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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday approved the first batch of licenses allowing truck stops to offer video games to their customers.
The top five "truck stops" are located in central and western Pennsylvania: four are typically located along Interstate 80 at Emlenton, Snow Shoe, Loganton and McElhattan; and the fifth along Highway 22 in Cambria County, near Loretto.
As provided for in the 2017 Pennsylvania Game Expansion Law, each of the skilled roadside stops will now be allowed to host up to five "video game terminals" that report bets very similar to those of their cousins In casinos.
PGCB executive director Kevin O'Toole told board members he expected at least three months before the new games were launched.
According to Susan Hensel, Director of Licensing for the Board of Directors, each licensee will have to meet these requirements, have their employees supervise the gaming license and submit their internal controls for review.
Once these boxes are checked, the games can begin.
Wednesday's action leaves 58 VGT licenses outstanding across the state. O'Toole said these licenses would be considered at future meetings.
Five other claimants have withdrawn, probably because they are not able to meet certain requirements of the law.
One of the latest clashes around the game's expansion law that Governor Tom Wolf enacted in 2017 was to know whether to allow VGTs in a variety of locations other than casinos – including bars and taverns, private clubs and truck stops.
The final compromise was a proposal to manage a pilot project to allow gaming at select eligible truck stops in Pennsylvania.
The bill sets out certain requirements in Illinois, where truck stations have been hosting machines since 2012, including a minimum three acre space with separate islands for the sale of diesel fuel, parking lots for 20 vehicles utilities and at least 50,000 gallons per month of diesel sales.
None of the applications approved today were Rutter convenience stores.
The York-based chain of convenience stores argues that 20 of its stores meet the definition of the "truck stop establishment" bill.
Rutter's applications drew public attention because it was the first of Pennsylvania's largest convenience stores to enter the gaming market. In addition, site-specific oppositions have begun to emerge in several communities where local sentiment is high to allow for further expansion of the game.
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