HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — As the Oct. 13 deadline looms, a group of Pennsylvania lawmakers are hoping to buy more time to pass skill games regulations.
In a petition filed Tuesday, the state lawmakers asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to push the deadline back to Feb. 10, 2027.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that skill games are considered “slot machines” under the Gaming Act, giving legislators 120 days to enact a licensing, taxation and regulatory framework.
Once that deadline passes, law enforcement will be free to confiscate machines.
Machines like this could be seized by law enforcement if state lawmakers fail to pass legislation before the deadline. (WHP file)
Small businesses, nonprofits, VFWs and volunteer fire departments, which rely on skill-game revenue, have called on lawmakers to pass legislation before time runs out.
READ MORE | Skill games deadline leaves Pennsylvania businesses in limbo
Senators Gene Yaw and Anthony Williams, who filed the petition, have proposed legislation that they say would support both the state and the businesses that rely on skill-game revenue.
The proposed bill, which has not been formally introduced as of Thursday, would enact a $500 monthly fee per terminal, which would add up to an estimated $700 million in additional revenue for Pennsylvania.
This revenue would be allocated to supporting roads, bridges and public transit, as well as to support fire departments and EMS.
The proposal would also enact regulations like monitoring, independent audits, age verification and state oversight, according to a memo.
“Petitioners do not seek the extension because law enforcement agencies are unable to enforce existing law,” the lawmakers wrote in the petition. “They seek it because widespread seizure and impoundment of devices in the weeks before enactment would make prompt implementation of the legislation materially more difficult.”
The Supreme Court has not yet filed a response to the petition.