Mike Misic: Skill games are valuable to Pa. communities

Too many times important decisions are made that impact everyday people without getting their input.

Skill games is a great example. I hear chatter about them from big out-of-state gaming corporations and powerful gaming lobbyists that tell me they know nothing about them. Last month the state Senate held three separate hearings where there was discussion about skill games, and they did not invite even one small business or organization that benefits from them to testify. We need the average Pennsylvania voices to be heard.

As part of Farrell VFW Post 5286, I’d like to be heard. I know firsthand how important skill games are to small-town Pennsylvania. For my organization they provide extra revenue that we need to support our veterans. From fire departments and VFWs to restaurants, bars and family grocery stores, skill games make a significant financial impact.

These games add to a business or organization’s bottom line, fund health benefits for employees and allow groups to support local charities.

During the past year and throughout the covid pandemic, Pennsylvania skill games became a lifeline for businesses and fraternal clubs. In fact, the funds generated by skill games have been a game-changer because we receive 40% of the profits from the games in our organization with no investments or costs.

Anyone who has ever played a skill game knows it’s nothing like picking numbers for Powerball or pulling a slot machine lever. Skill games take patience, hand-eye coordination and skill, not a quarter to scratch off a winner or betting it all on black.

But skill games are not simply a benefit for businesses’ or organizations’ bottom lines. Pennsylvania Skill Charitable Giving has donated nearly $1 million to Pennsylvania charities in the last two years alone, including support for organizations like Feeding PA that has helped so many of our neighbors in need receive a hot meal.

They provided $10,000 to our VFW that went toward repairs and other support to our veterans.

Pennsylvania courts have twice ruled that skill games are legal. The skill game industry also wants to be a partner to the commonwealth. Pennsylvania Skill, made up of small and large operators of skill games, has actively lobbied and asked the Legislature to regulate the industry and apply an additional skill game tax.

This is not a battle over whether or not skill games should be outlawed or even appropriately regulated; it is a battle between the small business or organization on Main Street versus the out-of-state casino magnates. It is about competition for consumers seeking a choice in entertainment versus a monopoly in favor of the high roller. Skill games are popular because they provide consumers a chance to win based on talent and challenge. Skill games are a threat because little operators are proving that the house doesn’t always win.

Now it’s up to our elected officials to place their bets with the people who elected them and the skill games that support our communities.

Next time elected officials want to know about skill games, instead of asking people in suits from Las Vegas or lobbyists in Washington, D.C. who have financial motives for opposing skill games, they should ask people like me — the little guy — who knows how much they do for Pennsylvania communities.

Mike Misic is with Farrell VFW Post 5286 in Mercer County.