Stacy Garrity stood alongside skill game operators at a rally in Green Tree borough on Saturday, telling a crowd of bar, gas station and convenience store owners that Governor Josh Shapiro does not care about their financial survival. The gathering came just days after Pennsylvania's statewide ban on the machines took effect, leaving business owners scrambling to figure out how to replace lost income and, in some cases, whether they can keep their doors open at all.
The ban traces back to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that the machines are legally slot machines under the state's Gaming Act. According to pennlive.com, the court issued that decision on June 15, and state lawmakers never struck a deal to tax and regulate the machines before the deadline that followed. Pennsylvania businesses were required to remove their skill games by October 14, and the Pennsylvania State Police have warned, per witf.org, that any unlicensed establishment still operating machines on or after that date may be fined or face criminal charges.
Operators who spoke to KDKA-TV described the toll in blunt terms. Kish Patel, who owns 20 gas stations and convenience stores in western Pennsylvania, said the machines generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for his businesses and that the ban will force layoffs. Jay Barto, who owns two local bars, said he may end up closing his businesses and retiring depending on how the next few weeks unfold, adding that the situation could leave his employees without jobs. “I hate being put in this position,” Barto said, according to the station's report.
Nonprofits and Veterans Posts Also Losing Income
The financial strain is not limited to for-profit businesses. The Dillsburg VFW removed five skill-game machines whose profits had helped cover employees' pay, building maintenance and community donations, witf.org reported. The Steelton American Legion expects to lose roughly $100,000 in annual income now that its machines are gone, pennlive.com reported. Skill-game operators, manufacturers and former host venues are restructuring across the state now that lawmakers failed to regulate the industry before the deadline, per the same witf.org account.
The devices had grown steadily more popular across Pennsylvania over the past decade, according to inquirer.com, and estimates of how many were in circulation statewide vary: pennlive.com put the figure at least 70,000, while an industry estimate cited by wesanews.org used 50,000. Spotlightpa.org reported that the machines are beginning to disappear from businesses and social clubs statewide as the deadline takes hold.
Garrity and Shapiro Clash Over Taxes and Blame
At the rally, Garrity told the crowd that Shapiro had years to fix the issue and accused him of using a divided legislature as an excuse for inaction. She criticized him for waiting for a bill to reach his desk even with the deadline just a week away at the time, and argued that bridging Pennsylvania's political divide requires actual leadership — pointing to her own treasury office, where she said half the staff are Democrats and half are Republicans, and where she said records had been broken under her tenure. “A leader should solve issues and bring stakeholders together,” she told the crowd, according to KDKA-TV.
Shapiro has said he has been consistent on the skill games issue for years. He has urged lawmakers to pass legislation allowing roughly 45,000 skill game machines to be regulated, and he said the Pennsylvania House of Representatives supported his plan while the Republican-led Senate refused to bring it up for a vote. He has called on lawmakers to return to Harrisburg, stop campaigning and send a bill to his desk. The two candidates aired these dueling positions before a Nexstar television debate that took place before the ban took effect.
A Fight Over Flat Fees Versus Casino-Level Taxes
The core disagreement is over money. Shapiro has proposed a 52% tax rate on skill game revenue, which he has said would be consistent with what Pennsylvania already charges on other forms of gaming and would avoid giving one type of gambling an advantage — a figure that lines up with the 52% rate the state levies on casino slot machines, compared with 14% on table games like blackjack and roulette, according to wesanews.org. Garrity has called that rate too high and instead proposed a flat fee of $500 per month per machine, which she said would generate about $300 million in new revenue for the state based on an estimate of 50,000 machines statewide, a figure also reported by lockhaven.com. Some Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have backed Garrity's plan, and a separate bill backed by state Rep. Danilo Burgos also proposed a $500 monthly fee on each machine, according to abc27.com. The skill-game industry itself has sought either a 16% tax rate or a per-machine monthly fee, per wesanews.org.
KDKA-TV reported that it contacted the Shapiro campaign on Saturday but did not receive a response. Abc27.com has reported that whether Pennsylvania eventually legalizes and regulates skill games may largely depend on the outcome of next month's gubernatorial and legislative elections, leaving business owners like Patel and Barto watching the race closely as their revenue streams disappear.
