Pennsylvania attorney general warns businesses to remove skill game machines ahead of deadline

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday put out a warning to businesses, saying to remove skill game machines or face law enforcement action. 

The warning came after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in June that skill games are slot machines and can only operate in casinos or licensed truck stops. Now, businesses are staring down a deadline of Oct. 14, when the machines will become illegal. 

The ruling impacts businesses operating skill game machines and those profiting off selling the machines. For the last 10 years, Joe Rocca has been selling skill game machines across the state. His business grew to the point of opening a warehouse in Pittsburgh's East Carnegie neighborhood about a year and a half ago.

"They're basically rendered useless now at this point," Rocca said of his inventory.

He has about 150 machines in the warehouse and about 400 on the way because they can take up to 90 days to arrive. Now, he has nowhere for the machines to go.

According to Sunday, businesses operating skill games have until the mid-October deadline to get machines out of their buildings or face raids.

"We do not want to see searches and seizures at storefronts or bar, social club and restaurant establishments — we would much rather business owners and social clubs comply with the law and take steps to get these illegal devices out of their places of business," Sunday said in a news release. "Collaborating with our law enforcement partners, my office will act in accordance with the law which prohibits these machines outside of licensed gaming facilities."

For Rocca, he must find a way to sell his machines, and that's not going to be easy.

"It would just be an exit strategy of just shutting down, and that would be the end of it," Rocca said.

Then there are the social clubs and businesses that have been making money off these machines for more than a decade. Rocca feels it could be a death sentence for them.

"I would say the vast majority of them would not survive a two- to three-month blackout period," Rocca said.

In Harrisburg, there have been talks of helping fraternal and social organizations by allowing them to have five machines, with a sunset date at the end of next year. State Senator Wayne Fontana is looking for co-sponsors on that bill but fears it won't pass. He plans to introduce more legislation in the new year.

"They pretty much have a gun to our head now. Whatever rule they could come up with, we would try to abide to," Rocca said.

A rally is scheduled for Saturday in Green Tree Borough, Allegheny County, in support of skill games.