Representatives in Pennsylvania this week introduced legislation that would ban “skill” slot machines in the state.
Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, D-Delaware/Montgomery, and Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berk, introduced the bill.
“In addition to preying on users of the machines, skill games also steal money that should be going to Pennsylvania Lottery programs that support programs for our senior citizens,” Rozzi said in a statement. “These games also divert casino patrons and negatively affect legal slot machine revenue. Given the 52% tax rate on slot machine revenue, this reduces payments to the Property Tax Relief Fund, the Race Horse Development Fund, and the economic development and local share accounts that routinely help pay for important local projects and the operations of numerous non-profit agencies, including volunteer fire companies and other public safety agencies.”
Cappelletti and Rozzi stated that unsanctioned gambling devices routinely attract serious criminal and other negative activity that the Pennsylvania General Assembly specifically sought to avoid through passage of the Gaming Act in 2004. Amendments to the Gaming Act in 2010 and 2017 further established that gaming should occur only in regulated and controlled environments.
“These gaming machines can be found in convenience stores, restaurants, malls, gas stations, and other places of business throughout Pennsylvania,” Cappelletti said. “Despite the illusion that the state has oversight, there are no consumer-protection measures, prevention of play by minors, assistance for problem gamblers, money-laundering controls, or other regulations protecting Pennsylvanians from these predatory machines.”
The legislation, currently circulating for co-sponsors, is a companion bill to Cappelletti’s S.B. 969. Both pieces of legislation would amend Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (Crimes and Offenses) to incorporate the definition of a “slot machine” as set forth in the Gaming Act. In the 2017 amendments to the Gaming Act, the definition of a slot machine was expanded to include all forms of skill games. Under Section 5513 of Title 18, slot machines in the Commonwealth are illegal unless they fit within certain narrow exceptions, including machines authorized by the Gaming Control Board for placement in regulated casino facilities.
