US: States Navigate Skill Game Legalization Challenges

Several states across the U.S. have grappled with slot-like skill game legalization in 2024, although it appears as if Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia will all keep their respective bans for the immediate future.

The bans are viewed as a win for casinos in the states, which don’t have to compete with the additional form of gambling often found in convenience stores, bars, and restaurants. Small businesses, meanwhile, have lobbied for the legalization of the games, which provide them with another revenue source.

Skill Game Bans Likely to Remain

Kentucky’s ban on skill games was recently upheld in court, a legal victory for proponents of the ban. As a result, it’s unlikely Kentucky will legalize skill games in the immediate future. Kentucky allows for legal sports betting and casino wagering, but online casinos aren’t legal.

Some days ago, a Kentucky judge has upheld the legislature’s 2023 ban of so-called “gray machines,” agreeing with the attorney general that the law does not violate free speech or equal protection guarantees and isn’t unconstitutional special legislation. 

In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro floated the idea of regulating the games. Senate Republicans shot down the idea in budget negotiations, according to recent reports.

While Pennsylvania’s budget effort to legalize skill games looks likely to fail, the state’s Supreme Court is expected to consider the legality of skill games at a later date. Sports betting, casino gambling, and mobile casino apps are all legal in Pennsylvania.

For years, the state has maintained that the devices are unlicensed gambling machines that are operating illegally and subject to seizure by police. Machine makers, distributors and retailers contend they are legal, if unregulated, games that are not subject to state gambling control laws.

In Virginia, skill-game budget negotiations similar to Pennsylvania’s met obstacles. Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a skill games bill. While additional discussions on the bill were expected, they stalled as legislators and Youngkin failed to reach a compromise on how to best move forward with legalization. Virginia allows for legal sports wagering and in-person casino gambling.

It’s likely skill-game legalization remains a topic of discussion across states moving into 2025.