A space dedicated exclusively to skill games on the corner of West Fourth and Pine streets in Williamsport on Oct. 6, left, and on Oct. 7, right, with the Oct. 13 deadline of the machines' removal fast approaching.
A space dedicated exclusively to skill games on the corner of West Fourth and Pine streets in Williamsport on Oct. 6, left, and on Oct. 7, right, with the Oct. 13 deadline of the machines' removal fast approaching.
Harrisburg, Pa. — The state Attorney General’s Office is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reject a last-minute bid to delay its skill games ruling, which takes effect Tuesday.
State Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming, Sen. Anthony H. Williams, D-Philadelphia, and Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne, petitioned the court Wednesday to extend its 120-day stay through Feb. 10, 2027. They argue they need more time to pass compromise legislation to license, tax, and regulate the machines.
The court ruled June 15 that skill games, including Pennsylvania Skill machines made by Miele Manufacturing in Muncy Township, are slot machines under state law. It delayed enforcement for 120 days, and that stay expires Oct. 13. According to state police guidance cited in the filings, establishments with the machines face criminal prosecution and seizure starting Oct. 14, along with possible citations against their liquor licenses.
POM of Pennsylvania, the Pace-O-Matic affiliate behind Pennsylvania Skill, filed in support of the extension Thursday. The company argued that a wave of seizures would tie up the very machines a new law would regulate. It also attached a letter signed by 54 House members, including area Reps. Jamie Flick, Joe Hamm, David Rowe, Martin Causer, and Mike Armanini, that acknowledges the legislature isn’t likely to meet the deadline.
Twenty veterans’ posts, social clubs, and fire company organizations from central Pennsylvania also asked to weigh in, saying the machines’ revenue keeps many of them open. Their brief cites NorthcentralPa reporting that one manufacturer’s devices are in 112 Lycoming County locations, including 22 private clubs.
The Attorney General’s Office countered that the request comes too late and that the three lawmakers lack standing to make it. The legislature has known since June that the machines are illegal, the office argued, and the compromise bill still hasn’t been introduced.
“Responsible operators across the Commonwealth have made arrangements to prepare for this day by disabling devices and removing them from commercial establishments,” Chief Deputy Attorney General Susan E. Affronti wrote.
The office also called POM’s claim that state police told businesses to destroy their machines “false.”
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