It’s A Skill Game Jo
Poorly written, antiquated gambling laws are a hallmark of the US. These laws have led to numerous battles over the legality of everything from DFS to player-banked card games and now skill-games.
Skill games are one of the most debated topics in the gambling universe. By skill games, I don’t mean poker or DFS. The skill games I’m talking about resemble slot machines (the resemblance is too much for the legal, regulated industry) but possess an added component: a skill round.
Like many other gambling products, that skill component acts as a legal loophole, allowing the games to avoid regulatory oversight and function in the Gray Realm, an area of the industry somewhere between Rohan and Mordor that is neither legal nor illegal.
Living in the Gray Realm is rarely permanent, and skill games residency is being challenged in the courts, state legislatures, and regulatory agencies.
Recent developments include:
An ongoing legal case in Virginia after the legislature voted to ban skill games in 2021.
The American Gaming Association’s campaign against skill games, including a recent survey.
Penn Entertainment’s Chris Soriano’s call for a crackdown on skill games in a recent op-ed.
A policy hearing on skill games in Pennsylvania.
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That’s Just Like Your Opinion Man
While lawmakers and regulators try to determine if they should prohibit skill games, regulate and tax them, or maintain the status quo, the commercial casino industry has gone on the offensive.
“Unregulated machine manufacturers have built their businesses by duping consumers and small businesses while avoiding taxes, oversight, and consumer protections,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in a press release on the skill game survey. “These results are further evidence that Americans see these machines as a threat that should be eliminated, not regulated.”
In his op-ed, Soriano, Penn Entertainment’s Chief Compliance Officer, highlighted the high hold rates of skill game machines ($.25 of every dollar wagered vs. $07.7 hold rates of licensed slots in casinos) and the crime associated with the machine locations.
It’s easy to understand why the industry has an issue with the machines. Skill games are not a fringe market. According to the AGA, there are 580,000 skill games in circulation across the US – there are roughly 1 million slot machines in US casinos.
What Does Illegal Even Mean?
The big question is, what should (and maybe more accurately, can) be done?
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