PA Commonwealth Court Reaffirms Pennsylvania Skill Devices are Not Regulated by Gaming Code

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pace-O-Matic of Pennsylvania (POM of PA), the entity that markets Pennsylvania Skill games, once again received a decisive win in Commonwealth Court on Wednesday when this court blocked the Bureau of Liquor Control & Enforcement's (BLCE) appeal of its recent loss that the Gaming Act does not apply to skill games.

In refusing to allow BLCE to appeal its Gaming Act loss, Commonwealth Court ratified its earlier decision and effectively concluded there is no debate that the Gaming Act does not apply to skill games.

'This is a significant ruling," said Mike Barley, spokesman for POM of PA. "We have said from the start that our machines are games of skill -- not gambling devices -- and should not be regulated under the Gaming Act. The court has now agreed with us twice." 
Click here to read the original opinion.

The Beaver County Court of Common Pleas previously ruled Pace-O-Matic's Pennsylvania Skill games legal, as games of predominant skill. Click here to read that decision.

Games of skill give players the ability to learn the games, the more they play the better their ability to win. Gambling, by comparison, is all chance.

Barley added that POM of PA agrees with the state, including the Pennsylvania State Police, that illegal games are a problem in the state. POM of PA is pushing to see legislation pass in the General Assembly creating enforcement, accountability and a taxation system benefiting the commonwealth.

"These two rulings show that POM of PA games are on solid ground," said Barley, "and we are doing everything we can to help the state put a system in place that rids communities of illegal gaming."

SOURCE Pace-O-Matic