PA Gaming Control Board Fines Video Gaming Terminal Operators Totaling $70,000

Board also placed 17 individuals on its gambling exclusion lists

HARRISBURG, PA, (November 20, 2024) – The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“Board”) approved consent agreements today presented by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel (“OEC”) during its public meeting resulting in fines totaling $70,000.

Both of the approved fines involved Video Gaming Terminal (“VGT”) Operator Licensees:

·         TA Operating LLC was fined $37,500 for its failure to have a Board-credentialed employee present while the VGT room at its Harrisburg store located at 7848 Linglestown Road was opened and used by patrons; and,

·         Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. was fined $32,500 for its failure to have a Board-credentialed employee present while the VGT room at its Carlisle store located at 1165 Harrisburg Pike was opened and used by patrons.

Per Board regulation, VGT establishments are required to have at least one Board-credentialed employee on site supervising the VGT area when the games are available for play.

The approved Consent Agreements containing additional details on the incidents are available upon request through the Board’s Office of Communications.

The Board also approved recommendations by OEC for the placement of 17 individuals on its various Involuntary Exclusion Lists. This includes five persons who left minors unattended in order to engage in gaming activities in a casino and four others for committing fraud using iGaming sites.

Placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion for unattended minors were:

·         A male patron who left two minors of ages 6 and 13 unattended in a vehicle parked on a street near Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia, while the outside temperature was 92 degrees, for 13 minutes while he gambled at the sportsbook;

·         A male patron who left a14-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia for 7 hours and 12 minutes while he gambled at table games;

·         A male patron who left a 6-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Hollywood Casino Morgantown for 30 minutes while he gambled at slot machines;

·         A male patron who left an infant unattended in a vehicle parked in the parking lot of Rivers Casino Philadelphia, while the outside temperature was 91 degrees, for 5 minutes while he gambled at the sportsbook; and,

·         A male patron who left an 11-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Mount Airy Casino Resort for 1 hour 40 minutes while he gambled at table games.

Actions such as these to deny statewide gambling privileges 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. To compliment the efforts by casinos to mitigate this issue, the Board created an awareness campaign, “Don’t Gamble with Kids”.

The eight additional persons placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List, whose presence in a licensed facility would be inimical to the interest of the Commonwealth and licensed gaming, were for various offenses. Since its inception, 1,247 persons have been placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List.

The four persons placed on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List were:

·         Two individuals together created 5 separate online accounts using the personal information of other individuals;

·         An individual used an online gaming account and illegally requested and received chargebacks to a credit card totaling $3,250; and,

·         An individual used an online gaming account and illegally requested and received chargebacks to a credit card totaling $5,800.

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 brought the total number of individuals who are currently on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List to 51.

The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 18, 2024 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 $2.54 billion in tax revenue in Fiscal Year 2023/24.

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

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.