Pennsylvania Casinos Behind Statewide Effort to Ban Skill Gaming Machines
Pennsylvania casinos are behind a statewide effort to convince local municipalities to pass ordinances banning controversial skill-based gaming machines. The Eckert Seamans law firm has been hired by Parx Casino near Philadelphia to send out letters to municipalities in counties where one of the existing 12 casinos are located. In total, attorney Mark Stewart, who specializes in legal gaming matters, says a letter was sent to roughly 600 local governments.
The Middletown Borough Council said it was unaware that the letter was on behalf of Parx. The council said only Stewart’s name was attached to the document, which urged the borough to pass an ordinance that deems skill gaming terminals a nuisance and therefore illegal.
Parx Casino isn’t alone in fighting the controversial gaming machines commonly found in Keystone State bars, restaurants, VFWs and other social clubs, and convenience stores. The 11 other licensed casino operators are backing the Pennsylvania State Police’s request that the General Assembly enact legislation declaring the skill-based terminals unlawful. State Police have been instructed to halt their raids on establishment with such machines.
Manufacturers and distributors of the machines say the element of skill is what differentiates them from slot machines. Unlike slots, where chance is the only factor in determining whether a play wins or loses, the skill machines require the player to identify a winning payline. Pace-O-Matic (POM), a skill machine manufacturer based in Georgia that is responsible for distributing many of the common gaming devices in Pennsylvania, says several courts have ruled in its favor.
