Video skill machines have become a fixture in convenience stores, bars and standalone parlors across Pennsylvania and as their legality endures judicial scrutiny in state and federal courts, lawmakers in the General Assembly are weighing regulation of an industry with revenues presumed to exceed $1 billion.
Because skill games operators conduct business beyond established gaming laws in Pennsylvania, which is part of the pending legal cases, there are only estimates of how many machines are in operation and how much money is generated.
Kevin O’Toole, executive director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, surmised the machines bring in $1.562 billion annually, citing potential tax revenue estimates of $250 million along with a proposed 16 percent tax rate included in a bill introduced by Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Union/Lycoming/Bradford/Sullivan/Tioga.
