The push to regulate skill games in Pennsylvania is gathering steam, with a list of supporters that now include Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman. Spearheading the effort in the legislature is Senator Gene Yaw, whose bill now stands a good chance of making it through that chamber, at least, with the Republican leaders behind it. A number of other legislators have also called for the regulation of Pennsylvania skill games since the start of the year.
Ward and Pittman, along with other Senators, Chris Gebhard and Rosemary Brown, published a memo last week in support of skill games regulation. That follows a separate memo from Yaw earlier this month, highlighting the same goal.
The fact that lawmakers are addressing the topic so early in the legislative session indicates the importance of this issue.
Senate leaders weigh in on regulation debate
Skill machines have been a hot-button debate in the Keystone State for years. There are certainly pros and cons to both sides of the coin, which is what the Senate leaders alluded to in their memo.
They started out with the positives it brings to small businesses that can create another source of revenue. However, the negatives of the games can be solved with regulation. The memo reads:
“Without a regulatory structure in place, the Commonwealth cannot determine the number of machines that are operating across Pennsylvania, whether appropriate taxes are being remitted, and whether the payouts offered by these machines are fair to the player.
“Currently, these devices lack any enforceable age restriction and have no safeguards to prevent or address problem gaming issues and addiction.
“Furthermore, a large number of these machines operate in locations that lack security, surveillance, or on-site employees—rendering these cash-filled machines an attractive target for criminals and a dream for organized crimes’ money laundering efforts.”
The leaders went on to say it plans to employ the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) “to license and regulate a limited number of machines for operation at certain liquor-licensed and lottery-licensed establishments across the Commonwealth.”
There was no timetable mentioned on when legislation would be introduced, nor a tax structure discussed. However, the memo made clear that “fair and appropriate” taxes would be collected.
Numerous lawmakers, including Gov. Shapiro, are in on skill machines regulation
Just in 2025 alone, there has already been tremendous talk, and support, on regulating skill games in the Keystone State. Representative Danilo Burgos got the ball rolling just before 2025, publishing a memo on Dec. 30.
State Senator Patty Kim and Representative Justin Fleming from Dauphin County each favored skill games legislation earlier this month. Kim even confirmed Gov. Josh Shapiro‘s stance on the issue, too.
Gov. Shapiro included a tax structure in his 2024/2025 budget. Kim said Gov. Shapiro has not wavered on wanting the games taxed and regulated.
Yaw also plans on introducing legislation sometime soon, he said in a statement earlier this month.
The amount of support in skill games regulation could be moot if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decides to rule the machines as illegal. The other tricky part is that the House is under Democrat control. If they’d rather see the games get banned, it could create gridlock.
As of now, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. It could take the duration of 2025, or longer, to come to a conclusion regarding the machines one way or another.
