Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the state Senate would regulate skill games and crack down on illegal gaming and nuisance locations.
Senate Bill 1079 would replace a proposed tax structure with a $500-per-skill-game-machine monthly fee. Revenue projections are approximately $300 million annually. Nearly half of the funding would be allocated to public transportation and infrastructure costs and the state’s Clean Streams Fund.
The bill also would strengthen penalties for those who operate unlicensed and illegal games and gambling devices. The regulatory framework requires games to be connected to a terminal collection and control system that allows the state to monitor all transactions.
Players would be required to have a valid ID. The number of machines per establishment would be limited, and the games can only be a secondary source of revenue for the establishment.
The bill would support Pennsylvania’s Stop-and-Go Legislative Taskforce to address broader concerns around nuisance establishments that operate outside the law. A stop-and-go is a business with restaurant or eating-place retail liquor licenses that operate as a convenience store or deli, but fails to maintain minimum requirements for licensure.
Sens. Gene Yaw (R-Bradford County) and Anthony Williams (D-Delaware/Philadelphia) introduced the bill.
“Communities across Pennsylvania have been asking us to take action on unregulated skill games and nuisance locations,” Williams said.