Hamburg to Vote on Pausing $1,000-a-Machine Skill Game Law

Sixteen months after Hamburg Borough adopted a $1,000-a-year license fee for every skill game machine in town, council will vote on whether to stop administering and enforcing the law that created it. The Oct. 27 agenda asks council, on the solicitor's recommendation, to "suspend administration and enforcement of Ordinance 885-2025 known as the Borough of Hamburg Game of Skill Device License Ordinance, effective immediately and continuing until State law changes or the Borough rescinds the ordinance."

The same meeting takes up a response to a police union grievance, $24,893.79 in state fire-insurance money for the firefighters' relief association, and $413,781.31 in bills. Council meets Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Hamburg Municipal Center, 61 N. 3rd St.

The skill game law, and what suspending it means

Skill games are the slot-machine-style terminals found in bars, convenience stores and clubs. Hamburg's ordinance, adopted June 24, 2025, and codified as Chapter 13, Part 5 of the borough code, makes it unlawful to "have, keep, possess, lease or maintain" one without a borough license. The fee is $1,000 per device per year, pro-rated to $500 for 2025; nonprofits need a license but pay nothing. The money goes to the general fund, and the 2026 budget counts on $29,500 of it under "Game of Skill Device Permits."

Suspending is not repealing. The law stays on the books, but the borough stops licensing, collecting and enforcing until "State law changes or the Borough rescinds the ordinance." The agenda does not say why the solicitor recommends the pause, what happens to fees already paid for 2026, or how the budget absorbs the $29,500.

The agenda does not mention it, but the machines' legal status changed this summer. On June 15, 2026, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that skill games "are in fact 'slot machines' as defined in the Gaming Act," according to an Oct. 5 State Police release. The court stayed its order for 120 days, to Oct. 13, according to the findings in House Bill 2793, and the State Police said that as of Oct. 14 machines outside businesses licensed by the state Gaming Control Board "are unlawful" and subject to seizure and criminal charges. Whether that is why the solicitor recommends the pause is not stated anywhere in the agenda, and the agenda's own wording, "until State law changes," treats the law as not yet changed. The same bill would give the machines a reprieve through April 13, 2027; it was referred to the House Gaming Oversight Committee Sept. 24 and showed no further action as of Saturday, per the bill page. Hamburg's ordinance already requires revoking the license of anyone convicted of possessing a device in violation of the state Crimes Code.

A police grievance reaches Step 3

On the Personnel Committee's recommendation, council will vote to "ratify the submission of the Step 3 Grievance Response issued by Borough Council on October 20, 2026, to the Hamburg Police Officers Association regarding HPOA Grievance No. 02-2026." A grievance is a formal complaint by a union that the employer broke the labor contract; contracts usually route it through numbered steps. The agenda does not describe Hamburg's procedure, say what the grievance is about, or say what the response concludes. Ratifying means council formally approves a document it already sent.

Under old business, the agenda announces executive sessions on Oct. 13 and Oct. 20 "regarding personnel matters and contract negotiations." An executive session is a closed meeting the state Sunshine Act allows for topics including personnel and labor negotiations, with official action taken in public afterward. The grievance response is dated the same day as the second session. The agenda does not connect the two.

Fire relief money and other business

On the Finance Committee's recommendation, council will approve sending $24,893.79 from the Volunteer Fireman's Relief Fund to the Hamburg Volunteer Fireman's Relief Association. This is state aid passing through the borough. According to the state Auditor General, the money comes from "a 2% tax on fire insurance policies sold in Pennsylvania by out-of-state companies" and goes through municipalities to relief associations "to provide training, purchase equipment and insurance, and pay for death benefits for volunteer firefighters." Hamburg's 2026 budget estimated $26,000 in and $23,900 out under "Foreign Fire Insurance."

Also on the agenda:

• A Sidewalk Maintenance Agreement for "the State Route 61 and Hawk Ridge Drive project." The agenda gives no other detail.
• Thanksgiving food-basket collection bags for the Pathfinder Club along 3rd and 4th streets.
• $413,781.31 in invoices, up from the $368,546.14 bill list on the September agenda.

Nothing on the agenda mentions a 2027 budget.

The September votes are still not in the written record

Council will also approve the minutes of its Sept. 22 meeting. Our preview of that meeting covered two votes: hiring the Siana Law firm for a personnel investigation, and enacting Ordinance 892 to amend the noise rules. As of Saturday, the borough's minutes archive on eCode360 ends with Aug. 25, 2026, and the code's "New Laws" page lists nothing new. Until the Sept. 22 minutes are approved and posted, the outcome of those votes is not in any document the borough has posted online.

What happens next

If council suspends Ordinance 885-2025, the pause lasts until state law changes or council rescinds the ordinance. Watch for a repeal, refunds of 2026 fees, or a budget amendment covering the $29,500. The agenda does not say what, if anything, follows Step 3; that depends on the police contract's grievance procedure, which the borough has not posted online.

Per the agenda, committees meet Nov. 10 (Road 4 p.m., Property 4:30, Personnel 5, Library Board and Planning Commission 6), the Municipal Authority Nov. 18 at 5 p.m., and Finance (6 p.m.), Safety and Public Relations (6:30) and council (7 p.m.) on Nov. 24.

Sources and contact

• Hamburg Borough Council agenda, Oct. 27, 2026
• Borough code, Chapter 13, Part 5, Game of Skill Devices
• State Police skill games release, Oct. 5, 2026

Hamburg Municipal Center, 61 N. 3rd St., Hamburg, PA 19526; (610) 562-7821, per the borough's contact page. Doug Williams is council president and Amy Beakley is borough manager, per the administration page. Precinct 2 voters have a new polling place for Nov. 3. See also how Berks County government works and the township and borough meeting schedule.