Pennsylvania businesses housing slot machines disguised as skill games face law enforcement action if the gambling devices are not removed from their premises by Oct. 14, 2026. That’s the date the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 120-day stay on its June ruling that skill games are slot machines expires.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania State Police reminded businesses across the commonwealth that the estimated 70,000 skill games still operating must not only be powered off but physically removed from businesses by Oct. 14. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday today (Sept. 29) doubled down on the warning, saying law enforcement could seize the machines from businesses that remain noncompliant.

“Collaborating with our law enforcement partners, my office will act in accordance with the law, which prohibits these machines outside of licensed gaming facilities,” Sunday added.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that an element of skill involved in a game that is otherwise based on chance does not exempt the device from the Pennsylvania Gaming Act. As such, the high court ruled that skill games are slot machines and can only operate inside a facility licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Thousands of small businesses, from convenience and grocery stores to restaurants and bars, continue to house skill games. The games, most commonly branded Pennsylvania Skill , were credited with saving many small businesses during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as the revenue helped fend off inflation and keep workers employed.

The skill game industry has asked to be taxed and regulated, though at a rate far below the 55% tax that Pennsylvania casinos pay on their slot revenue.

State lawmakers in Harrisburg on both sides of the aisle have expressed a willingness to create a legal framework for skill games. But with only 15 days remaining before businesses are to remove skill games, and no legislation yet clearing a committee in the General Assembly, it’s unlikely that a legislative solution will come before the Supreme Court’s ruling comes into force.

The owner of a small chain of grocery stores in Pennsylvania spoke with Casino.org about skill games. The businessman said his skill games remain powered on, and that he hadn’t heard from Pace-O-Matic (POM) or Miele Manufacturing, the companies behind the Pennsylvania Skill games, about what to do with the cabinets and terminals.