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Harrisburg, Pa. — As part of his budget pitch this year, Gov. Josh Shapiro says he wants to regulate and tax skill games to raise tens of millions of dollars in revenue.
In making this proposal, the Democrat wades into a years-old battle for dominance of the gambling industry, which last year contributed $2.3 billion in tax revenue to the commonwealth’s coffers.
The playing field involves three major interests. Casinos, which Pennsylvania legalized in 2004, are represented by a powerful lobby in Pennsylvania and last year earned $3.4 billion from slot machines and table games.
The 17 in operation are heavily taxed and regulated by the Gaming Control Board, with between 48% and 54% of their gross revenue from slot machines, for instance, going back to the state.
Another big player is the video gaming terminal industry. The devices, commonly called VGTs, were legalized as part of a gaming expansion bill passed amid a 2017 budget stalemate . Alongside approving online betting, the law allows a list of approved diesel fuel truck stops to operate up to five of these terminals and taxes them at a similar rate to casinos. As of the end of 2023, there are 71 approved VGT facilities in the commonwealth, run by five different operators.