Perry Cooper (Bloomberg), Casinos’ Slot Machine Tax Case Booted by Pennsylvania Justices:
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed a petition by a group of casinos that argued the state’s tax on slot machines was unfair because the state’s 70,000 “skill game” terminals aren’t taxed.
The order on Tuesday comes after the justices ruled in June that skill games, which promise players big payouts based on an element of skill rather than just pure luck, operate as unlicensed and unregulated slot machines. The court gave the legislature until mid-October to set up a legal system for the terminals.
- The casinos asked the justices two years ago to either apply the 50% tax to all slot-machine operators or none at all, arguing that the mismatch violates the state constitution’s requirement that taxes apply evenly to members of the same class
- Skill games have proliferated at bars, gas stations, gaming parlors, and other widely accessible places across Pennsylvania that don’t have the same age restrictions as casinos
- The court dismissed the petition while the legislature and executive branch decide how to implement its June ruling, but left open the chance for the casinos to bring their challenge again later if necessary
Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller PC represented the casinos.
The case is Stadium Casino RE, LLC v. Dep’t of Revenue , Pa., No. 81 MM 2024, petition dismissed 8/4/26.
