Monday Morning VGT View — October 19, 2026
A coast-to-coast snapshot of video gaming, VGT, and distributed gaming news for the week ahead. Posted every Monday — United Gaming Advisors / Monte Cristo Gaming.
The headline for the week ahead: PA skill games are turned off. Pace-O-Matic’s machines are on the way out. So this week we focus on where the opportunity is for legitimate operators, like you and me, who follow the rules. Spoiler alert: in my read, the market is ripe for well-funded new entry.
Here is what is confirmed. The Supreme Court ruling took effect October 14, lawmakers did not reach a compromise, and the machines are unplugged and awaiting transfer to storage (Capital-Star, Oct. 19). The legislature is back this week with only a handful of voting days left. The practical question is no longer "will they act by the deadline" but "who is ready when a framework finally arrives." Everything else on the board is quieter. Here is where each market stands as the week opens.
Key Takeaways for Gaming Operators, Investors and Location Owners
Pennsylvania: machines unplugged; no seizures, arrests, charges or fines confirmed as of today.
Four rate ideas are circulating for future legislation. Ranked by how much documented backing each has (this is not a poll, and we have not found polling on the individual rates): (1) a $500 monthly fee per machine, backed by Sens. Yaw and Williams, the Burgos bill (104 House cosigners on its memo) and Treasurer Garrity, who estimates it would raise about $300 million; (2) 52% of gross revenue, Gov. Shapiro’s plan, which he says the House backed but the Senate would not take up; (3) about 35%, floated by Senate Republican leaders; (4) 16%, a Yaw proposal.
Locations are feeling it. Owners in western Pennsylvania describe layoffs, possible closures and lost fundraising income from the shutdown (Hoodline, Oct. 18).
Year-end action is considered unlikely (Spotlight PA); the November 3 election shapes 2027.
Chicago: 65 licensed and 297 pending at the Illinois Gaming Board; still no machines live.
Everywhere else: no confirmed new developments dated October 17 to 19.
Prospective Investor Inside Analysis
This section is my view, not a forecast. It is analysis for people deciding whether and how to enter a regulated Pennsylvania VGT market.
The machines are now off. For anyone building toward a regulated Pennsylvania VGT market, that changes the conversation with location owners. A host with a grey-area incumbent in the building and a revenue share in hand was a hard sell. A host with an unplugged machine and a question mark is a different one. The owners telling their stories at campaign rallies are the people a compliant operator will be talking to, and many of them are now looking for a lawful way to replace that revenue.
My read is that any future legislation will have to address pre-existing agreements between operators and locations, and that this makes now the best time to start building compliant relationships. That is my judgment, not a certainty. Four different tax ideas are on the table, the machine limits and local control questions are open, and nothing has passed.
It will still not be easy. Pace-O-Matic fought hard for these businesses and has a strong story to tell. Plenty of owners remember who stood with them. Winning means organic business: a clean record, a real offer and a track record of keeping your word. That is why I think well-funded new entrants who follow the rules have the best shot at this market.
Pennsylvania — machines are off; the fight moves to the next session
Status: Skill games are illegal statewide under the Supreme Court’s ruling, effective October 14. No legalization bill has passed.
What happened last week: The court rejected the last-ditch petition to extend the deadline on October 9 without comment. The petition had been withdrawn October 7 and refiled October 8 without Rep. Danilo Burgos’ name. Pace-O-Matic said it would remotely disable its Pennsylvania machines at midnight Wednesday and that it is "complying with the law"; its stated focus is a legislative solution. State Police have compliance agreements with six operators or distributors and designated storage locations. The Attorney General’s office says machines must be removed, not just powered down, and State Police say they will criminally investigate cashless or alternative-payment devices built to exploit perceived loopholes (Spotlight PA, Oct. 17).
On the campaign trail: Treasurer Stacy Garrity joined skill game owners at a rally in Green Tree near Pittsburgh, reported October 18. She criticized Gov. Shapiro’s 52% rate as too high and pitched the $500-per-machine monthly fee. Owners at the rally described the ban’s cost: a 20-store convenience operator expecting layoffs, a bar owner who may close, a Steelton American Legion post expecting to lose about $100,000 a year, and a Dillsburg VFW that pulled five machines whose profits funded pay, maintenance and donations. Shapiro says he has urged lawmakers to regulate roughly 45,000 machines and that the Republican-led Senate would not bring his plan to a vote; his campaign did not respond to KDKA’s request for comment on the rally (Hoodline, Oct. 18). Estimates of machines statewide vary, from about 50,000 (industry) to at least 70,000 (PennLive).
What to watch this week: The General Assembly returns with about five voting days left in the two-year session. The Burgos memo had 104 House cosigners, enough to pass a bill in the 203-member House, but leadership has not advanced any bill and the House and Senate remain divided on rate and structure. Open issues include machine limits and locations, underage and problem gambling safeguards, lottery impact and local control. I will report the first confirmed seizure, charge or floor vote, and only with a date. For context, casino slots and video gaming terminals are taxed between 34% and 54%, and a June Franklin & Marshall poll found more than 70% of respondents favored regulating and taxing skill games.
If you are an investor or operator who wants in on this market, reach out to me and I can show you the way to win organic business the right way: contact@montecristogaming.com.
If you own or manage a bar, club, restaurant or convenience store and want to understand your compliant, regulated options, reach out too: contact@montecristogaming.com.
Illinois / Chicago — VGT Live Tracker
Status: Legal statewide; stalled specifically in Chicago.
By the numbers (Illinois Gaming Board lists, City = Chicago, pulled October 19): 65 licensed establishments (latest status date September 3) and 297 pending applications (295 establishments, one veterans establishment, one truck stop; latest status date October 16). Our October 16 pull showed 64 licensed with the same latest date, so the extra license is a list discrepancy, not a newly dated approval.
My take: Locations have been pitched for years that they’ll get games, with plenty of "sign with me, sign with me," and many are still waiting. With 297 applications, up 3.5% since October 1, we’re seeing slight momentum, but I don’t expect a big wave of applicants until there is additional movement. If any of the hot items we’re tracking happens (follow our newsletter to track them), such as adoption of the conditional-license ordinance (O2026-0024090) or, even better, a local license actually being issued, I expect a big batch of new applicants to follow. That is my read, not a forecast.
Application growth: up 4.6% since September 24 (284 to 297), up 3.5% since October 1 (287 to 297), and up 0.3% since October 16 (296 to 297).
Hot Items to Go Live:
City local licensing. Zero issued per the Chicago Sun-Times (October 5, updated October 6).
Conditional-license ordinance (O2026-0024090). Deferred and published April 15; no vote found since.
The repeal push. Mayor Johnson asked the Council to reverse course (WTTW, June 12); no new Council action found.
Bally’s Host Community Agreement dispute. The September 9 License Committee hearing is the latest verified event; aldermen say Bally’s is using the fight to slow construction (Sun-Times, August 12).
The 297-application state queue. Each pending application still needs IGB approval.
What to watch this week: Any dated City Council or License Committee action. Until the city licenses locations, every approved Chicago license is functionally waiting.
Missouri — video lottery died in committee; the gray market question remains
Status: No legal framework; enforcement-driven gray market.
Last dated action we found: A Senate committee vote killed the Missouri video lottery proposal on May 6, 2026 (Missouri Independent). Nothing dated October 17 to 19 found.
What to watch this week: Nothing scheduled. Any move toward 2027 would show up as a pre-filed bill after the election.
Georgia — no new activity found
Status: Regulated COAM market. No new state or local activity dated October 17 to 19. Georgia’s local-ordinance layer is the kind of thing that changes quietly, so it is worth a periodic check with any Georgia client.
Texas, Nevada, West Virginia, Montana, Oregon, Nebraska — no dated change
Nothing confirmed as new in any of these markets for October 17 to 19. Status carries forward from last week; we only report a move when we can date it.
Nationwide — who else could join this list
No state showed confirmed new distributed-gaming bill activity October 17 to 19. The Pennsylvania lesson for any state approaching a court-imposed or self-imposed deadline: a sponsor memo with 104 cosigners and a governor and treasurer who both support legalizing were still not enough to produce a bill in time. A headline that a bill is "coming" is not a functioning market.
Calendar: November 3 is Election Day in Pennsylvania and the date of Accel Entertainment’s third quarter results after the close, with a call at 4:30 PM ET. DeLeo Games has until November 4 to remove its disabled equipment (WVIA/WESA, Oct. 14).
Investors and operators: want in on regulated Pennsylvania VGT? Reach out and I will show you how to win organic business the right way. Location owners: want a compliant path for your venue? Reach out. Either way: contact@montecristogaming.com
