Pennsylvania’s lawmakers have been unable to agree on a budget with partisan divides over funding mass transit, spending, and a deficit that will drain the state’s reserves if spending and revenue trends don’t change.
But there is one issue on which legislators could find common ground: regulating so-called skill games.
These video games are popping up like weeds and a state senator says it's time to do something about them.
Wayne Fontana says skill games once found mostly in bars are now in places like convenience stores. He's even seen one on the street in the middle of a block.
Children can play them. Fontana says skill game operators are taking advantage of a loophole by claiming a skill game is unlike a game of chance played in a casino.
It’s a flimsy loophole because anyone can see there’s little difference between the two.
The senator thinks skill games should be regulated for use in licensed businesses like restaurants and bars and facilities like VFW posts.
We agree.
It is time to regulate skill games and add new revenue.