Later this week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear arguments to decide whether so-called skill games are illegal — the latest turn in a long-running battle spurred by the proliferation of these machines across Pennsylvania.
While the Justices and the attorneys involved will focus on state law and a mountain of legal filings in the matter, the central question for the people of the Commonwealth is simple: should the rules around fairness, safety, and accountability, which currently apply to casino gaming, also apply to skill games?
Right now, an estimated 70,000 unlicensed and untaxed skill games — more than three times the number of regulated slot machines — are being operated across the state.
These machines have been tied to crimes across our state, including the murder of a store clerk in Hazleton that hosted skill games. Testimony offered in trial related to the killing made it clear that these games are a social menace.
Earlier this month, a Philadelphia jury returned a verdict of more than $15 million following the store clerk’s murder. The shooter — now serving a life sentence — entered the store to steal skill gaming money that was kept in cash in a small bag below the counter. The jury found that a man was killed for it, at least in part, because the skill game industry has failed to protect those that are operating these machines.
Skill games also have no protections for players. According to testimony by a compliance officer at the skill game company on trial, some unscrupulous operators do not even bother to pay customers their full winnings when they are successful on these machines.
That employee testified that, “often and still the stores would come up with ways to not pay someone who (won) a game.” Using excuses like “we don’t have the money here” or “you’ll have to wait until tomorrow or maybe Wednesday when the operator brings more money,” the skill game locations have refused to pay winnings.
He added that “ … some skill game locations will often try to convince players to take less cash today, instead of coming back another day when they might (or might not) get paid.”
Such situations would be out of the question at Pennsylvania’s regulated casinos. Every regulated gaming facility follows some of the most rigorous consumer-protection standards in the country. It is not even open for debate: customers are paid the full amounts of their winnings when they win. Every single win is honored — promptly and fully.
The industry is tightly regulated and supervised by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). The PGCB monitors every casino’s video surveillance system so there would be video evidence of such a transgression.
The PGCB also inspects and certifies every slot machine — and every other game — in licensed casinos. Payout percentages and machine integrity are monitored continuously. These regulations mandate surveillance and security measures, training, and licensing for gaming employees.
Skill-game operators, by contrast, are not required to verify winnings or ensure that their machines are fair. Their machines are cash-based and placed in locations unequipped to manage the risks associated with gambling.
And as the tragic Hazleton case demonstrated, these devices often create soft targets that put workers and customers in harm’s way.
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Pete Shelly is a Harrisburg-based consultant to Parx Casino.
