Net win is money played into a machine minus credits paid out to players. Hold percentage is win divided by coin-in, the total amount wagered including re-wagered winnings. A skill machine net win hold claim means little until the vendor states which metric, which period, which machines and whose share comes out first.
Vendor decks often put one large per-machine number at the top. Regulators that define these terms use different labels for related ideas, so before comparing offers, an operator has to find out exactly which number is on the slide.
The metric vocabulary
Coin-in (handle). A TribalGaming.com explainer published Aug. 12, 2026 describes handle as the total amount wagered, not the amount players lose and not the amount the house keeps. Coin-in counts every dollar or credit cycled through a machine, including winnings a player immediately re-wagers, so one $20 bill can be wagered many times.
Net win. Illinois law gives a statutory version. Under the Video Gaming Act, 230 ILCS 40/5, "'Net terminal income' means money put into a video gaming terminal minus credits paid out to players."
Hold percentage. Mississippi's on-line slot metering rule, 13 Miss. Code R. 8-4.14, defines combined actual hold as "all win divided by all coin in."
Theoretical vs. actual hold. The TribalGaming.com explainer says "A slot machine's theoretical hold is set by its programmed payback." A machine programmed to return 92% of coin-in has a theoretical hold of about 8%. Actual hold swings in the short term because of variance and converges on the theoretical figure only over millions of plays. Mississippi's rule requires per-machine reports of coin in, drop, theoretical hold, actual hold and the percentage variance between the two, plus a weighted average theoretical hold ("floor par") by denomination and in total.
Uptime. We found no gaming-regulator definition. Industrial maintenance firm Advanced Technology Services describes machine uptime generically as "the percentage of time that machinery is operational and available for use" and offers no formula. The vendor has to supply one.
One month, several true numbers
The figures below are a hypothetical invented for illustration. They are not data from any vendor or market.
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Coin-in for the month: $100,000.
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Theoretical hold of 8% gives a theoretical win of $8,000.
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Actual hold that month of 6% gives a net win of $6,000, a $2,000 shortfall (25%) against theoretical.
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An assumed 50/50 location split leaves the operator $3,000.
A pitch could truthfully quote $100,000, $8,000, $6,000 or $3,000 for this machine. Only the last is close to what this hypothetical operator keeps, and even that is before costs. Mississippi's rule acknowledges the problem in Note 2 to subsection (b): "Drop, fills, jackpot payouts, and win figures may need adjustment to determine the true slot machine performance." The same rule requires that documents comparing metered to actual amounts "include a dollar variance and a percentage variance." That's a reasonable standard to request from a vendor.
Period and sample traps
Because actual hold moves around in the short term, a strong single month says little. Ask for start and end dates, how many machines are in the sample, and whether the figure covers the whole fleet or selected top performers. The FTC's earnings-claim statement under 16 CFR 437.4 is a useful model. Where that rule applies, the statement must give the dates of the earnings, the number and percentage of purchasers who achieved at least the claimed amount, and any materially different characteristics of those purchasers, such as location.
What Pennsylvania shows
Pennsylvania had a large skill-game market and still no independent profit record. Spotlight PA reported on June 17, 2026 that it "could not identify an industry group that tracks business profits associated with skill games," and cited a lack of information on how revenue is split. The per-machine profit figures in that story were anecdotal: Chuck Moran of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage & Tavern Association described reports ranging from a few hundred to thousands of dollars a month per machine.
Statewide totals are estimates too. Billy Penn reported on Nov. 2, 2026 that the Independent Fiscal Office's February 2026 estimate (published as Regulate and Tax Skill Games) put about 50,000 machines at $9.4 billion in annual wagers, keeping roughly $2.35 billion after payouts. Billy Penn adds: "Those are estimates, not verified totals." Spotlight PA separately cites an estimated 70,000 machines. In its Oct. 16, 2026 report, it said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in June 2026 that skill games are legally slot machines, and the stay expired Oct. 13 without legislation. That's context for how thin the data was, not a forecast for any other state.
Pinning down uptime
An uptime percentage depends on what the vendor excludes. Ask whether scheduled maintenance, network or ticket-redemption outages, location closing hours and machines waiting for parts count as downtime. Ask whether uptime is measured per machine or across the fleet, and whether service-level credits for missed targets are written into the contract. These are editorial recommendations, not regulatory requirements.
What to get in writing
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A written definition of every metric quoted, with the calculation formula.
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The meter source: machine meters, an accounting system or cash counts.
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How promotional or free credits are treated.
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The period, the machine count and any split assumptions.
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The documents that substantiate the figure.
The FTC Business Opportunity Rule offers a benchmark. Its definitions in 16 CFR 437.1 cover arrangements where a seller says it will provide locations for "equipment, displays, vending machines, or similar devices," and treat any representation of a specific level of sales, income or profit as an earnings claim. Covered sellers must have a reasonable basis and written substantiation when they make the claim. Whether the rule applies to a particular skill-machine sale, lease or placement deal is a legal question for counsel.
Texas context
The Texas Comptroller licenses or registers businesses that offer coin-operated machines, collects a state occupation tax on each machine exhibited and requires a $60 annual occupation tax permit on every machine available for customer use, with renewals due Nov. 30. Texas Penal Code 47.01(4)(B) limits its amusement exclusion to devices rewarding players only with noncash merchandise prizes, toys or novelties whose wholesale value from a single play doesn't exceed 10 times the play price or $5, whichever is less. A Comptroller license is administrative. It doesn't establish a machine's legal status or what it will earn.
Record every figure as a vendor statement, attributed by name and date. The vendor comparison checklist is a place to log those questions and the evidence received. It records diligence; it doesn't provide legal approval, vendor verification or a profitability estimate.
Related reading
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Pace-O-Matic Skill Games: What the Vendor Says Versus What Is Verified
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Pennsylvania Skill Games Ban Enforcement Begins After Supreme Court Ruling
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Who Can Be Charged Under Texas's Gambling Device Possession Law?
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Before You Testify: A Checklist for Skill Industry Hearings in Texas
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How to Review a Skill Machine Location Agreement in Texas Before Signing
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Buying Used Skill Game Machines in Texas: A Due Diligence Checklist
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Multi-State Expansion Means Separate Legal Bets for Skill Game Operators
Sources
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Illinois, 230 ILCS 40/5, Video Gaming Act definitions (FindLaw, current as of Jan. 1, 2025)
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TribalGaming.com, Handle, Coin-In, Hold and Win (Aug. 12, 2026)
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Pennsylvania IFO, Regulate and Tax Skill Games (Feb. 18, 2026)
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Advanced Technology Services, Mastering Machine Uptime and Availability
AI assistance was used in preparing this article. Consult primary sources and qualified counsel for legal decisions.
Reporting is for information, not legal advice. A vendor listing or the term skill game does not establish a machine's legality in any jurisdiction.