Harrisburg, Pa. — Four state lawmakers, including Sen. Gene Yaw, have withdrawn their request asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to delay enforcement against skill game machines until February.
The lawmakers filed an emergency application at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday asking the court to extend the 120-day "safe harbor" it set in June, which protects owners and operators of the machines from police action until Oct. 13. They wanted it pushed to Feb. 10, 2027, to give the Legislature time to pass a bill licensing and taxing the machines.
Just after 11 a.m. Wednesday, their attorney, David S. Senoff of First Law Strategy Group, filed a one-sentence notice asking the court to mark the case "discontinued and ended." The notice says the case had only been docketed that day and no other parties had been served a copy.
The notice does not say why the lawmakers withdrew the request.
Yaw filed the request with Sen. Anthony H. Williams, D-Philadelphia, Rep. Danilo Burgos, D-Philadelphia, and Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne. In the application, the four argued that seizing machines before the bill passes would slow down the new system, since devices held as evidence or tied up in forfeiture cases can't be licensed and put back into service.
With the request withdrawn, the Oct. 13 deadline stands. The Supreme Court ruled June 15 that skill games are illegal slot machines under the state Gaming Act. The court delayed its order for 120 days to give lawmakers time to act. No skill game bill has been formally introduced at this time.
