Skill Based Gambling Legal
On Tuesday May 6, PBJ Games set out to completely disrupt the market of online skill gaming with the launch of Dollar Candy, an HTML5 app. The app makes legal, 60-second skill games accessible to the gambling-loving masses across major mobile and tablet devices.
Legal Gambling Sites
People in the gambling industry don't typically call gambling gambling - instead it's referred to as wagering and gaming.The split between the two is basically as follows: gaming is based on chance, while wagering is based on skill. A lottery is gaming because it is betting on the outcome of a random event. Betting on a horse race is wagering because the outcome of the race is not based on. Taken at face value, cash tournaments based on skill games bear a resemblance to the mechanisms of gambling. Players that pay an entry fee to participate in a cash tournament with a cash prize for the winner? The wrong terms can push your operations into the wrong side of the legal border.
Online gambling has long been a hot-ticket item for the political world, but skill gaming – playing games of skill for money – hasn't been as big of an issue. As a result, the industry amassed $671 million in 2013 alone and is projected to haul in $3 billion by 2017. Skill gaming distinguishes itself from gambling in that skill gamers win based on skill while gamblers win based on luck; while online gambling is legal in only three US states, online skill gambling is legal in 36 different states.
“Until now, the skill gaming market has been dominated by a narrow niche group of specialized gamers who invest hours in learning and mastering skill games that generally require a PC to play and aren’t accessible on all devices. Furthermore, the ultra-competitive skill gaming world is notoriously hostile to ‘newbies' and susceptible to computerized cheating,” says Ian Ippolito, CEO of PJB Games.
Based on the traditional way most casinos market games, it had been a curiosity as to how the various new skill-based slot games would be marketed to and received by players. Per her ruling, the law does not apply to unlicensed slot machines. This is the latest decision in a lengthy battle within the Commonwealth over whether or not these skill-based games are legal. POM had argued that their machines were a “game of skill” and therefore not a slot machine under PA law. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Dollar Candy, then, is designed to be learned in as little as 20 seconds, take only 60 seconds to play, and resist spam robo-cheaters since it relies on distinctly human reasoning and skill sets. Additionally, traditional PC skill games require a 15 to 45 percent fee on payouts while Dollar Candy’s fee is only 10 to 11 percent. According to their data, 3 out of every 4 Dollar Candy players either make money or break even.
“Before, real money skill games were only accessible to a small niche group of gamers willing to invest hours of time to learn and put up with substantial quality and accessibility issues,” says Ippolito.
It begs the question, though: how is the element of luck removed from Dollar Candy? First, all players in a tournament receive the exact same game board, which eliminates the ‘luck of the draw' found in card and video games.
Further, no random events occur to individuals during gameplay, which prevents lucky or unlucky breaks. Additionally, no player is allowed to purchase power-ups or any special gameplay advantages over others.
So, check out the US map that PBJ Games has drawn up, and if your state is colored in green, you're good to go for some skill-based gambling. If your state is grey, contact your local lawmakers and make a push to legalize money skill-gaming. In the mean time, I'm going to kick back and win some ca$h.
Skill-based gaming is nothing new. It debuted in Atlantic City and Las Vegas around five years ago to mixed success.
However, skill slots are currently the hottest thing in Pennsylvania’s gaming market. Numerous people are playing these slots at bars, convenience stores, restaurants, and other types of businesses.
A PA skill game works a little differently from a regular slot machine. Assuming you’d like to know more about these games, you can learn about them below.
How Does a Pennsylvania Skill Slot Machine Work?
A Pennsylvania skill game looks and plays very similar to a regular slot machine. You begin playing these games by inserting your money into the terminal.
Next, you spin the reels and hope to line up matching symbols in paylines. Most of these games show how much each winning combinations pays through a pay table on the side.
Again, you can see that these games aren’t much different from standard slots. But each can differ from the next regarding the skill element.
Here are various examples on how these slots incorporate skill:
- A pre-reveal mechanism that allows you to see if you’ll win or lose the next spin.
- You must touch wild and/or scatter symbols to activate them.
- Skill-based bonus rounds.
Starting with the first option, pre-reveal slot machines first gained infamy in Florida. They give you an option, or force you, to see if the upcoming round will be a winner or loser.
Knowing the result of the spin enables you to determine whether it’s worth playing. Normally, though, you can only see the result of a single spin.
The second feature, where you touch certain symbols to activate them, doesn’t really bring much skill into the fold. It simply introduces a manual element to the game.
Finally, skill-based bonus rounds can see you do all sorts of things. One example is a memory game, where the slot shows you a series of flashing dots.
At first, you’ll have an easier time remember which dots flash. But these games get tougher and tougher as more dots flash and really test your memory skills.
How Do Skill Games Differ From Regular Slot Machines?
A skill slot machine looks and plays much like standard real money slots. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two under most circumstances.
However, PA skill games feature more action than just spinning the reels. As described before, they see you doing everything from tapping symbols to playing fun bonuses.
Pace-O-Matic, one of the biggest manufacturers of such terminals, designs these games in a specific manner so as to avoid the normal gambling distinction.
After all, convenience stores, laundry mats, and bars can’t just offer a regular slot machine without a license. But they can feature a skill-based terminal without breaking laws—at least for now anyways.
These machines also give you more influence over the results. You might not be able to use your abilities to control 100% of the outcomes. However, you may have the ability to control approximately 3% of the action through skill.
The companies that develop PA skill slots aren’t required to divulge return to player (RTP). Their operators don’t need to offer this information either.
This aspect heavily differs from the regulated Pennsylvania gambling market. Land-based casinos must work with gaming regulators and offer RTP figures.
In What Ways Are Skill and Regular Slots the Same?
These games may offer the promise of skill-based gaming. In the end, though, they aren’t much different than standard slot machines.
Both use random number generators to determine the bulk of the results. Your odds of winning heavily rely on the luck associated with each spin.
For example, a PA skill slot might feature 90% RTP on the spins alone. But it would give you the ability to influence another 5% of the RTP through a bonus round.
With expert play, you could bump the payback up to 95%. Of course, this figure doesn’t differ much from casino slots, which typically offer between 90% and 95% payback.
Another similarity is the fact that the house wins in both cases. Some players mistakenly believe that they can win guaranteed profits if they play a skill-based game just right.
The truth, though, is that they don’t have any better chance of winning at a convenience store than they do a casino. The skill aspect is mostly an illusion that’s designed to float Pennsylvania gambling laws.
Of course, you can always get lucky with a skill-based or regular slot machine and win the jackpot. You’ll be relying on luck to win in both cases, though.
Skill Slots Are Quite Controversial
PAIG also takes exception to the fact that these games aren’t regulated. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board doesn’t have any jurisdiction over the makers or operators of skill terminals.
Furthermore, the bars, convenience stores, and restaurants that offer these machines don’t pay additional taxes. They only cover standard income taxes on profits.
Contrast this situation to the state’s 12 land-based casinos. Each must pay a licensing fee to operate along with a 54% tax rate on revenue.
This 54% rate makes Pennsylvania one of the toughest markets for earning casino gaming profits. Meanwhile, skill-based operators gain a competitive advantage by paying far less in taxes.
Skill Gambling Games
Will Pennsylvania Ban These Slot Machines?
PAIG has made some headway in bringing light to the hypocrisy surrounding skill-based gaming. The group is drawing more attention to their mission of getting these games shut down.
Police in certain Pennsylvania jurisdictions have seized these terminals during crackdowns on illegal gambling. Pace-O-Matic responded with a lawsuit against the Bureau of Liquor Control and Enforcement.
As of now, the two sides are embroiled in a murky legal battle where nobody has tasted victory yet. In January 2020, a Commonwealth Court judge ruled that Pennsylvania State Police can seize skill-based games while the matter is being decided in court.
This ruling doesn’t mean that authorities will seize relevant terminals all over the Keystone State. Instead, it just lifts a ban on the practice of doing so as law enforcement sees fit.
State police argue that the skill-based machines are only a small part of their crackdown on illegal gambling. They’ve only seized a few dozen of the 20,000 skill games operating throughout the state.
For this reason, the Commonwealth Judge saw no reason to ban such seizures. Of course, the games will be given back if Pace-O-Matic wins its case.
Neither side has presented a compelling argument on why these terminals should or shouldn’t be legal. But Florida might provide a preview on what will happen with this case.
The Sunshine State had a problem with pre-reveal slot machines running rampant throughout its borders. The Seminole Tribe, which holds a gambling pact with Florida, argued that pre-reveal games violated its agreement with the state.
After careful consideration, a judge decided to ban these machines. They ruled that pre-reveal slots fall under the definition of illegal gambling.
Pennsylvania doesn’t have a tribal gaming pact with any Native American tribes. However, it does have a licensed gambling market with 12 casinos.
The state may ultimately rule against Pace-O-Matic to preserve its good relationship with the licensed gambling establishments.
Conclusion
A PA skill slot differs slightly from casino terminals by including some element of skill. “Some” is the key word here, though, because these games don’t give you a true chance to overcome the house edge.
You might be able to influence 5% of the RTP through your abilities. But if the base RTP is 91%, you can only achieve up to 96% RTP.
Skill-based slots remain a mixed bag. They include different elements than a standard slot, but they’re also somewhat deceiving in how much control they give you over results.
PAIG is currently fighting against these terminals and believe that they constitute illegal gaming. The jury is out, though, on if these games will ultimately be outlawed.