{"id":550,"date":"2026-02-10T12:27:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/?p=550"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:26:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:26:01","slug":"pennsylvania-governor-pushes-to-regulate-skill-games-and-legalize-adult-use-cannabis-to-boost-state-revenue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/pennsylvania-governor-pushes-to-regulate-skill-games-and-legalize-adult-use-cannabis-to-boost-state-revenue\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Governor Pushes to Regulate Skill Games and Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis to Boost State Revenue"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to regulate and tax skill games<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>There are an <span class=\"s1\">estimated 70,000 unregulated skill games operating across the commonwealth<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Along with recreational marijuana, Shapiro thinks skill game taxes can help fund higher K-12 education spending<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">For a second year in a row, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is calling on the General Assembly to send him a bill to legalize and tax skill games.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_375948\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-375948\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO wp-image-375948 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Pennsylvania skill games Josh Shapiro\" width=\"858\" height=\"572\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/28916_gov_BudgetAddress_048-858x572-1.jpg\"><figcaption>Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses the General Assembly on Feb. 3, 2026. Shapiro is once again seeking the legalization of skill games to fund increased spending. (Image: Commonwealth Media Services)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Shapiro&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pa.gov\/governor\/newsroom\/2026-press-releases\/gov-shapiro-2026-27-budget-proposal-to-keep-doing-what-s-working\">2026-27 Budget Address<\/a> to the legislature included a request that state lawmakers in Harrisburg find a way to regulate and tax skill games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Commonly branded <i>Pennsylvania Skill<\/i>, the unregulated gaming machines are found in restaurants and bars, grocery stores, gas stations, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses like vape shops. Many such small businesses are Pennsylvania Lottery retailers. Lottery officials say skill games cut into their operation.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Shapiro wants to spend $53.2 billion during the fiscal year, a 5.4% increase from 2025-26. The rising Democratic Star, considered a front-runner for the party&#8217;s ticket come 2028, plans to dip into the state&#8217;s rainy day fund to avoid raising taxes. Shapiro also thinks legalizing skill games and adult-use cannabis will help ease the revenue burden. The governor is seeking a more than 8% funding increase to K-12 education spending to $20.65 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Skill games look, sound, and largely operate like a casino slot machine, but they differ in that a player must try to assemble winning paylines by tapping on the screen. The player can also impact their payout rate by completing a skill-based game that&#8217;s similar to Simon Says called &#8220;Follow Me.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Skill Games Regulation<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Shapiro thinks it&#8217;s long past due that Pennsylvania legalizes the estimated 70,000 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gamblers-anonymous-pennsylvania-skill-games-accelerating-addiction\/\">unregulated skill games<\/a> operating across the commonwealth to protect consumers and generate a tax benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;What this budget does do is finally regulate and tax skill games and pass comprehensive cannabis reform. District Attorneys from across the Commonwealth are calling on us to regulate skill games and finally provide law enforcement with clear guidance,&#8221; Shapiro said.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We&#8217;re putting our communities at risk and losing out on billions of dollars in revenue by doing nothing on both. Everyone knows we need to get this done. So, let&#8217;s come together and finally get it over the finish line,&#8221; Shapiro appealed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The governor&#8217;s budget estimates that skill games, along with recreational marijuana, could generate approximately $2 billion a year in tax revenue. Shapiro has proposed that the General Assembly pass rules for how skill games operate and demand a 52% state cut on the machines&#8217; gross revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The first $1 million in skill gaming taxes would be set aside for the Compulsive and Problem Gambling Treatment Fund. After 10% of the skill tax would be returned to the host counties and municipalities where the skill games operate, the rest of the money would go to the General Fund.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Skill Gaming Opposition<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The companies behind skill games in Pennsylvania, primarily Pace-O-Matic and Miele Manufacturing, want to be regulated and taxed in the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Tavern and Players Association, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pennsylvania-skill-game-proponents-rally-in-hershey\/\">group promoting<\/a> the benefits skill games provide to host establishments, does, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, the skill gaming interests say a much lower tax than the one suggested by Shapiro is needed to ensure that the games continue to support small businesses, protect jobs, and keep costs down for consumers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pennsylvania-gov-seeks-skill-games-adult-use-cannabis-legislation\/\">Pennsylvania Governor Pushes to Regulate Skill Games and Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis to Boost State Revenue<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to regulate and tax skill games There are an estimated 70,000 unregulated skill games operating across the commonwealth Along with recreational marijuana, Shapiro thinks skill game taxes can help fund higher K-12 education spending For a second year in a row, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is calling on the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":553,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}