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Pennsylvania Businesses Warned to Remove Skill Games or Risk Law Enforcement Action
Posted on: September 29, 2026, 12:39h.
Last updated on: September 29, 2026, 12:39h.
Key Points
- Pennsylvania businesses have until Oct. 14 to physically remove an estimated 70,000 skill games before the state Supreme Court’s 120-day stay expires
- Attorney General Dave Sunday warned that law enforcement could seize and forfeit the machines, related equipment and money, with possible criminal charges
- Despite bipartisan interest in regulating skill games, no legislation has cleared a committee with just 15 days remaining before the court ruling takes effect
Pennsylvania businesses housing slot machines disguised as skill games face law enforcement action if the gambling devices are not removed from their premises by Oct. 14, 2026. That’s the date the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 120-day stay on its June ruling that skill games are slot machines expires.
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania State Police reminded businesses across the commonwealth that the estimated 70,000 skill games still operating must not only be powered off but physically removed from businesses by Oct. 14. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday today (Sept. 29) doubled down on the warning, saying law enforcement could seize the machines from businesses that remain noncompliant.
We do not want to see searches and seizures at storefronts or bar, social club, and restaurant establishments. We would much rather business owners and social clubs comply with the law and take steps to get these illegal devices out of their places of business,” said Sunday.
“Collaborating with our law enforcement partners, my office will act in accordance with the law, which prohibits these machines outside of licensed gaming facilities,” Sunday added.
Skill Games Are Slot Machines… For Now
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that an element of skill involved in a game that is otherwise based on chance does not exempt the device from the Pennsylvania Gaming Act. As such, the high court ruled that skill games are slot machines and can only operate inside a facility licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Thousands of small businesses, from convenience and grocery stores to restaurants and bars, continue to house skill games. The games, most commonly branded Pennsylvania Skill, were credited with saving many small businesses during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as the revenue helped fend off inflation and keep workers employed.
The skill game industry has asked to be taxed and regulated, though at a rate far below the 55% tax that Pennsylvania casinos pay on their slot revenue.
State lawmakers in Harrisburg on both sides of the aisle have expressed a willingness to create a legal framework for skill games. But with only 15 days remaining before businesses are to remove skill games, and no legislation yet clearing a committee in the General Assembly, it’s unlikely that a legislative solution will come before the Supreme Court’s ruling comes into force.
Business Receives No Guidance
The owner of a small chain of grocery stores in Pennsylvania spoke with Casino.org about skill games. The businessman said his skill games remain powered on, and that he hadn’t heard from Pace-O-Matic (POM) or Miele Manufacturing, the companies behind the Pennsylvania Skill games, about what to do with the cabinets and terminals.
Sunday’s guidance said law enforcement action “may include seizing and forfeiting the machines, associated equipment and money associated with the operation of the machines, and/or filing criminal charges where deemed appropriate.”
“Distributors, vendors, and manufacturers refusing to remove their slot machines from businesses are reminded of the potential for criminal charges should they continue to maintain devices for operation,” Sunday said.
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