Business owners push back on effort to ban skills games in Bensalem

Bensalem officials may have approved of a ban on skills games at businesses throughout the Bucks County community that don’t have liquor licenses.

But, local business owners are pushing back against the ban.

During a meeting of the Bensalem Township Council, a group of business owners in the community presented a petition signed by, they claim, more than 200 people, aimed at getting the township to rethink the ban.

“There’s a feeling of fear that people might lose their jobs if this is imposed,” said one representative of the group of business owners.

However, township officials said that litigation has been filed in the hopes of end that ban. Councilmembers noted the suit had been brought forward by several individuals, including the owner of a skill game operating company and an owner of a smoke shop in Bensalem.

The board declined to comment on the ordinance further as the litigation is ongoing.

The ban only targets businesses that don’t have an active Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board liquor license.

The ordinance, adopted by the Bensalem Township Council on Oct. 27, 2024, calls for local gaming devices, commonly referred to as skills games, to be banned throughout the community.

In a statement on his support of the ordinance Bensalem Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo said that the use of skills games has been steadily growing throughout the community and they have seen several criminal incidents over the past year tied to these types of machines.

While businesses with a liquor license will be able to host these kinds of gaming machines, officials said there will be rules concerning these machines, too.

These businesses, officials have said, will be “required to segregate the Local Gaming Devices within their establishments to a local Gaming Area that can be monitored by employees and surveillance video that cannot be accessed by minors.”

According to the ordinance, establishments that host these machines and do not have the proper liquor license could be fined up to $1,000, plus additional fees for every day that such business does not comply with this new ordinance.