrary to some local reports, casinos and truck stops cannot keep or install skill games even if the board inspects them.

The machines resemble casino slots, with spinning reels and symbols, but typically add a skill-based second phase of play. Pennsylvania had become one of the largest skill game markets in the US. The state has about 25,000 regulated casino slots, while estimates for skill games range from 50,000 to more than 70,000. Casino slots are taxed at 54%, whereas skill games were untaxed and unregulated, a point the casino industry had long raised in its legal fight.

The regulated market remains large. In the first two months of the 2026-27 fiscal year, Pennsylvania slots generated $427 million in gross revenue and $145 million in state taxes, according to the PGCB. Video gaming terminals at truck stops added $6.7 million in revenue and $2.8 million in taxes.

The outcome was seen as unexpected, since a legislative compromise had long been anticipated. Two proposed bills, HB 2213 and SB 1079, would set a $500 monthly fee per terminal and cap the total at 50,000 units, which proponents estimate would raise $300 million a year. Neither has gained traction, and the two-year legislative session is due to adjourn on 30 November.

Gaming attorney Susan Hensel, a former PGCB director of licensing, said in July that many businesses had come to rely on skill game revenue for profitability and, in some cases, survival, and that lawmakers were likely hearing from them. She had predicted a compromise would be reached within the window.