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Physical skill games are functionally similar to slot machines and therefore illegal under state law, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled on Monday.
The state’s highest court’s verdict overturns two lower court rulings in 2023 and 2024 that had allowed the kind of skill gaming machines found in retail and hospitality locations to operate in a grey area.
Justice David Wecht’s opinion, issued on June 15, found skill games illegal under the Pennsylvania Gaming Act and the state’s Crimes Code. In particular, he found that an amendment made to the Gaming Act in 2017 that specified that the definitions of a skill or hybrid slot machine “make abundantly clear that the ‘skill’ element of the subject devices is not legally significant.”
“The Commonwealth Court’s interpretation of the governing statutes, upon which the legal status quo wholly depends, is deeply flawed,” wrote Wecht. “The Commonwealth Court was incorrect on both points. Under a plain reading of the law, ‘skill game’ devices are subject to both the Gaming Act and the Crimes Code. We accordingly reverse the orders of the Commonwealth Court … It is not this court that declares ‘skill games’ to be unlawful. Rather, it is the General Assembly that did so nearly a decade ago.”
The court’s judges split a 4-2 vote in favor of his opinion.
Sunday said in a public statement that the court decision represents a “significant victory for consumers, taxpayers and the rule of law in Pennsylvania.”
“The Supreme Court recognized what our office has argued from the beginning – these machines operate as gambling devices and cannot legally exist without the same oversight, regulation and accountability as other forms of legalized gaming in the Commonwealth,” Sunday added.
Judge Wecht also recognized that the court’s opinion is a legal verdict, not necessarily a recommended policy measure. He noted that Pennsylvania’s General Assembly may want to choose to pass legislation to regulate skill games rather than to ban them entirely, an idea which has been proposed in several pieces of legislation, including this year’s House Bill 2557 which currently resides in the Gaming Oversight Committee on June 1.
Meanwhile, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2026 executive budget proposal included a potential 52% tax on gross terminal revenues from skill games, which his office estimated could generate more than $2bn per year.
Physical skill games are functionally similar to slot machines and therefore illegal under state law, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled on Monday.
The state’s highest court’s verdict overturns two lower court rulings in 2023 and 2024 that had allowed the kind of skill gaming machines found in retail and hospitality locations to operate in a grey area.
Justice David Wecht’s opinion, issued on June 15, found skill games illegal under the Pennsylvania Gaming Act and the state’s Crimes Code. In particular, he found that an amendment made to the Gaming Act in 2017 that specified that the definitions of a skill or hybrid slot machine “make abundantly clear that the ‘skill’ element of the subject devices is not legally significant.”
“The Commonwealth Court’s interpretation of the governing statutes, upon which the legal status quo wholly depends, is deeply flawed,” wrote Wecht. “The Commonwealth Court was incorrect on both points. Under a plain reading of the law, ‘skill game’ devices are subject to both the Gaming Act and the Crimes Code. We accordingly reverse the orders of the Commonwealth Court … It is not this court that declares ‘skill games’ to be unlawful. Rather, it is the General Assembly that did so nearly a decade ago.”
The court’s judges split a 4-2 vote in favor of his opinion.
Pennsylvania AG Sunday hails ‘significant victory’
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office estimates there are roughly 70,000 skill game machines in operation in the state. State legislators and brick-and-mortar casinos have lobbied for the state to take a firm hand in restricting skill games, which are not subject to gambling taxes under Pennsylvania’s regulatory model.Sunday said in a public statement that the court decision represents a “significant victory for consumers, taxpayers and the rule of law in Pennsylvania.”
“The Supreme Court recognized what our office has argued from the beginning – these machines operate as gambling devices and cannot legally exist without the same oversight, regulation and accountability as other forms of legalized gaming in the Commonwealth,” Sunday added.
Judge Wecht also recognized that the court’s opinion is a legal verdict, not necessarily a recommended policy measure. He noted that Pennsylvania’s General Assembly may want to choose to pass legislation to regulate skill games rather than to ban them entirely, an idea which has been proposed in several pieces of legislation, including this year’s House Bill 2557 which currently resides in the Gaming Oversight Committee on June 1.
Meanwhile, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2026 executive budget proposal included a potential 52% tax on gross terminal revenues from skill games, which his office estimated could generate more than $2bn per year.