(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Sean Simmers, Caption for Photo: Skill games at SkillGame Kingdom June 10, 2025. Sean Simmers of PennLive Patriot News)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Pennsylvania State Police, Troop D, is reminding Beaver County residents that the deadline for Skill Game Machines and their removals is October 13th, 2026, which is less than a month away.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania made a ruling on June 15th, 2026 that skill games, often found in restaurants and other businesses, are “slot machines” as defined in the Gaming Act.

However, a person commits a criminal offense by maintaining, owning or operating slot machines without a license that is issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).

The state police strongly recommends that businesses that are currently hosting such machines discuss their removal with any distributors or vendors that may own the machines and associated equipment, which includes ticket redemption terminals.