“ In our games , you can win every single time . It just depends on how you play it and if you ’ re a skillful , patient player . There are players that don ’ t put in such effort , and that ’ s their choice .”
— Michael Barley , Chief Public Affairs Officer , Pace-O-Matic
company ’ s machines had been seized illegally in raids . In Virginia , a back-and-forth on the wisdom of permitting the games led to a law that places an absolute ban on “ skill games .”
But what is a skill game , anyway ? Even expert poker and blackjack players , if pressed on whether those games were based on skill or luck , likely would simply answer “ yes .” Both elements definitely apply .
How Much Skill ?
State regulations tend to break down the “ skill vs . luck ” gambling issue into one of three directions .
One is whether skill is the “ predominant ” factor in whether a player is successful . Another is the “ material element test ” regarding whether chance plays a significant role in the result . The least common is the “ any chance test ,” which basically finds that if there is any luck involved , it constitutes illegal gambling .
The AGA has simplified this seeming conundrum , coming out against any activity where money is risked but which does not feature legal oversight . From the report :
“ These unregulated machines look and act just like the slot machines found in a casino , but operate instead in unlicensed environments like bars , taverns , convenience stores and gas stations , where they prey on vulnerable consumers , including minors . Additionally , the lack of regulatory controls increases the risks they may be tied to criminal activity including money laundering , drug trafficking and violent crime .
“ State lawmakers and regulators must take action to strengthen and enforce laws protecting consumers from these machines that often lure players in under the guise of being ‘ games of skill .’”
But Barley disputes that characterization of his games , a popular version of which resembles a tic-tac-toe board where a player might have 30 seconds to choose which of the nine symbols on the screen to convert to “ wild .” The shrewdest move would be to add the wild symbol in a slot that produces the equivalent of three consecutive matching symbols — and thus a winning result .
Pattern recognition and memory recognition skills also come into play with many games , so someone particularly adept and focused will “ beat the house ”— to use a gambling term — over and over , to the tune of about a 5 percent profit .
“ In our games , you can win every single time . It just depends on how
Pace-O-Matic ’ s Dragon ’ s Ascent is a game focused on skill rather than chance , according to the ruling in D . C . which determined how the game fit into their standing gambling laws
you play it and if you ’ re a skillful , patient player ,” Barley has said . “ There are players that don ’ t put in such effort , and that ’ s their choice .”
Further muddying the waters is the fact that the AGA does not offer a stance on the legitimacy of “ historical horse racing machines ,” which quite similarly could involve the use of some skill by a player , but often do not .
Barley also notes that the reason many legislators are loathe to completely crack down on the machines is that in many cases they provide much-needed revenue for local charitable organizations . Three Pennsylvania lawmakers — state Senator Gene Yaw and state Reps . Jeff Wheeland and Danilo Burgos — in late 2021 announced plans for legislation , dubbed the “ Skill Gaming Act ,” that will regulate and tax such games at 16 percent of gross profits .
That bill has faced its own host of detractors , however , including operators of casinos , the Pennsylvania State Police , and former Governor Tom Wolf .
Barley also points to the company ’ s self-regulation efforts , such as hiring of a team of former Pennsylvania state police officers to enforce codes of conduct . That includes ensuring that the machines are not located in such an abundance in any one place that they effectively create “ mini-casinos .”
He adds that the casino visitor is not similar to a visitor to a local store or tavern , who enters the door for other reasons but might spend a little extra time there to try to make a little money on one of the machines . “ They ’ re just two different customer bases ,” Barley says . In Virginia , House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore tried and failed in
February to pass a bill legalizing skill-based games .
The state ’ s General Assembly had voted in 2020 to ban the machines , around the same time that the state legalized construction of casinos for the first time . But then-Governor Ralph Northam in 2021 backed a one-year
APRIL 2023 www . ggbmagazine . com 15