Two Bills Would Restructure Pennsylvania Gaming
Diamond’s official co-sponsorship memorandum says the first measure would amend the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Skill games and video gaming terminals would be permitted through a distributed market covering clubs, liquor-licensed restaurants and bars, and qualifying truck stops.
The proposal would direct all gaming tax revenue through the State Gaming Fund. Diamond’s suggested formula allocates 79% to property tax relief, 13.25% to the General Fund, 6.75% to the Race Horse Development Trust Fund and 1% to compulsive and problem gambling treatment.
A second bill would replace the existing property tax relief mechanism with a direct annual “gaming dividend” for qualifying homestead and farmstead owners. Diamond estimates that approximately 2.87 million homeowners would have received $702 each if the proposed formula had applied in the 2025/26 fiscal year. This is a retrospective estimate, not a guaranteed future payment.
Court Decision Adds Pressure but Does Not Enact the Plan
Diamond presented the package following a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision concerning the legal treatment of unregulated skill games. The ruling increased pressure on lawmakers to clarify how the machines should be regulated within the Commonwealth’s existing gaming framework. Diamond said in his official announcement,
“Pennsylvania’s gaming law was originally written for a much different era.”
He argued that bringing skill games into a regulated system would modernise Pennsylvania’s approach while allowing homeowners to receive a greater share of gaming revenue.
Diamond has framed 13 October as the deadline for lawmakers to establish a new framework before the court ruling takes effect. That timetable creates legislative urgency, but it does not give his proposal legal force. The two measures must still be formally introduced, assigned bill numbers, considered by committees and approved by both legislative chambers before reaching the governor.
The initiative forms part of a wider state debate over emerging gaming products. Pennsylvania lawmakers have separately proposed a regulatory framework for prediction markets, illustrating how the Commonwealth is reassessing products that sit outside traditional casino categories.
Proposed Tax Rates Could Shift Competitive Conditions
The suggested 20% skill game tax would sit well below the proposed 49.9% rate for casino slots and online casino games. For operators, suppliers and venue owners, that distinction could affect market entry, machine deployment and competition between distributed gaming locations and licensed casinos.
The fiscal debate is not limited to Pennsylvania. Recent US commercial gaming revenue data highlighted industry concerns that unregulated skill machines and other emerging products can reduce taxable revenue available to states.
However, Diamond’s memorandum does not yet provide complete licensing, technical testing, reporting or enforcement requirements. Those details will determine the proposal’s practical cost and compliance impact once formal bill language becomes available.
Consumer Protection Rules Remain a Key Question
The memorandum proposes nearly doubling funding for compulsive and problem gambling treatment but offers limited operational detail on age controls, machine monitoring and player safeguards. These provisions will be closely watched given Pennsylvania’s existing campaign addressing underage gambling risks.
Until the two documents are formally introduced and passed, skill game businesses should treat Diamond’s framework as a policy proposal whose scope, tax rates and implementation requirements may change during the legislative process.
