Cardinal Way: Civility Rules encourages constructive dialogue on difficult issues. Last week we ran two competing essays on so-called “skill games” or “gray machines” — one in favor , one against — and then asked readers: Should these games be treated as gambling machines or just a type of video game? How should we weigh the interests of small businesses and potential customers against the hazards of gambling and other social interests? Here’s how readers responded.
You can also still weigh in on a previous question about taxes.
The electronic games you sometimes see in convenience stores are often called “skill” games, although there’s much dispute about whether any skill is involved. They’re also sometimes called “gray” machines, perhaps because they have occupied a gray area of the law.
However, there wasn’t much gray in how readers responded to our recent Cardinal Way essays about the games, which once were legal in Virginia, but now are banned — but could become legal again if the General Assembly passes legislation that is advancing through the legislature.