Pennsylvania skill games are slot machines, and law enforcement will begin seizing devices that remain in businesses after the state Supreme Court’s 120-day stay on its June ruling expires on Oct. 14, 2026.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against arguments that skill games are immune from the state’s gambling law because they incorporate an element of aptitude in which players can alter their win payout rate. The high court found that the General Assembly’s definition of a slot machine makes a skill element “not legally significant.”

Next Wednesday (Oct. 14), skill games, most commonly operating under the Pennsylvania Skill brand, will constitute illegal gambling. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday and the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) warn that host businesses continuing to house the gambling games are subject to raids and prosecution.

The law enforcement agencies say simply turning off the machines does not satisfy the law. Sunday told businesses to demand that their skill game vendors and distributors immediately remove the machines.

The PSP explains that businesses continuing to house skill games Oct. 14 forward are subject to criminal prosecution. Pursuant to section 5513 of the Crimes Code, it’s a criminal offense to “maintain, possess, assemble, set up, make, sell, or lease slot machines” unless the business is licensed and authorized to do so by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).

State police have established a website with resources for businesses that still have skill games. The website details that enforcement actions may include the seizing and forfeiting of the machines and associated equipment, the games’ proceeds, administrative action against the business’s liquor license, and criminal charges.

Skill game distributors, vendors, and manufacturers that refuse to remove the slot machines from businesses additionally face criminal charges.

A person found guilty of section 5513, a first-degree misdemeanor, faces a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000 per offense. Offenders additionally risk asset forfeiture and business license revocation.