PA Gaming Control Board Levies $48,000 in Fines

Board also places seven adults on exclusion list for gambling at casinos while leaving children unattended

HARRISBURG, PA (June 28, 2023) — The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“Board”) approved two consent agreements today presented by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel (“OEC”) during its public meeting regarding violations that occurred with a casino and fantasy sports contest licensee. Total fines levied were $48,000.

The approved consent agreements were the result of negotiations between OEC and:

• Chester Downs and Marina, LLC, operator of Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack, a $35,000 fine for allowing individuals under the age of 21 to gain access to the gaming floor and gamble; and,
• SportsHub PA. LLC, a licensed Fantasy Contest Operator, a $13,000 fine for a change of control of its license without Board approval.

Copies of the approved consent agreements offering more details on these matters are available upon request through the Board’s Office of Communications.

The Board also acted on petitions filed by OEC to ban seven adults from all casinos in the Commonwealth for leaving a total of nine children unattended in order to engage in gaming activities:

• A male and female were placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 14-month old child unattended in a vehicle in the Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack parking garage for 14 minutes to enter the casino’s dealer school and human resources office. Both individuals were employees of the casino and were terminated;
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 6-year-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Mohegan Sun Pennsylvania for 28 minutes while he gambled in the sportsbook;

• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 2-year-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Valley Forge Casino Resort for 2 minutes when he attempted to unsuccessfully gain entrance to the casino;

• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving two children, ages 6 and 11, unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 6 minutes while he conducted business at a cashier’s cage in the casino;
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving two children, ages 3 and 13, unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 7 minutes while he gambled in the sportsbook; and,
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving two children, ages 5 and 7 unattended in a vehicle in the parking garage of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh for 9 minutes while he gambled in the sportsbook.

The Board’s actions serve as a reminder that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino since it creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children.  Leaving minors unattended at a Pennsylvania casino also subjects the offending adult to criminal prosecution in addition to exclusion from all Pennsylvania casinos. The Board reports that since the start of 2022 through May 2023 it has identified 370 incidents of adults leaving children unattended to gamble at Pennsylvania casinos involving 596 minors.

For more information on this issue and to assist in bringing awareness of this problem, you can visit the Board’s special “Don’t Gamble with Kids” campaign website at this link.

The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 26, 2023 in the Board’s Public Hearing Room located on the second floor of the Strawberry Square Complex in Harrisburg.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling involving 17 land-based casinos, online casino games, retail and online sports wagering, and Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs) at qualified truck stops, along with the regulation of online fantasy sports contests.

The land-based casino industry in Pennsylvania consists of six racetrack (Category 1) casinos, five stand-alone (Category 2) casinos, two resort (Category 3) casinos and four mini-casinos (Category 4).  A significant job generator in the Commonwealth, casinos and the other types of Board-regulated gaming generated over $2 billion in tax revenue in 2022.

Additional information about both the PGCB’s gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

SOURCE: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.