Compliance Updates

Pace-O-Matic Secures Another Legal Victory in Pennsylvania

Published

1 year ago

March 28, 2023

Pace-O-Matic announced the company won a return of property motion in Dauphin County. This property – gaming machines, related equipment, and cash – was wrongfully seized during raids conducted by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Liquor Control and Enforcement (BLCE) in 2019.

“First and foremost, this ruling again reaffirms our status as legal games of skill. This is another tremendous victory for Pennsylvania Skill games, powered by Pace-O-Matic, and our Pennsylvania small business and fraternal partners,” said Pace-O-Matic spokesman Mike Barley.

The ruling also castigates the Commonwealth and BLCE for their biased conduct in the matter.

Dauphin County Common Pleas Judge Andrew H. Dowling wrote: “All three of the Commonwealth witnesses opined that the games were predominantly games of chance. However, we do not find these opinions to be persuasive for a number of reasons. Initially, it is this Court’s belief that the Commonwealth’s investigation shows case bias. The Commonwealth is seeking to make all machines like the POM Machines into illegal gambling devices, and their whole approach and intent is to shut down games regardless of the actual gameplay. The fact that Officer Wentsler never played the Follow Me feature while undercover is indicative of this. Thus, the Commonwealth as a whole is biased against the games, and their approach lacks case credibility.”

This is the second court in as many months to rule the games were legal games of skill and allege misconduct in the investigation and prosecution of legal skill games.

Last month, Monroe County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Harlacher Sibum wrote: “The court finds that the Commonwealth improperly withheld and misrepresented material evidence relative to the issuance of the search warrant in this matter, and that such conduct warrants the suppression of the seized property.”

Barley said: “We applaud the most recent court’s decision, especially for highlighting the extreme level of bias shown by the Commonwealth against a legal product. The behavior of the BLCE agents and prosecutors, in this case, has been egregious, and we are deeply concerned about the motivation to disregard, bend and violate the law and our constitutional rights in a coordinated effort to harm our company and the small businesses, clubs, fire halls and veterans groups that benefit from skill game revenue and support.

“Every time the legality of our skill games has been called into question, the legal status of our games has been upheld by the judiciary. Pace-O-Matic stands out among our competitors as the active driving force seeking additional regulation and taxation. We remain steadfast in our commitment to working with the state General Assembly and asking for legislation providing additional regulation and increased tax money for the state.”

Pennsylvania Skill has pumped new life into the commonwealth’s small businesses, fraternal and social clubs, and veterans’ organizations by providing them with an entertainment product that the public enjoys. Meanwhile, research data proves skill games do not impact the revenue of casinos and the lottery, both of which are achieving record profits year after year.

Pennsylvania Skill games are manufactured in the commonwealth, and over 90% of the profits stay inside the state. That is unheard of in gaming and many other industries.

Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill products are manufactured by Miele Manufacturing in Williamsport, which has created nearly 200 direct jobs. Many of the materials used to make up the gaming machines come from companies in the Commonwealth. Additionally, Pennsylvania Skill game revenue has become a lifeline to fraternal clubs and organizations across the commonwealth, including American Legions, VFWs, and local fire companies.

As part of ongoing efforts to ensure compliance, Pace-O-Matic employs a team of former state police officers to enforce all terms of contracts and codes of conduct. These contracted terms limit the number of machines, where they are placed in a location and have protections in place to prevent anyone underage from playing the devices.

In 2014, the Beaver County Court of Common Pleas ruled that Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill games are legal as games of predominant skill.

In addition, last year, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and the Clearfield County District Attorney’s office negotiated a settlement to return wrongfully seized Pennsylvania Skill games, related equipment, and cash.

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Compliance Updates

IGSA Welcomes Sharp Vision as Silver Member

Published

17 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Niji Narayan

The International Gaming Standards Association (IGSA) has welcomed Sharp Vision as a new Silver member. Sharp Vision is a leading provider of regulatory turnkey solutions for gaming authorities.

“We are delighted to be a part of IGSA and we look forward to contributing to the advancement of best practices among regulators in the fast-growing gaming industry,” Damien Raymond, COO of Sharp Vision, said.

“IGSA is very excited to welcome Sharp Vision to our membership. We believe that IGSA Standards can enhance Sharp Vision’s products supporting regulatory authority oversight. We look forward to their participation in IGSA committees,” Mark Pace, President of IGSA, said.

Compliance Updates

PGCB Places Seven Individuals on Involuntary Interactive Exclusion List for Online Gaming Fraud

Published

17 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Niji Narayan

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) on Wednesday approved recommendations by its Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC) for the placement of seven individuals on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List.

The online transactions that these seven individuals engaged in, totaling $27,168, were investigated by the Board’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement (BIE) and found to be fraudulent in two major respects:

an individual used a fraudulent scheme to obtain an online account or accounts in another person’s name and identifiers, placed funds into these accounts utilizing other persons’ payment methods, and without engaging in any gaming activity, managed to have funds withdrawn from the fraudulently-established account or accounts directly into their own bank account; or,
requested and received a refund for a disputed credit or debit card transaction from a card issuer even though that refund was fraudulent.

The specific fraudulent conduct of each individual is further described below:

Created two separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $300;
Created 13 separate online casino-type games accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $545;
Created six separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1000;
Created four separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1123;
Created two separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1500;
Illegally requested and received six chargebacks to a credit card associated with an online casino-type games account totaling $10,100;
Created one online sports wagering account using the personal identification and credit card of another individual, and withdrew $12,600.

The Board’s actions in these matters stem from its commitment to keep individuals who have committed fraud from gaming online in Pennsylvania. The additions made bring to 37 the total number of individuals who are currently on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List.

The Board also placed four other individuals on its Casino Involuntary Exclusion List. The number of individuals currently on that list totals 1197 and stems from various reasons including theft, cheating, child endangerment disorderly conduct, and using counterfeit currency.

Compliance Updates

PandaScore secures their first US betting license, by entering Colorado

Published

4 days ago

July 23, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

After a meticulous and measured research process in consultation with the needs of its clients, PandaScore has acquired a license to operate in the US state of Colorado.

Through the license, PandaScore has signalled its intentions in the US market: forging a supplier-led path to esports betting success in the US. Existing PandaScore clients can now enter the Colorado market, scale up their esports offering and build their future audience in the state’s esports-friendly regulatory framework.

Future clients can also be confident that working with PandaScore supports their growth strategy in the lucrative US market. The state’s esports-friendly regulatory framework serves as a solid foundation to cultivate an esports audience and take advantage of PandaScore’s innovative, revenue-driving products such as BetBuilder, player props and microbetting.

PandaScore selected Colorado as its first point of entry into US licensing thanks to the state’s large catalogue of esports titles and competitions that are eligible for regular betting, and the wide range of markets that can be offered. Additionally, the state’s flexible and innovation-friendly licensing regime makes it a strong market for PandaScore and its clients.

Securing the license also serves as proof of concept for the French esports supplier, PandaScore Legal Counsel Alexis Brunet noted that “securing the Colorado license is a strong signal of our intentions in the US and are serious about its potential. Esports in the United States is a fast-evolving regulatory environment, but it’s only going in one direction: expansion. We intend to provide our best-in-class products and services to our customers no matter where they are, and service one of the largest markets in the world.”

For PandaScore CEO Flavien Guillocheau, entry into Colorado in the US market was the natural next step in the company’s client-first, service-oriented approach: “For esports to succeed in the US, suppliers must lead from the front. Suppliers need to address the uncertainty around regulation which has held back operator investment and thus growth of the vertical.

“We’ve proven we know the market, get a license efficiently and do it in a way that puts operators first. We’re confident that if our clients are seeking entry into a given market, we can be completely straight with them, show them the viable pathway to success, and create the foundation and access they need to fully harness the potential of esports in one of its biggest consumer markets.”