Skill games are leaving Philly corner stores. Council voted 17-0 to ban them in 2024
The state Supreme Court ruled the machines are slot machines, and the deadline to remove them passed Oct. 13. Council's own ban, from Curtis Jones Jr., was held up in court. Now stores are counting the lost revenue.
The skill game machines that filled many Philadelphia corner stores and gas stations are coming out. Store owners say they are losing revenue, and gambling-help advocates are weighing what comes next, Billy Penn reported Monday.
If you run a store that had the machines, the city says unplugging them isn't enough. They have to be removed from the premises. If you live near one that is still running, the city asks you to report it to Philly311 and not to confront the owner.
What happened
- On June 15, 2026, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that skill games are slot machines under state law, the city's guidance says. Only businesses authorized by the state Gaming Control Board, such as licensed casinos and some truck stops, can legally run them.
- The court gave lawmakers 120 days to act. They didn't, and the deadline passed at 11:59 p.m. Oct. 13. State Police began enforcing the next day, Billy Penn reported.
- Businesses that keep unauthorized machines face possible seizure, fines, criminal charges and consequences for their business licenses, according to the city. Questions go to the Mayor's Business Action Team at 215-683-2100.
The money involved is large. The state's Independent Fiscal Office estimated in February that about 50,000 machines statewide took in $9.4 billion in wagers and kept about $2.35 billion after payouts, untaxed by the state or city, Billy Penn reported. Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed taxing the machines in three budgets; none of those proposals became law.
What our records add
City Council tried to push the machines out of most stores two years before the court did.
- The bill. Bill 240010-A, from 4th District Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., expanded the city's existing prohibition on gambling machines and skill games and added remedies. Billy Penn described the 2024 ordinance as banning the machines in most convenience stores and gas stations, with an exception for some liquor-licensed businesses with at least 30 seats, and fines of $1,000 per machine per day.
- Ten sponsors. Jones, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Nina Ahmad, Anthony Phillips, Jeffery Young Jr., Cindy Bass, Jamie Gauthier, Mark Squilla, Jim Harrity and Rue Landau.
- Fast track, unanimous vote. It was introduced Jan. 25, 2024, heard and amended in the Committee on Public Safety on Feb. 20, amended again on the floor March 7, and passed 17-0 on March 21, 2024 (meeting record). Mayor Parker signed it April 3, 2024.
- Blocked in court. A legal challenge stopped the city from enforcing the ordinance in December 2024, Billy Penn reported. The outlet did not say how that case was resolved. The state ruling now does what the city law could not.
Jones told Billy Penn the machines had crowded out grocery items in neighborhood stores, and pointed to robberies listed in the mayor's nuisance business report. He said he would "never put profits over people."
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We found no newer skill game bill in our records this term.
What's next
The fight now sits in Harrisburg. Lawmakers remain split on whether to legalize and tax the machines or keep them banned, and a gambling-help advocate told Billy Penn, "I don't think we've heard the last" of them. Any state law would shape what Philadelphia can do next. The state's problem-gambling helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER.