After the PA Skill Game Ban: What Bars, Clubs and Stores Can Do Now
Published June 9, 2026 · Rewritten October 21, 2026 · 5 min read · By Christian Nichols, Archer ATM
For a lot of Western PA bars, VFW and Legion posts, fire-company clubs and mini-marts, the skill game terminals in the corner paid real bills: payroll, the roof, the scholarship fund. As of October 13, 2026 they are gone. This is a plain-English summary of what happened, what is still allowed, and where an ATM fits (and where it doesn't).
What happened
- June 15, 2026: the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that unlicensed skill games are slot machines under the state Gaming Act, and paused enforcement for 120 days.
- October 9, 2026: the court refused requests to push the deadline to February 2027.
- October 13, 2026: the removal deadline. The legislature did not pass a licensing bill in time.
- October 14, 2026: the Pennsylvania State Police began enforcement. They have said an operable machine is still a slot machine even if it is unplugged or switched off, and that penalties can include seizure, criminal charges and liquor-license citations.
If a machine is still sitting in your building, talk to your route operator and the State Police guidance, not to an ATM company. Legislators have said they may revisit licensing after the election, but nothing has passed.
What income options are still on the table
Owners and post commanders I talk to are looking at a mix of these. None of them replaces the terminals alone.
- PA Lottery sales, if you aren't already a retailer.
- Small games of chance (pull-tabs, raffles, daily drawings) under a county license, for eligible clubs and licensed taverns. Check the current rules with your county treasurer before you start.
- Events and food: wing nights, bingo, fish fries and hall rentals, which all still run largely on cash.
- An ATM, which pays you a little on every withdrawal and keeps the cash for all of the above inside your building.
Where an ATM honestly fits
An ATM will not earn what a skill game terminal earned. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. What it does do:
- Costs you nothing. On a free placement I supply, install, load and service the machine.
- Pays you on every withdrawal, either a share of the surcharge or a flat amount per withdrawal, monthly.
- Keeps cash in the building for the bar, the kitchen, lottery, raffles and bingo, instead of sending members down the road to a bank machine.
- Fills the gap if your ATM left with the route. Some skill game operators placed an ATM alongside their terminals and took both when they pulled out.
A simple illustration
Say members and customers make 30 withdrawals a week. At a flat $1.00 per withdrawal to the location, that's about $130 a month, or roughly $1,560 a year, for floor space you already have.
Busy bars and clubs on event nights do more; quiet ones do less. It's an illustration, not a promise, and I'll estimate your real numbers from your traffic before you sign anything. Try the calculator.
Flat fee or revenue share?
Most posts and clubs pick the flat fee because it's predictable and easy to report at the monthly meeting. Busier bars often do better on a share. I'll show you both. Flat fee vs revenue share, explained.
If you'd rather own the machine and keep the whole surcharge, I also sell ATMs with free processing. If you already have a machine from someone else, I can take over its processing, loading and service, or replace it.
To be clear
Archer ATM does not place, service, fund or advise on gaming machines. An ATM is a bank-network cash machine and nothing else.
Lost your terminals, or the ATM that came with them?
Free placement. A flat fee or a revenue share. One local owner who picks up the phone.
Sources: Pennsylvania State Police, Barley Snyder, Penn Capital-Star. This article is general information, not legal advice.