2014 — BEAVER COUNTY COURTThe court found that the Pennsylvania Skill machine at issue was predominantly based on skill rather than chance and was not a gambling device under the specific law considered in that case.
2019 — COMMONWEALTH COURTThe court issued a decision involving Pace-O-Matic and determined that the Pennsylvania Gaming Act did not cover the specific unlicensed skill games addressed in that case.
2023 — DAUPHIN COUNTY COURT AND COMMONWEALTH COURTBoth courts considered whether particular Pennsylvania Skill machines were illegal gambling devices under the Crimes Code. The rulings favored the position that the machines were predominantly skill-based under the evidence presented.
These decisions did not necessarily establish that every skill game was legal statewide. However, they gave many operators a reasonable basis to believe that the machines involved in those cases were lawful.
JUNE 15, 2026 — PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURTThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed the earlier Commonwealth Court rulings and held that the machines at issue were subject to Pennsylvania’s Gaming Act and Crimes Code.
The Court also recognized that businesses and operators had relied on the earlier decisions and granted a temporary stay to allow time for the ruling’s effects to be addressed.
OUR MESSAGE IS SIMPLE:
For years, Pennsylvania businesses relied on court decisions that supported the legality of particular skill games. We are not asking to operate above the law, and we recognize that the Supreme Court’s ruling changed the legal landscape.
We are asking the General Assembly to establish clear, fair regulation and taxation that protects Pennsylvania jobs, small businesses, consumers, and communities while providing appropriate oversight.
SAVE PENNSYLVANIA JOBS. SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES. PURSUE FAIR REGULATION OF PENNSYLVANIA SKILL GAMES.