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Illegal Games
M O BO
Unregulated “skill games” get a lifeline thanks to the Covid-19 crisis By Frank Legato
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Pace-O-Matic illegal games are still ack in February, the Ameribeing offered at gas stations and can Gaming Association and convenience stores across Pennsylvania the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers joined to launch a campaign against the spread of unlicensed, unregulated “skill Missouri, where games” that the gaming industry, lawmak14,000 unregulat ed games operate ers and law enforcement officials have all considered to be essentially unlicensed, untaxed and illegal slot machines. The machines, which pay cash awards that their manufacturers and proponents One court decision in Pennsylvania held that POM machines were in say are earned through skill, consider methods like seeing one result and defact illegal slot machines, but since they were not operated by a licensee, ciding whether to wager again as a skill, in one example. Developed by a few they did not fall within the jurisdiction of the state Gaming Control well-financed manufacturers, they are placed in locations as diverse as convenBoard. It was a loophole seized upon by suppliers of the games, which conience stores, laundromats, truck stops and gas stations, and have been multitinued to spread. plying for the past few years. Estimates of up to 20,000 machines across Meanwhile, lobbyists gathered in state legislatures representing several Pennsylvania are not unusual for the states where these have appeared. stakeholders—the gaming industry in attempting to ban the machines, Following the initiative begun by the AGA and AGEM, opponents of the machine suppliers who say they welcome regulation for what they consider unregulated gaming machines had been gaining ground, with law enforcelegal games, and even machine operators, who, along with the suppliers, ment seizing machines in several states, and with manufacturers such as Georhave gotten used to big earnings on the untaxed machines. gia-based Pace-O-Matic (POM), which distributes games to several states, It was in state capitals that the movement to eliminate the machines and Missouri’s Torch Electronics embroiled in court battles over the legality seemed to gather steam, with Virginia lawmakers voting in March to of their games. ban the games there, where POM machines are branded “Queen of Virginia.” In Missouri, where 14,000 unregulated games operate, Torch Electronics was facing a criminal “I would suspect a skill-game bill would trial for illegal gambling, with a hearing date scheduled for be (difficult to pass). It depends on who April 23. In Wyoming, a state Senate bill to regulate and tax the machines died in committee. the characters are that set it up, how Then, the coronavirus hit, and state economies reeled as they present it, and exactly what they businesses of all types shut down. As the crisis continued, state officials had to deal with many of the unregulated are trying to make legal, to decide games continuing to operate while legitimate casinos, along whether they’re successful or not.” with other businesses, remained idle. Court cases were de—Wyoming Senate Vice President Ogden Driskill layed along with everything else.
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Global Gaming Business JULY 2020
