They’re Fighting for Their Business. We’re Fighting for Yours.

Legal VGTs Are Your Fastest Route to Revenue.
Illegal Skill Games Are Not.

You may be hearing a new pitch from the skill game companies: that no other machine can replace skill games for a year or more, but that they can have you “regulated and running” in two weeks. It is a scare tactic — and it has the facts exactly backwards.

On June 15, 2026, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that unlicensed skill games are illegal slot machines, subject to both the Gaming Act and the Crimes Code. The Court gave a 120-day safe harbor — through mid-October — before enforcement begins, and it pointed directly to the General Assembly to act. That window is a runway to wind down and transition, not a reprieve. There is no statute that makes skill games “legal and regulated in two weeks.” They were just declared illegal.

2017

VGTs Legal & Regulated Since

PGCB

Regulator Already
in Place

120 days

Until Enforcement (~Oct 13)

$1B+

Annual VGT Revenue (IL Model)

The Legislature is Anticipated to Act on
Illegal Skill Games Before the October Deadline

Here’s what Legislators Are Saying…

Follow the Facts: Why a Year Is a Myth

Building a brand-new gaming regime from scratch — writing the law, standing up a regulator, building a central server, licensing and testing machines — does take a year or more. That is the timeline the skill game companies are describing. But that is their problem, not yours, because none of that exists for skill games today.

The Video Gaming Terminal system is the opposite. It is already built and already running. Pennsylvania has regulated VGTs in truck stops since 2017. The hard part is already done.

 

  •  A regulator is already in place. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) already tests, licenses, and oversees VGTs — no new agency needs to be created.

  • The central server already exists. The statewide monitoring system that connects regulated machines is live today and simply needs to be expanded.

  • Licensed operators are ready now. Qualified terminal operators, suppliers, and manufacturers are already licensed and operating in Pennsylvania.

  • The locations are already here. Bars, taverns, fraternal clubs, veterans’ organizations, and fire halls are exactly the establishments an expansion would cover.

Two Games. One Answer,

ILLEGAL SKILL GAMES

Ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. No regulator, no licensing, no legal future once the 120-day window closes. Any “regulated skill game” path would require building an entirely new system from zero — the very thing that takes a year or more.

Legal Video Gaming Terminals

Legal and regulated by the PGCB since 2017. Central server, licensed operators, and oversight already in place. Once expansion passes, deployment is fast — and a provisional license can get qualifying locations earning sooner.

Let’s Work Together to Protect Your Business

Three Things You Can Do Right Now

The skill game manufacturers will hold rallies and ask you to fight for them right up until the deadline —then pack up and move to the next unregulated state, leaving you with nothing. Don’t spend the next 120 days on their losing battle. Spend it on the one outcome that actually pays you.

  1. Call your legislators. Tell them you support VGT expansion into bars, taverns, clubs, and fraternal organizations — under a fair tax rate and a revenue split between the operator and your establishment.

  2. Ask for a provisional licensing process so eligible locations can start operating as soon as the framework is in place.

  3. Make the timing argument yourself. The system already exists. The only thing standing between you and legal revenue is the legislature acting before the deadline.

Skill games are out of time in Pennsylvania. Your business is not. The fastest legal path to revenue is the one that is already licensed, already regulated, and already running — and it is ready for you.

REQUEST A FREE SITE EVALUATION

Questions? Want to Get Ready?

Reach out to your Triple Diamond representative to learn how to prepare your establishment for the licensed VGT framework. We’re here to help you every step of the way.

Chris Vecchione
VP of Sales

PA — Eastern Region
Cvecchione@tdg-pa.com
215-749-0008

Contact Chris
LOU LARSON
VP of GAMING RELATIONS

PA — Western Region
llarson@tdg-pa.com
412-498-8713

Contact Lou
*VGT expansion is subject to passage of pending legislation. Terms and licensing requirements may change.