PA Gaming Control Board Places Seven Individuals on the Involuntary Interactive Exclusion List for Online Gaming Fraud

HARRISBURG, PA, July 24, 2024 – The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“Board”) on Wednesday approved recommendations by its Office of Enforcement Counsel (“OEC”) for the placement of seven individuals on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List.

The online transactions that these seven individuals engaged in, totaling $27,168, were investigated by the Board’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement (“BIE”) and found to be fraudulent in two major respects:

1. an individual used a fraudulent scheme to obtain an online account or accounts in another person’s name and identifiers, placed funds into these accounts utilizing other persons’ payment methods, and without engaging in any gaming activity, managed to have funds withdrawn from the fraudulently-established account or accounts directly into their own bank account; or,
2. requested and received a refund for a disputed credit or debit card transaction from a card issuer even though that refund was fraudulent.

The specific fraudulent conduct of each individual is further described below:

• Created two separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $300;
• Created 13 separate online casino-type games accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $545;
• Created six separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1,000;
• Created four separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1,123;
• Created two separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1,500;
• Illegally requested and received six chargebacks to a credit card associated with an online casino-type games account totaling $10,100;
• Created one online sports wagering account using the personal identification and credit card of another individual, and withdrew $12,600;

The Board’s actions in these matters stem from its commitment to keep individuals who have committed fraud from gaming online in Pennsylvania. The additions made today bring to 37 the total number of individuals who are currently on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List.

The Board also placed four other individuals on its Casino Involuntary Exclusion List. The number of individuals currently on that list totals 1,197 and stems from various reasons including theft, cheating, child endangerment disorderly conduct and using counterfeit currency.

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 $2.54 billion in tax revenue in Fiscal Year 2023/2024.

Additional information about both the PGCB’s gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov.

SOURCE: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board,