If a slot machine gives skillful players the ability to win every time, is it illegal under Pennsylvania’s Crimes Code and Gaming Law?
That was the question the state Supreme Court set out to answer Thursday in a pair of appeals by the commonwealth’s attorney general’s office and Department of Revenue.
“This court has been very clear,” Senior Deputy Attorney General Susan Affronti told the justices. “Gambling is the hope of gaining something beyond the amount played, and that’s what creates the dangers associated with gambling.”
The court has said in the past that a single feature, such as the memory game included in leading maker Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill games, can’t change the fundamental nature of a gambling device, Affronti, who argued for the attorney general’s office, added.
