Behind-the-scene efforts by lobbyists for the Parx Casino in Bensalem to get the Gaming Control Board to regulate skill games have come under scrutiny by Pennsylvania lawmakers, writes Angela Couloumbis for WPSU.

A recent Spotlight PA story highlighted a private meeting between the lobbyists and the state Gaming Control Board top officials over an issue relating to a major competitor that both parties failed to disclose. Following that story, State Sen. Gene Yaw and state Rep. Jared Solomon have asked both the state attorney general’s office and the state Ethics Commission to review the gaming board’s actions to ensure they were in compliance with the law.

“The people of Pennsylvania must have confidence that the regulatory bodies established by the Legislature are acting in good faith and following the law,” said Solomon.

Skill games have become increasingly popular at convenience stores and gas stations, among other locations, in the last decade. They resemble slot machines but unlike them, they are not regulated by the Gaming Control Board.

Now, some casino executives and their lobbyists are arguing that those machines are not legal and should be banned in the state.

Read more about the Parx Casino in WPSU.

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