PA State Police Issue Formal Enforcement Warning: Machines Must Be Gone by October 13 — 29 Days Left

Today, September 14, Pennsylvania State Police issued a formal public statement reminding every business in the commonwealth hosting a skill game terminal: as of October 14, 2026, troopers will begin seizing machines and filing criminal charges. The legislature has been back in session for five days. Twenty-nine days remain before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 120-day stay expires and enforcement begins. This is not a political warning or a trade association alert — it is an official law enforcement statement from the Pennsylvania State Police, and every operator needs to read it carefully.

What the Pennsylvania State Police Actually Said

The PSP statement, issued through the official pa.gov newsroom and echoed by law enforcement agencies across the state, is specific about what happens starting October 14 and what does — and does not — constitute compliance between now and then.

The core enforcement position is unambiguous: “All establishments possessing, operating and/or maintaining such machines are subject to criminal prosecution and immediate seizure of the machines as of Oct. 14, 2026.” The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s June ruling — which found skill games to be unregulated, illegal slot machines — established that framework, and the 120-day stay the court granted ends on October 13.

Enforcement actions may include:

• Seizure and forfeiture of the machines themselves. Under Pennsylvania law, illegal gambling devices are subject to forfeiture. That means the physical machines, associated equipment including ticket redemption terminals, and the cash or credits associated with their operation can all be taken.
• Criminal charges against location owners and operators. The statement is explicit that criminal prosecution is on the table “where deemed appropriate” — not as a last resort, but as a standard enforcement option alongside seizure.
• Seizure of funds tied to machine operation. Cash drawers, prize payouts, and revenue associated with the machines are included in what law enforcement may take.

The single most operationally important line in the PSP statement is this one: simply unplugging or powering off an otherwise operable machine will not be enough to comply with the law. This is a direct answer to the question many operators have been quietly asking: can I just turn the machines off and wait to see what happens in Harrisburg? The State Police have now answered that question. No, you cannot.

Their recommendation is equally direct: operators currently hosting machines should discuss their removal with any distributors or vendors who may own the machines and associated equipment, including ticket redemption terminals. Physical removal — coordinated with the machine owner or distributor — is the only path to compliance that the PSP has formally recognized.

Where the Legislature Stands: Five Days Back, Twenty-Nine Days Left

The General Assembly returned from summer recess on September 9, exactly as predicted. With today being September 14, Harrisburg has been in session for five days of what was supposed to be the most consequential legislative stretch for Pennsylvania skill game operators in the industry’s history.

The two leading regulatory vehicles — Senate Bill 1079, co-sponsored by Senator Gene Yaw (R-23rd) and Senator Anthony H. Williams (D-8th), and House Bill 2213, with bipartisan co-sponsorship from Reps. Danilo Burgos (D-197th) and Jonathan Fritz (R-139th) — are both still in committee. Neither bill has yet received a committee vote that would move it to the floor. Our August 31 analysis identified committee votes in week one as the most critical gate, and that gate has not yet opened.

That does not mean the five days have been idle. The legislative calendar in Pennsylvania requires scheduling on the committee chair’s authority, and the first week back typically involves leadership meetings to set the floor agenda for the following two to three weeks. What is not yet public is whether those leadership conversations have produced a commitment to bring SB 1079 or HB 2213 to a committee vote in the week of September 14–21 — which is now the critical window if the five-week sprint is to stay on track.

A new proposal adds complexity to the legislative picture. On September 2, Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) announced plans to introduce a broad gaming reform bill that would regulate skill games at a 20% tax rate, with machines permitted only in establishments holding a liquor license or qualified truck stops and capped at five terminals per location. The Diamond proposal also reduces the casino slot machine tax rate to 49.9% and is designed to generate nearly $1 billion in additional property tax relief for Pennsylvania homeowners — benefit for an estimated 2.87 million residents. Diamond’s proposal is a third framework alongside SB 1079’s flat-fee structure and Governor Shapiro’s preferred 52% gross terminal revenue rate, and its introduction signals that the tax rate debate has not narrowed even as the calendar has.

The Tax Rate Standoff and the Time It Is Consuming

With twenty-nine days left, the gap between the three competing revenue frameworks is the central legislative obstacle. Understanding each position — and what it would mean for operators — is essential context for what happens over the next four weeks.

SB 1079 / HB 2213: $500 per terminal per month flat fee. Applied to a statewide cap of 50,000 terminals, this generates approximately $300 million annually. For a location running three machines, that is $1,500 per month in fees before any revenue share with the host establishment. Most operators who have modeled this find it workable, particularly compared to a percentage-based rate. VFWs and fire companies hosting two or three terminals have been the loudest advocates for this structure because the predictable cost can be built into a community organization’s annual budget.

Governor Shapiro’s position: 52% gross terminal revenue. Shapiro’s budget called for a 52% GTR tax, which his administration projected would generate between $500 million and $800 million annually. For the average skill game machine earning approximately $500–$800 per month in gross terminal revenue, a 52% rate means $260–$416 per machine per month going to the state — before the operator pays their own overhead, location split, and maintenance costs. Most operators modeling this rate conclude it eliminates the economics of hosting machines in the community venues — VFWs, fire halls, and neighborhood bars — where skill games have built their base.

Rep. Diamond’s proposal: 20% gross terminal revenue. Diamond’s 20% rate would generate less immediate revenue for the state than either competing framework, but the proposal is structured as a package deal with broader gaming reform that its sponsor argues makes the aggregate fiscal picture more compelling. The 20% rate is more favorable to operators than either alternative, but the liquor license restriction would disqualify a meaningful portion of current skill game locations — particularly convenience stores and fuel retailers that do not hold liquor licenses.

The three-way standoff means that the legislature cannot simply pass SB 1079 and send it to Shapiro expecting a signature. The governor has not endorsed the flat-fee structure and his position on Diamond’s alternative is unknown. Any bill that reaches Shapiro’s desk must either include a tax structure he is willing to sign, or survive the political dynamics of a veto with less than a month remaining before the enforcement deadline.

What Operators Must Do Right Now

With the PSP enforcement statement now official and the legislative clock running, the calculus for every Pennsylvania skill game operator has shifted. The following actions are appropriate regardless of how the legislative story resolves over the next four weeks.

Contact your machine distributor or vendor today. The PSP’s explicit recommendation is that operators discuss removal with their vendors. If you do not own the machines outright, your vendor needs to know your situation and timeline. Vendors who own the machines are responsible parties under the enforcement framework, and most have contingency plans for the October 13 scenario. A conversation you have on September 14 gives you and your vendor four weeks of planning time. A conversation you have on October 12 gives you one day.

Do not assume political developments will change enforcement timing. The PSP statement was issued while the legislature was in session and while multiple regulatory frameworks were actively under discussion. Law enforcement issued it anyway, on schedule, as a formal compliance notice. That is a signal about how the enforcement side of this is operating: on its own timeline, independent of legislative negotiations. A deal in Harrisburg before October 13 changes the picture entirely — but a deal is not guaranteed, and operators who are planning as if one is inevitable are taking a risk that the PSP has now formally warned against.

Have a location-by-location removal sequence planned. For operators with machines at multiple locations, the removal logistics are not simple. Each location may have a different host agreement, different machine ownership structure, and different practical timeline for physical removal. Operators who have worked through this sequence — which locations come first, who coordinates the physical removal at each site, how host location owners are notified — are positioned to execute quickly whether removal is required by October 13 or by a post-legislative-failure scenario in late October. Those who have not are making decisions under pressure in a compressed timeframe.

Keep advocating for a legislative solution. The PSP enforcement warning and the advocacy push are not in conflict — they are simultaneous realities that operators must manage simultaneously. Call your state senator and representative this week. Ask specifically whether SB 1079 or HB 2213 will receive a committee vote before September 21. Ask them to commit to it. The constituent pressure that shaped the August recess advocacy surge needs to continue through the legislative session, week by week, as the deadline narrows. Operators with questions about where their machines stand legally and what the advocacy landscape looks like in their county should use every available resource between now and October 12.

Review your host location agreements now. If your host location agreement does not address what happens in the event machines are required to be removed by law, now is the time to have that conversation with the host. Some host agreements include indemnification clauses; others do not. Your host establishment is also receiving the same enforcement signals from the PSP and from news coverage, and they deserve to understand the timeline and what a removal would look like in practical terms.

The Next Four Weeks: What to Watch

The PSP statement marks the start of the final enforcement window. Between now and October 13, the most significant developments to watch — and act on as they occur — are:

Week of September 14–21: Committee votes. This is the last week in which SB 1079 or HB 2213 can receive a committee vote and still leave enough time for floor votes in both chambers before October 13. If committee votes do not happen this week, the legislative path becomes extremely compressed and the probability of a pre-deadline bill declines significantly. Watch for announcements from the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee and the House Gaming Oversight Committee.

Week of September 21–28: First chamber floor votes. If committee votes occur in the prior week, floor votes in at least one chamber become possible in week two. A Senate floor vote on SB 1079 would be the most significant single event in this window — Senate passage moves the bill to the House and begins the final legislative clock.

Week of September 28–October 5: Second chamber passage and Shapiro signals. If a bill passes one chamber by the end of September, the second chamber has approximately two weeks to consider and pass it. During this period, signals from Governor Shapiro’s office about whether he will sign the legislature’s framework — or demand changes that could push a signing to after October 13 — are the most consequential information available to operators.

October 6–12: The final window. Any bill signed in this seven-day window still beats the October 13 enforcement deadline. But there is no margin for delay, amendment cycles, or gubernatorial review extensions. A bill signed after October 12 and before broad enforcement begins may still provide retroactive cover, but that scenario is legally uncertain and not one any operator should be counting on.

The PSP enforcement statement issued today is not the end of the story. It is a mile marker on a road that reaches its destination on October 14. Whether that destination is a regulated industry operating under a new framework, or an enforcement sweep beginning with machine seizures at businesses that did not remove their terminals, depends on what happens in Harrisburg in the next four weeks. Operators who are waiting to see which outcome arrives before acting are running out of time to be ready for either one.

For current questions about your specific operation, your county’s enforcement posture, or what a removal process would look like in practical terms, contact us directly. We work with PA skill game operators across the state and can help you navigate the next twenty-nine days with a clear plan regardless of how the legislative picture resolves.