Skill Games Regulation
| In the News
A Winning Hand for Pennsylvania’s Older Adults
Across Pennsylvania, 52 Area Agencies on Aging provide meals, in-home visits, transportation, caregiver support, and protective services that allow older adults to remain safe and age independently at home. These services are funded through the Pennsylvania Lottery Fund, which is dedicated to support older Pennsylvanians.
Right now, a real opportunity to grow funding for older adults could be sitting in the gas station down the street.
A Booming Industry, An Untapped Opportunity
Skill game machines have continued to pop up across the commonwealth. Marketed as games of skill, they generate significant revenue for their operators. Because they exist in a regulatory gray zone, however, the revenue flows out of Pennsylvania communities without a cent being redirected to the services residents depend on.
The Pennsylvania Lottery estimates that at least $170 million in annual revenue is being drawn away from the Lottery Fund due to skill games. Because there is no regulatory framework and skill game machines continue to proliferate, the true scale of the opportunity is even greater than we know.
The Stakes for Older Pennsylvanians
As Lottery Fund revenue declines, PENNCARE funding—which supports services for older Pennsylvanians—is directly affected. AAAs are already being forced to make difficult decisions: which senior centers to maintain, which waitlists to manage, and how to sustain in-home visits that can make all the difference. Cutting these services removes the check-in that catches abuse before it happens or the meal delivery that ensures someone eats. The ripple effect reaches families, emergency rooms, nursing homes, and communities across the state.
By 2030, one in three Pennsylvanians will be over age 60. The population is growing; consistent, reliable funding is essential to keep pace.
Lawmakers Have the Opportunity to Act
Regulating and taxing skill games, and directing that revenue to PENNCARE, is one of the most direct, responsible paths forward for older adult services in Pennsylvania. It would:
- Stabilize and strengthen home and community-based services
- Reduce waiting lists and unmet service needs
- Support stronger workforce recruitment and retention in aging services, an essential sector strained by rising costs and staff turnover
- Improve service quality and program sustainability
- Generate long-term savings by delaying or preventing more costly institutional care
A vote for skill game regulation is a vote for older adults.
Make Your Voice Heard
Lawmakers need to hear from Pennsylvanians on this issue. P4A has made it easy to contact your representatives and urge them to support skill game regulation and a full PENNCARE investment.
Visit Take Action Now! to send a message to your legislators today. It takes just a few minutes, and for the older adults in your community, it will make a difference.