In the state of Pennsylvania, one games of skill manufacturer has reportedly asked the state’s appellate court judge to modify or extend an injunction which forbids police from forcibly taking its slot machines while at the same time authorities work out the legality finer points regarding this matter.
According to one report released by The Patriot-News newspaper several days ago, a manufacturer of games of skill in question here is the Pace-O-Matic Incorporated company. Pace-O-Matic Incorporated at the moment leases around 10,000 so-called skill-based games to a massive range of locations throughout The Keystone State including social clubs, gas stations, and convenience stores. These games of skill that look very similar to regular slot machines were ruled legal back in 2014 after a judge of Beaver County determined that these are games of skill since players make inputs on their own to determine the result of gaming sessions.
Reversal of 2014 Decision
However, one ruling from the 20th of November last year led by the state’s Commonwealth Court reversed that earlier decision from 2014 by decreeing that such so-called games of skill are in fact illegal considering the fact that these are not regulated by the state’s gaming regulatory body, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Since these games were not regulated by the state’s authority body, they were also exempt from the 34% slot taxes. The Commonwealth Court which reversed the previous decision also pointed out that such games could be played by minors.
As reported by The Patriot-News, the state’s Police’s Liquor Control Enforcement decided to conduct its own series of raids back in December in Cumberland County and Dauphin County in that a great number of the Pace-O-Matic Incorporated-branded games of skills were previously confiscated.
The company reacted almost immediately as its officials decided to apply for an injunction extension which went into effect just four days later. With this application for an injunction extension in place, the police were prohibited from confiscating any further Pace-O-Matic Incorporated gaming units which gave the manufacturer more time to prepare for further legal steps.
Pace-O-Matic Incorporated Petitioned to Extend the Previous Injunction
The Pace-O-Matic Incorporated company based in the city of Duluth in Georgia distributes its games of skill games across the state of Pennsylvania through many different local subsidiaries. After many of its gaming units were confiscated following the most recent injunction, the company has petitioned Commonwealth Court Judge Mrs. Ceisler to extend the previous injunction in order to prevent any further arm not only to itself but also to its partner venues.
Matt Haverstick who is a lawyer working on the company’s behalf used a hearing from several days ago to tell Judge Ellen Ceisler that Pace-O-Matic Incorporated believes that the previous ruling from Beaver County should be honored once again due to the absence of any subsequent legislative steps or some other definitive decision by another court. The attorney also attempted to head off emerging underage betting fears as he detailed that the company’s contracts require all venues and host sites to prohibit game access to minors.
Matt Haverstick also detailed that the company that he represents is trying to get a final determination on whether games of skills are legal or not in the state. He also added that Pace-O-Matic Incorporated is not hiding anything. Judge Ellen Ceisler is now expected to decide on the company’s injunction extension application within the following several days.
