If you’ve entered a bar, restaurant or convenience store over the past few months, you may have seen one of the bright blue cases of a Queen of Virginia machine.

The terminals may resemble something out of a casino but their game mechanics are, presently in the eyes of the law, not considered gambling. And these machines have been finding their way into increasingly more locations in Gloucester and Mathews counties, as well as the rest of the commonwealth.

The machines are the product of Queen of Virginia Skill and Entertainment and feature games by Pace-O-Matic, a Georgia company that designs amusement software. Though the games differ slightly, the general premise is that players make a “consideration” (bet) and receive a screen with rows of images that differ based on the theme of each game. The machines have two big buttons—“Play” and “Ticket”—that let the player either spin or cash out.

One such Pace-O-Matic game, Cock...