Pennsylvania State Police will start seizing unregistered skill game machines and filing criminal charges against the venues that keep them running from October 14. The agency has told operators to remove the devices together with all related equipment, ticket redemption terminals included.
Unplugging the machines does not meet the requirement. Police said a slot machine stays a slot machine even when it is switched off or temporarily disabled.
The raids follow a June ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that put skill machines in the same class as slot machines and moved them under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The terminals sit in bars, restaurants, gas stations, laundromats and grocery stores, while state law allows slots only at licensed casinos and truck-stop establishments. Distributors and manufacturers who refuse to take the machines back face criminal charges as well. Venues that keep operating them risk losing their gaming revenue, and alcohol licence holders can pick up administrative sanctions. Police advised operators to contact the agency when vendors refuse to collect the equipment.
Lawmakers had until October 13 to revise gambling legislation and set new tax and licensing terms for skill games. No agreement was reached. Proposals on the table covered tax rates, fees and limits on the number of machines per location. How the potential tax revenue would be split is still disputed, including a plan to direct part of it to public transport.
