More calls to bring skill games out of the legal ‘gray area’

(The Center Square) – Calls grow on both sides of the political aisle to bring the lucrative skill games industry out of the legal shadows.

The latest proposal, soon to be introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, acknowledges that not doing so leaves hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on the table.

Rep. Danilo Burgos circulated a cosponsorship memo earlier this week that would charge establishments with skill game terminals – typically social clubs, gas stations and taverns – $500 per month per machine, sending $300 million back to the commonwealth each year.

Burgos and other supporters point to a state court ruling that differentiates skill games from similar-looking slot machines because winning requires strategy, not just luck. This means that regulating them the same as slot machines, which pay a 54% tax rate, doesn’t make sense. Nor does ignoring it.

“This is about more than just rules – it’s about making sure these games contribute to the state they call hom...