Is there any wonder why state Sen. Gene Yaw is such an ardent supporter of skill games and Pace-O-Matic (POM), the largest distributor of these machines in Pennsylvania (”Goliath twists the tale on skill games” in the May 1 edition of The Era)? But the senator has it the wrong way around: he is representing Goliath — not David.

Georgia-based POM has flooded our state with tens of thousands of untaxed and unregulated skill games. State lawmakers have sought, but never received, information from POM identifying the number of machines they have in our state; the revenues these machines generate; or where, exactly, these machines are operating.

Rather than seek compromise legislation to regulate these machines, POM issues threats, and drags its opponents into court. POM’s CEO, testifying under oath before the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee (CERDC) in October 2023, said that if the tax rate included in any legislation was too high, “then we would sue.”

The senator should be aware of POM’s tactics. He serves on the CERDC and Pace-O-Matic is a client of the law firm where he works. In fact, POM is paying Sen. Yaw’s firm to sue three consultants (the authors of this op-ed), who represent a casino and are opposing the senator’s skill game legislation.

The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported, “Samuel C. Stretton, a West Chester attorney who represents lawyers and judges in ethics cases, said Yaw’s relationships with the McCormick firm and Pace-O-Matic give the appearance of a conflict of interest in Yaw’s sponsorship of the skill games bill. ‘You can’t use your state position to benefit your private clients,’ Stretton said.”

In addition, the sentor’s defense of POM is inaccurate. The senator states, “The only games that have generated court decisions and definitions of ‘skill games’ are Pennsylvania Skill games developed by Pace-O-Matic (POM).” There are several court decisions in Pennsylvania regarding skill games by other manufacturers, including Banilla Games.

Sen. Yaw ignores the fact that in June 2024, the state Supreme Court accepted an appeal regarding Pace-OMatic’s skill games. That matter is still pending, which means that the legality of POM machines is not settled.

Our client supports compromise legislation to tax and regulate skill games in a fair and equitable way that reflects the way the state currently taxes and regulates casino slot machines. The legislation will help to protect older Pennsylvanians who rely on programs funded by our state lottery, which has lost an estimated $200 million in ticket sales to skill games in the last five years.

The legislation would also make communities safer by removing skill games from corner stores, gas stations and other businesses that have no measures in place to prevent underage gambling or to mitigate problem gambling.

It is important to note that POM has engaged a myriad of consultants to represent their interests and, to date, nobody has sued any of these people for doing their jobs.

(Pete Shelly, Dick Gmerek and Sean Schafer are Harrisburg-based consultants to Parx Casino.)