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The truth is always fair

FROM FILTH TO FORTUNE: Fina’s Porngate Shame Didn’t Stop His Climb to Top of Gaming Industry

05/23/2025  |  Frank Parlato
FROM FILTH TO FORTUNE: Fina’s Porngate Shame Didn’t Stop His Climb to Top of Gaming Industry
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HARRISBURG, PA — Pace-O-Matic, a leading national developer of “skill-based” gaming machines, has named suspended attorney Frank Fina, its new Chief Operating Officer.

Pace-O-Matic makes slot machines with minor skill elements—like puzzles or memory games—which allows them to claim legal status as “skill games” despite being slot machines.

Fina, who served as Chief Administrative Officer, will now oversee Pace-O-Matic’s Legal, Compliance, Market Operations, Production, and Customer Service divisions.

Fina was previously Chief of Prosecutions in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. He lost his law license for a year, over his handling of grand jury testimony during the Penn State child abuse investigation.

In a 5-1 decision issued in 2020, the state’s highest court agreed with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel that Fina acted improperly in intimidating Cynthia Baldwin, the university’s then-general counsel, into breaching attorney-client privilege. After threatening Baldwin with indictment, Baldwin perjured herself to say whatever Fina wanted.

He then used her coerced statements to bring charges against her three innocent clients, senior Penn State administrators—Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz.


Craven attorney Cynthia Baldwin violated attorney client privilige to save her own capacious arse from prison.Craven attorney Cynthia Baldwin violated attorney client privilige to save her own capacious arse from prison.

Craven attorney Cynthia Baldwin violated attorney client privilege to save her own capacious arse from prison.


The PA State Supreme Court published a 70 page opinion admonishing her for cowardice but she was permitted to keep her law license.

Fina did not fare as well.

Amelia Kittredge, representing the PA Office of Disciplinary Counsel, called Fina “someone who cannot or will not separate right from wrong.”

Justice David N. Wecht in justifying his suspension of Fina described his conduct as falling “far below the ethical standard we rightly demand of a prosecutor.”

In announcing Fina’s promotion, Pace-O-Matic President and CEO Paul Goldean said, “Pace-O-Matic is incredibly lucky to have Frank, one of the top legal experts and business strategists, on our team. Under Frank’s guidance, Pace-O-Matic has seen exponential growth along with unprecedented legal and regulatory wins.”

Goldean seems confident that Fina’s methods won’t lead his company to difficulties that others associated with Fina have experienced in the past.

Judge Barry Feudale, head of the grand juries, was removed from the bench amid revelations he had illegally leaked grand jury materials to help Fina win cases.


Nitwit stooge for Fina, Barry Feudale, got booted off bench.



Fina also caused two other judges to lose their robes.

Fina enjoyed sharing pornographic material and race-based jokes with judges and attorneys via his official government email accounts.

Some of his emails, sent to judges and lawyers handling cases with him showed women in sexual poses with statues, signs, and other objects.

A nude, obese woman wearing a pig costume. Caption: “How to tell if your house is infected with the swine flu.”

A nude woman, on a couch, with a skeleton between her legs, performing oral sex on her.

A woman giving oral sex. “DEVOTION: Making your boss happy is your only job.”

A warning against using a corn cob for a vibrator.

A topless woman with her legs spread, with her genital area covered by popcorn.

A man tasing a woman in a park, then raping her.

A topless woman on her back, giving oral sex to a man : “WILLINGNESS: Bend over backwards to do an exceptional job.”

A joke about a man taking a woman out to an expensive restaurant. The man asks, “Does your mother feed you like this when you eat at home?” The woman responds, “No, but my mother is not expecting a blow job.”

A marriage counselor asks a couple what they have in common. The husband responds, “Well, for starters, neither one of us sucks dick.”

Humor Fina-Style

While Fina viewed it as hilarity, two Pennsylvania judges and three prosecutors were forced to resign, retire, or were disciplined in connection with “Porngate.”

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery resigned amid a judicial conduct investigation concerning hundreds of emails circulated by Fina and forwarded by the judge on government accounts.

The Chief Counsel to the Judicial Conduct Board, Robert Graci, resigned in 2016 amid scrutiny over his handling of judicial ethics complaints related to Fina’s Porngate.


The Future of AI Data CentersThe Future of AI Data Centers

Judge Seamus McCaffery was one of Fina’s filth-sharing buddies.


PA Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin resigned in 2016 after being charged with judicial misconduct after it was revealed that he sent emails that Fina circulated to colleagues.

Porngate emails included:

Motivational Poster: “Dear Abby, I’m an 18 year-old virgin in Arkansas. Are my brothers gay?”

Irish sunglasses show a woman with a black eye.


A definition of women: “The best engine in the world is the vagina. It can be started with one finger. It is self­ lubricating. It takes any size piston. And it changes its own oil every four weeks. It is only a pity that the management system is so fucking temperamental.”

fina porngate
A woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned: “WIFE: Washing, Ironing, F**ing, Etc.” The caption: “PLACE: Know it!”


Pictures of small children ogling women’s breasts.

A woman on a nude beach with a baby sitting next to her, grabbing one of her nipples.


From the Frank Fina collection.From the Frank Fina collection.


“Prayer for dad” with a young girl praying, “Dear God, please send clothes for all the ladies on Daddy’s computer. Amen.”

Nintendo games women “should” play, including games that simulate cooking and performing oral sex on men.

Likes Black Defendants

As a prosecutor, Fina first gained prominence for his “pay-to-play” sting targeting six black Democratic lawmakers led which led to a judge ordering Fina to testify to determine “whether his charging decisions were racially motivated.”

In 2013, Fina, while supervising a grand jury probe into the 2013 Philadelphia building collapse that killed six and injured 13, led the grand jury to indict two black men—Griffin Campbell, the demolition contractor, and Sean Benschop, the excavator operator.

Fina granted the white architect, Plato Marinakos, immunity and chose not to seek to indict the white property owner, Richard Basciano.

Fina denied having racial bias.


The absurdity wasn’t that Frank Fina shared pornographic emails with judges. The absurdity was that he did so while prosecuting criminal cases—while speaking to juries about truth and honor. The resignation of justices. The implosion of judicial conduct boards. These were footnotes. Because Fina, unlike his victims, had an exit strategy. He now calls it Pace-O-Matic.The absurdity wasn’t that Frank Fina shared pornographic emails with judges. The absurdity was that he did so while prosecuting criminal cases—while speaking to juries about truth and honor. The resignation of justices. The implosion of judicial conduct boards. These were footnotes. Because Fina, unlike his victims, had an exit strategy. He now calls it Pace-O-Matic.


Black Is Fina’s Favorite in Orange

Among his Porn gate emails – sent to judges often on the days they would try or sentence black defendants suggested his sense of humor was not limited to womem perofrming sex on demand for men.

He sent “Prom Night at Camden High School” showing black students in unusual prom attire.

Joke: “In a survey, 86% of Inner City residents (most of whom are registered Democrats) said that they have enjoyed sex in the shower. The other 14% said that they have not been to prison yet.”

Joke: “Leroy” asks a preacher to pray for help with his hearing. The preacher prays and asks how his hearing is, and Leroy says, “I don’t know, Reverend, it ain’t till next Wednesday.”

A white man, carrying a bucket of fried chicken, is accosted by two deranged-looking black men.


Joke: Silver robot caddies reflect the sun and blind golfers; one golfer asks the man in the golf shop, “Why didn’t you paint them black?” The man said, “We did. Then four of ’em didn’t show for work, two filed for welfare, one of them robbed the pro shop, and the other thinks he’s the President.”

Joke: “It was said that a black man would be president when ‘pigs fly.’ Indeed, 100 days into Obama’s presidency…swine flu.”


Imagine a courtroom where the prosecutor shares porn with the judge. Where racial jokes are emailed minutes before sentencing. Where the one on trial never knows he’s a punchline. Now imagine that prosecutor—exposed, disgraced—returns not to disgrace but to power. He now runs a gaming company targeting the desperate. His name is Frank Fina. And this is no fiction. This is Pennsylvania.Imagine a courtroom where the prosecutor shares porn with the judge. Where racial jokes are emailed minutes before sentencing. Where the one on trial never knows he’s a punchline. Now imagine that prosecutor—exposed, disgraced—returns not to disgrace but to power. He now runs a gaming company targeting the desperate. His name is Frank Fina. And this is no fiction. This is Pennsylvania.


Pace-O-Matic Needs a Man Like Frank Fina

Before joining Pace-O-Matic full-time in 2022, Fina worked as a legal and strategy consultant with The Noonan Group. Company officials credit him with helping navigate legal complexities surrounding the skill gaming industry, which operates in a murky and contested regulatory landscape across the U.S.

Now, as Pace-O-Matic’s Chief Operating Officer, Fina assumes one of the top roles in a growing company that often finds itself at the center of state-level legal and political debates in an evolving legal and regulatory environment over gaming.

“Frank’s combination of legal acumen and operational insight has helped us lead the industry and protect access to legal skill gaming across the country,” Goldean said.


Fina sends race jokes, tit shots, and rape memes to the bench. Judges love it. Courtrooms become comedy clubs. Whole thing blows up—Porngate, they call it. Guys lose jobs, robes, reputations. Fina? Fired, sure. But wait two years and boom—he’s running a gaming company. Telling us about “compliance.”Fina sends race jokes, tit shots, and rape memes to the bench. Judges love it. Courtrooms become comedy clubs. Whole thing blows up—Porngate, they call it. Guys lose jobs, robes, reputations. Fina? Fired, sure. But wait two years and boom—he’s running a gaming company. Telling us about “compliance.”

Frank Fina sends race jokes, tit shots, and rape memes to the bench. Judges love it. Courtrooms become comedy clubs. Whole thing blows up—Porngate, they call it. Guys lose jobs, robes, reputations. Fina? Fired, sure. But wait two years and boom—he’s running a gaming company. Telling us about “compliance.”


Pace-O-Matic machines are slot machines—flashing lights, spinning reels, loud sounds. The difference is that players can perform a minor task (such as remembering a symbol or tapping the screen to stop a moving cursor) to “win” or claim a noncash prize.

Skill slot machines are profitable with low-income wage workers who stop at gas stations and convenience stores, elderly individuals with fixed incomes with time to spare, veterans, college students with discretionary money from their parents, drunks (placement in bars) and problem gamblers who think skill games will “win back” their losses at casinos. Payouts are much lower than slot machines at casinos. Machines often “win” in the form of free credits or very small amounts.

Fina said, “It’s a privilege to be named in this new role and trusted with overseeing several of the company’s departments, all of which are led by top experts in their fields.” He also emphasized Pace-O-Matic’s commitment to regulatory compliance and supporting small businesses.

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Comments (21)

  • GigglesMay 23, 2025
    Fina said, “”You asked me about the Second Mile, and look, Dennis, I guess what I will say to you is there's just certain things I can't talk about, that is one of them. What I can tell you is it relates to what we're doing now on Second Mile is that the Second Mile has about 3/4 of a million dollars worth of assets as they shut down as a charity, and we are working with the court to dispose of those assets in the proper way.”
  • Frank And Fina's CocinaMay 23, 2025
    Police Say

    Centre County Man Charged With Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

    The IP address linked to the report was registered to Samuel J. Jones, 75, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
  • AnonymousMay 23, 2025
    It only shows that honesty and integrity gets you nowhere in life.

    You don’t rise to the top of the gaming industry being a suspended attorney without doing anyone personal favors.

    Now, Frank Fina can put entire Penn State Sham in the past whether he was right or wrong.

    Frank Fina’s new position probably comes with huge bonuses.

    If Frank Fina is in Georgia, Pennsylvania wouldn’t have jurisdiction.

    And I doubt Gary Schultz’s attorney Thomas Farrell would be motivated to do anything either.

    The only attorney who faced any real consequences regarding the Penn State Sham was Kathleen Kane.

    And despite the wrongdoings of Cynthia Baldwin, she really didn’t face any real consequences.

    Frank Fina not facing any real consequences probably makes a lot of people in Pennsylvania sick.

    Frank Fina’s law license being suspended didn’t derail him at all.

    It’s like …. people probably thought that the Frank Fina disciplinary board complaint actually meant something or had some sort of meaning when an attorney willfully violates the Rules of Professional Conduct.

    But in reality, the Fina Complaint is just a bunch of meaningless words on paper that would cause somebody look back upon and falsely believe that some sort of justice was done.

    The Frank Fina disciplinary complaint is more like false justice being served because it opened the door for opportunities instead of actual consequences.

    And it’s sad …. really really sad.

    If you didn’t know about the Frank Fina suspension, you probably live under a rock.

    Think about all the people who had to know that Frank Fina was suspended… and all the people who didn’t give a shit about the fact that he was suspended either.

    Frank Fina might of got his law license suspended… but that doesn’t mean that your insider connections disappear.

    It’s all about who you know and who you blow in the corrupted Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

    It’s interesting how Paul J. Killion counted 73 violations that occurred….. but is it really about the violations that occurred… because how could it be about the violations that occurred when there was really no consequences to those violations….. it seems like it’s not about the violations that occurred but rather more about creating a super long story to have maximum billing private attorney time… or doing a personal favor for a friend Thomas Farrell by milking the clock out to the maximum.

    It’s difficult , because it’s not about the 73 violations that occurred to the Penn State Administration ….it’s only about billing the Penn State Administrator client for private attorney time.

    It’s sad…. you think people would care about the person that the 73 breaches or violations were committed upon…. but attorneys in this state are like …. so what … who cares … it’s not about the violations that happen to you personally… it’s only about me billing you for private attorney time.
  • AnonymousMay 23, 2025
    The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday it seized hundreds of illegal gambling machines allegedly supplied to storefront casinos and other businesses by a pair of companies owned by a Pittsburgh man with prior convictions for illegal gambling.

    The owner, John F. Conley, is also named in a 2024 grand jury presentment charging a former executive of skill game maker Pace-O-Matic with taking kickbacks for ignoring complaints to the company about illegal gambling machines.

    The attorney general’s office said its agents and state troopers seized more than 400 illegal gambling devices from dozens of western Pennsylvania establishments in a series of raids in March.

    J.J. Amusements and Buffalo Skill Games are each charged with a felony count of being a corrupt organization, according to court documents. No lawyers for the companies are named in the court filings.
  • AllenMay 24, 2025
    Frank, not related, but any NXIVM news? It’s been too quiet recently. Any updates on KR, NS, LS, NC, SE, AM? Looking on this site for new articles. Any news you can share?
    • Frank ParlatoMay 25, 2025
      Yes some news comingh. Keith is hakering to get out of prison and my bet is he hopes to ride the wave of my success in exposing a certain FBI agent.
      • NutjobMay 27, 2025
        Did Clare ever pay up on the money she owes you? If not, when would now be a good time?
  • AnonymousMay 24, 2025
    Seems like Frank Fina is a member of the Noonan Group.

    It’s just shady how some of these lawyers can bounce back and forth between governmental and private roles.

    I wonder if Frank Fina getting suspended was a part of the plan.
  • JimmyMay 24, 2025
    Obviously, Frank Fina was Pace-O-Matic’s chief administration officer long before the formal announcement was made on May 1, 2025.

    https://amp.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article272207738.html

    As ‘gray slots’ battle heats up, a divided GOP and a potential opening for Democrats

    By Austin Horn

    UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2023 1:07 PM

    They made their pitch most recently at a November meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Licensing and Occupations. Frank Fina, Pace-O-Matic’s chief administrative officer, argued that the machines were much better for local communities than casino alternatives.
  • AnonymousMay 24, 2025
    Pure filth and the judges are all in on it. All of them should have been disbarred.
  • AnonymousMay 26, 2025
    Fina is an animal. Whoever engaged in these vile email “jokes” on business hours should be removed from the bench. Vile.
  • AnonymousMay 27, 2025
    Frank” I got a whore house I want you run while I interview some girls. Chick En ranch Oh Matic
    • Frank FinaMay 28, 2025
      So you need me run it by hand till I can get some girls? Right got it.
  • Staff WriterMay 29, 2025
    Porngate officials further found that in a high percentage of cases, kids attracted to the program had “rail in their blood,” as a result of parents, grandparents, cousins or others they knew who had worked in the industry, Fina said.
  • AnonymousJune 2, 2025
    I just noticed these “Skill Games” at a Sunoco here in Media, and was astonished (and disgusted) to find slot machines in a local gas station. A bit of research led me here. No surprise to find well-connected lowlifes behind Pace-O-Matic's “success.” What next, peep shows in the back corner of Wawa? FFS.
  • NiceGuyJune 13, 2025
    Dear Editor at large,

    Newsworthy event!!!!!

    Allison Mack ties the knot….

    …. And it’s not a noose!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-14802979/smallville-allison-mack-married-released-prison-NXIVM.html

    She married a man named Frank!!!

    Is it Frank Parlato?!?

    Frank is a sexy bachelor. It maybe.

    Frank hope everything’s well man!

    Take it easy!
  • AnonymousJune 16, 2026
    https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/pennsylvania/pa-supreme-court-rules-skill-games-illegal-under-state-law/article_5067432d-8e62-4cf1-bfd2-d69066ac3d2e.html

    Pa. Supreme Court rules ‘skill games’ illegal under state law
    69 News
    Jun 15, 2026 Updated 35 mins ago

    HARRISBURG, Pa. - Under Pennsylvania’s Gaming Act and Crimes Code, state officials ruled Monday that so‑called skill games are unlawful.

    The ruling follows arguments made by the Office of Attorney General before the Court in November 2025 that the electronic machines — found in numerous convenience stories, bar/restaurants, and other establishments across the Commonwealth — operate as unlicensed and unregulated slot machines.

    “‘Skill game’ devices have been held to fall into a legal gray area outside of the reach of both the Gaming Act and the Crimes Code,” court documents read.

    The Office of Attorney General argued that embedding an element of so-called skill into the games does not exempt the devices from Pennsylvania gambling laws, according to a press release from the AG.

    Attorney General Dave Sunday issued the following statement in response to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling of “skill games” as illegal under the current state Crimes Code and Gaming Act.
    “Today’s ruling is a significant victory for consumers, taxpayers and the rule of law in Pennsylvania,” Attorney General Sunday said. “The Supreme Court recognized what our office has argued from the beginning – these machines operate as gambling devices and cannot legally exist without the same oversight, regulation and accountability as other forms of legalized gaming in the Commonwealth. Pennsylvanians deserve protections that ensure games are fair, transparent and operated within the bounds of the law.”

    There are an estimated 70,000 skill game machines operating throughout the Commonwealth – a number that far exceeds Pennsylvania’s regulated casino slot machines, the release says.

    The decision affirms the Commonwealth’s authority to regulate gambling devices and reinforces the Office of Attorney General’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers, uphold Pennsylvania law and ensure gaming operations are conducted legally and transparently.

    The Court ordered its ruling stayed for 120 days.


  • AnonymousJune 16, 2026

    https://pennwatch.org/pa-supreme-court-rules-skill-games-are-illegal-slot-machines/

    Pa. Supreme Court Rules ‘Skill Games’ Are Illegal Slot Machines
    By Editor

    In a decision that upends Pennsylvania’s gaming landscape, the state Supreme Court ruled on that “skill games” are legally considered slot machines and must comply with the commonwealth’s strict gambling and crime statutes.

    The 5-2 ruling brings an end to a multi-year legal battle over the devices, which have proliferated by the tens of thousands in gas stations, convenience stores, and neighborhood taverns. While the decision firmly establishes the games as illegal gambling devices under current law, the high court issued a 120-day stay on enforcement, giving the General Assembly a narrow four-month window to formally regulate and tax the industry.

    Writing for the majority in a 66-page opinion, Justice David Wecht declared that lower appellate courts relied on “deeply flawed” interpretations of state law when they previously categorized the machines as legal.

    The devices—which visually resemble digital slot machines but feature a secondary memory or matching puzzle—have long occupied a lucrative legal gray area. Manufacturers like Pace-O-Matic argued that because a patient or highly skilled player could technically win every time, the machines were games of skill rather than chance.

    The Supreme Court flatly rejected that logic. Justice Wecht pointed to a 2017 update to the state’s Gaming Act, which explicitly integrated terms like “skill slot machine” and “hybrid slot machine” into its definitions.

    “Our General Assembly already has spoken clearly on this subject… making abundantly clear that the ‘skill’ element of the subject devices is not legally significant,” Wecht wrote. “It is not this Court that declares ‘skill games’ to be unlawful. Rather, it is the General Assembly that did so nearly a decade ago.”

    The Office of Attorney General argued that embedding an element of so-called skill into the games does not exempt the devices from Pennsylvania gambling laws.

    “Today’s ruling is a significant victory for consumers, taxpayers and the rule of law in Pennsylvania,” Attorney General Sunday said. “The Supreme Court recognized what our office has argued from the beginning – these machines operate as gambling devices and cannot legally exist without the same oversight, regulation and accountability as other forms of legalized gaming in the Commonwealth. Pennsylvanians deserve protections that ensure games are fair, transparent and operated within the bounds of the law.”

    The ruling marks a massive victory for Pennsylvania’s heavily regulated and taxed casino industry, alongside the Pennsylvania Lottery. For years, casinos—which face a roughly 54% tax rate on traditional slot machine revenue—argued that the untaxed and unregulated skill games were siphoning away billions of dollars while offering zero consumer protections or oversight.

    Conversely, the decision strikes a heavy blow to thousands of small businesses, corner stores, and fraternal organizations. Establishments have relied on the machines as a vital revenue stream to stay afloat amid rising economic pressures.

    The spotlight now shifts entirely to the state Capitol. Lawmakers in Harrisburg have previously floated various proposals to tax and regulate the estimated 70,000 to 80,000 skill games scattered across the commonwealth, viewing them as a potential goldmine to fund public transit, education, and other budgetary needs.

    However, prior legislative efforts repeatedly collapsed due to fierce lobbying from both the casino and skill-game factions.

    With the Supreme Court’s 120-day grace period now ticking, the General Assembly faces immense pressure. If lawmakers fail to pass a regulatory framework within the four-month window, law enforcement will have full legal authority to begin sweeping seizures of the machines statewide.







  • AnonymousJune 16, 2026

    https://www.casino.org/news/pennsylvania-supreme-court-rules-skill-games-are-slot-machines/

    Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Skill Games Are Slot Machines

    Posted on: June 15, 2026, 04:56h.
    Last updated on: June 15, 2026, 06:22h.
    Avatar photo
    Devin O'Connor
    Read More
    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has finally ruled on the long-debated legal saga over whether a gaming machine that allows players to alter their payout rate by using skill constitutes gambling. A majority of the state’s highest court ruled that it does.

    In what’s a major victory for the legal, regulated, and highly taxed gaming industry in the commonwealth, which for years has argued that unregulated and untaxed skill games have poached play from their slot machines, the PA Supreme Court voted nearly unanimously in the opinion that skill games are not immune from the Gaming Act.

    In a 66-page opinion, Justice David Wecht said interpretations of the gaming laws passed by the General Assembly require the definition of a skill game to constitute a gambling machine.

    Our General Assembly already has spoken clearly on this subject, particularly through a 2017 enactment that added new terms to the Gaming Act’s definition of a ‘slot machine,’ i.e., ‘skill slot machine,’ and ‘hybrid slot machine,’ which make abundantly clear that the ‘skill’ element of the subject devices is not legally significant. That is to say, as it concerns their unregulated operation in unlicensed facilities throughout Pennsylvania, it is not this Court that declares ‘skill games’ to be unlawful. Rather, it is the General Assembly that did so nearly a decade ago,” Wecht wrote.

    “If interested parties find the application of the General Assembly’s laws to be undesirable, the proper remedy lies with the same legislative body that wrote those laws. The solution is not for courts to adopt strained and untenable readings of statutes to avoid their application,” the majority opinion continued.

    In conclusion, the majority said a machine does not escape the legal scope of a slot machine simply because it incorporates an element of skill.

    Legislative Solution
    Skill games, commonly branded Pennsylvania Skill, are found in corner stores, restaurants, bars, laundromats, gas stations, social clubs, and elsewhere. Proponents of the games say they’ve helped countless small businesses pay rent and keep people employed amid a most challenging decade, propelled by a pandemic and inflation.

    Lower state courts had ruled on the skill games’ side, saying that since the machines are not true games of chance, the state Gaming Act doesn’t apply.

    In 2023, a commonwealth court found the games to be “primarily of skill.” The crux of that decision was based on the “Follow Me” feature, a bonus round that tests the player’s memory. Follow Me allows players to improve their payout rates, with an attorney for the industry arguing that skilled memory players can see payout rates above 100%, as high as 105%.

    The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Pennsylvania Lottery, PA Department of Revenue, and Pennsylvania State Police have argued that skill games are simply cleverly designed illegal slot machines. Now, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court can be added to that list.
    The ruling comes with a 120-day stay, meaning the decision doesn’t take immediate effect, and the games can remain in operation. The stay gives the General Assembly time to consider passing legislation to legalize, regulate, and possibly tax the machines.

    Industry Response
    In a statement to Casino.org, Pace-O-Matic, the leading provider of skill games in Pennsylvania, said it was “disappointed.”

    POM:

    We are disappointed with the decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and strongly believe it does not accurately reflect the facts presented — notably, the same facts that led to a string of lower court rulings affirming the legality of our skill games, including a unanimous Commonwealth Court ruling.

    “Sadly, this opinion will have far-reaching consequences, with more than 10,000 Pennsylvania small businesses and fraternal clubs becoming the real victims. They are now potentially left facing an impossible choice: cease operating these games and lose an important source of revenue, or endure a legislative solution that could bring excessive regulation and crippling taxation, which will force them to cease operating these games and lose an important source of revenue. The better option is for the legislature to support a commonsense piece of legislation that will tax and regulate skill games fairly, like the bipartisan bills sponsored by Senator Gene Yaw (R-Bradford) (SB 1079) and Representative Danilo Burgos (D-Philadelphia) (HB 2213).

    “We will continue work with lawmakers toward a legislative solution for skill games. Our number one priority continues to be supporting our small business and nonprofit partners across the commonwealth. Pace-O-Matic will always abide by the rule of law.”

    PlayPA for Charity, which advocates for the modernization of charitable gaming on behalf of veteran service organizations, fraternal clubs, and other nonprofits, was also frustrated with the Supreme Court’s decision.

    PlayPA for Charity:

    Today’s decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will have an immediate negative impact on the revenue of Veterans’ organizations and charitable clubs across the Commonwealth. However, there is a simple and immediate path forward to provide financial security and long-term certainty for these organizations: meaningful modernization of Pennsylvania’s Small Games of Chance law.

    “Any discussion around the future of skill games must include serious consideration for strengthening the charitable gaming model that directly support nonprofits across the state.

    “Unlike skill games, which have revenue-sharing models that divert proceeds away from charities and benefit machine operators first, the small games of chance model is intentionally structured so nonprofits are the primary beneficiary. Small games of chance are regulated, low-dollar games, operated exclusively by eligible nonprofit organizations, with proceeds going to charitable purposes and community reinvestment.

    “There is no better time to pass legislation to modernize Pennsylvania’s small games of chance law and provide VFW posts, American Legions, volunteer fire departments, and other charitable organizations with more opportunities to thrive in their communities.”






  • AnonymousJune 16, 2026


    https://www.thederrick.com/news/entertainment/in-major-decision-pa-supreme-court-rules-skill-games-are-slot-machines/article_82941bce-5f9b-510d-a0e2-660f905834d7.html

    In major decision, Pa. Supreme Court rules ‘skill games’ are slot machines
    Gillian McGoldrick and Abraham Gutman, The Philadelphia Inquirer 1 hr ago

    HARRISBURG — So-called skill games, the slot-machine lookalikes that have proliferated by the tens of thousands around Pennsylvania bars and corner stores, are slot machines devices and should be regulated as such, the state’s highest court ruled Monday.

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling clears the way for widespread taxation and regulation by the state, as well as limits on where the machines are available, as a majority of justices ruled that both gambling law and the criminal code apply to the machines.

    “The device is a ‘slot machine,’” wrote the newly-independent Justice David Wecht in the majority opinion.

    The majority recognized that the ruling could cause a “potential disturbance” for “business owners and other good-faith participants in the industry,” so the ruling will take effect after a 120-day “safe harbor” period. And if lawmakers in Harrisburg disagree with the opinion, the General Assembly “remains free at any time to take whatever legislative action it may deem appropriate.”

    Pennsylvania’s gambling industry is highly regulated and taxed. If state law is unchanged after the 120-day waiting period, the estimated 70,000 skill game machines available across the state would need to be regulated and confined to specific locations like casinos that have the proper licenses.

    Chief Justice Debra Todd and Justice Daniel McCaffery, both Democrats, joined the opinion in full, while Republican Justices Sallie Updyke Mundy and Kevin Brobson concurred with most of the majority’s reasoning but wrote a short dissent.

    Justice Christine Donohue, a Democrat, wrote a concurring decision.

    “Because chance predominates both the player’s eligibility for winnings and the magnitude of those winnings, the [skill games] device is a gambling device,” Donohue wrote.

    Justice Kevin Dougherty, a Philadelphia Democrat, sat out the long-awaited decision.

    Skill game operators have evaded taxation and regulation for more than a decade, operating in a legal gray area after lower courts ruled that the machines require a level of skill not necessary to play games of chance like slot machines.

    The most influential player in the skill games industry, Georgia-based operator Pace-O-Matic, has asked the state on multiple occasions to regulate and tax the machines — at a rate much lower than slot machines, arguing that their technology helps small businesses with small margins stay afloat as prices rise.

    In a statement, Pace-O-Matic said it was disappointed by Monday’s ruling with “far-reaching consequences” on Pennsylvania’s small businesses and fraternal organizations.

    “[Small businesses] are now potentially left facing an impossible choice: cease operating these games and lose an important source of revenue, or endure a legislative solution that could bring excessive regulation and crippling taxation, which will force them to cease operating these games and lose an important source of revenue,” a spokesperson for Pace-O-Matic added.

    Gov. Josh Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, has proposed regulating and taxing skill games at 52% — the same rate currently levied on slot machines and most other games of chance. He estimated taxing and regulating the machines could bring in $765.9 million for the state in new revenue in its first year, as part of its $53.2 billion February budget pitch.

    State lawmakers have been waiting for the state Supreme Court to rule whether the machines are legally slot machines or not, as the split legislature considers whether to and how much to tax them as a way to create a much-needed new revenue stream.

    Top legislators and Shapiro have convened over the last few weeks in closed-door meetings to finalize a state budget deal ahead of its June 30 deadline. Now with the decision in hand, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) and Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) said in a statement they believe gaming reform is a “critical piece of resolving this year’s budget.”

    In Philadelphia, City Council banned skill games in 2023 over concerns that they attract crime, but a lower court previously blocked its enforcement while several cases reached the state Supreme Court.

    A Philadelphia jury ordered Pace-O-Matic to pay $15.3 million last year to the estate of Ashokkumar Patel, a Hazelton store clerk killed during a 2020 robbery. And a Philadelphia store clerk shot last year during an armed robbery of a Philly Market in Frankford, Ahmedine Maham, sued Banilla Gaming, a North Carolina-based skills game manufacturer, for enticing his assailants.

    At the end of the 120-day waiting period, the machines will be subject to regulation like slot machines and restricted to specific locations licensed to house slot machines — unless lawmakers decide to change the law.

    Pace-O-Matic, in its statement Monday, urged lawmakers to approve bipartisan legislative proposals backed by rural GOP members and Philadelphia Democrats that would charge a $500 fee per skill game machine and would not restrict the machines to licensed slot machine locations, such as casinos.

    In a statement, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, a Republican, praised the Supreme Court’s decision as a “significant victory for consumers, taxpayers, and the rule of law.”

    “The Supreme Court recognized what our office has argued from the beginning – these machines operate as gambling devices and cannot legally exist without the same oversight, regulation and accountability as other forms of legalized gaming in the commonwealth,“ Sunday added. ”Pennsylvanians deserve protections that ensure games are fair, transparent and operated within the bounds of the law.”


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