Photo by Jessica Kourkounis for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star Skills games sit in a travel plaza along the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Somerset on October 14, 2025.

A former executive of skill game company Pace-O-Matic contributed to the “disorganized and problematic environment” for the slot machine-like devices by taking kickbacks from illegal gambling machine operators, state Attorney General Dave Sunday said.

Ricky Goodling, a former state police corporal, who worked as national compliance director for Georgia-based Pace-O-Matic until 2023, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Cumberland County Court to money laundering.

He also pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to a charge that he evaded more than $100,000 in taxes on the illegal proceeds of the money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg.

Sentencing for Goodling in the Cumberland County case is set April 28. No sentencing is scheduled on the federal charge.

“The defendant pleaded guilty to a very serious charge and took accountability for his conduct, which was fueled by personal greed,” Attorney General Sunday said. “His actions contributed to the disorganized and problematic environment in which these games exist in the Commonwealth.”

Pace-O-Matic issued a statement Tuesday saying it is deeply troubled by the guilty plea.

“While we continue to monitor the situation, law enforcement has assured us that Pace-O-Matic is not involved in or connected with any of the actions of Mr. Goodling,” the statement said, adding. “Upon first learning of an investigation into Mr. Goodling’s actions in November 2023, Pace-O-Matic immediately severed his employment.”

The Pennsylvania Skill Games that Pace-O-Matic and Lycoming County-based Miele Manufacturing produce and distribute resemble video gambling machines.

They operate in a legal gray area because Pennsylvania courts have found they are distinguishable from slot machines, which the state regulates and taxes, because they incorporate a second game in which a skilled player may win back their wager. The state Supreme Court is currently considering a challenge by Sunday’s office to the lower court ruling.

Skill games and Pace-O-Matic have also been the subject of legislative scrutiny, with some lawmakers calling to ban the machines outright because a lack of regulation causes problems in the communities where convenience stores, eating and drinking establishments and private club have installed skill games.

Others, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, want to regulate and tax the games as a new revenue source but have been unable to agree on details. Shapiro’s latest budget proposal estimates legalizing skill games would generate $2 billion for the commonwealth.

According to a joint investigation by Pennsylvania State Police and the attorney general’s office, Goodling, 59, of Mechanicsburg was responsible for overseeing compliance for Pace-O-Matic, which is the leading distributor of skill game software.

The attorney general’s office alleged Goodling took more than $500,000 in kickbacks to quash complaints about illegal slot machines, according to a 2024 grant jury presentment. Prosecutors also allege Goodling helped distributors of the illegal devices obtain Pace-O-Matic’s machines in an attempt to deflect law enforcement scrutiny.

Prosecutors said Goodling laundered the kickbacks through a fictitious company called Rest and Relaxation LLC.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Goodling and others falsely claimed these cash payments were business travel expenses, thereby underreporting his taxable income in the years 2019-2022.

“Today’s plea serves as yet another reminder of the consequences which come to those who commit acts of fraud against the United States,” Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of FBI Philadelphia, said in a statement.

The attorney general’s office announced in May it seized hundreds of illegal gambling machines allegedly supplied to storefront casinos and other businesses by a pair of companies owned by a Pittsburgh man with prior convictions for illegal gambling.

The owner, John F. Conley, is also named in the presentment charging Goodling.

The attorney general’s office said its agents and state troopers seized more than 400 illegal gambling devices from dozens of western Pennsylvania establishments in a series of raids in March.

J.J. Amusements and Buffalo Skill Games are each charged with a felony count of being a corrupt organization, according to court documents.

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Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.