PA Gaming Control Board Levies $45,000 Fine to a Video Gaming Terminal Establishment

Board also placed four adults on its involuntary exclusion list for gambling at casinos while leaving minors unattended

HARRISBURG, PA (September 20, 2023) — The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“Board”) approved a consent agreement today presented by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel (“OEC”) during its public meeting regarding a violation that occurred at a Video Gaming Terminal (“VGT”) Establishment located at a qualified truck stop in the Commonwealth.

The approved consent agreement was the result of negotiations between OEC and Pilot Travel Centers, LLC, which received a $45,000 fine for allowing an incident of underage gambling and for failure to have a Board-credentialed employee on duty while VGTs were available to play at its Smithton location.

Copies of the approved consent agreement offering more details on this matter is available upon request through the Board’s Office of Communications.

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

• A female patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving three children, ages 10, 14 and 15 unattended in a running vehicle in the parking garage of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course for 2 hour and 2 minutes while she patronized the casino and gambled on slot machines;
• A female patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving minors unattended on two occasions at separate casinos:
  • a 10-year-old child unattended in a vehicle near the parking lot of Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 22 minutes in order to obtain a promotional gift. It was also noted in the investigation that the child left the vehicle and entered the casino after the car was struck by another vehicle;
  • two children, ages 11 and 12, unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Live! Philadelphia Casino for 25 minutes in order to obtain a promotional gift;
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving two children ages 3 and 7 unattended in a running vehicle in the parking garage of Live! Philadelphia Casino for 24 minutes while he gambled in the sportsbook. It was also noted in the investigation that the 7-year-old-child left the vehicle and was found wandering in the garage while the 3-year-old was left alone in the vehicle; and,
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 5-year-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Wind Creek Bethlehem Casino for 27 minutes while he entered the casino. It was also noted in the investigation that the child was left in a non-running vehicle when the outside temperature was 22 degrees.

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.

To compliment the efforts by casinos to mitigate this issue, the Board created an awareness campaign, “Don’t Gamble with Kids.” While the Board tracked 233 incidents of unattended minors through the first eight months of 2022, that number has been reduced to 151 incidents in the first eight months of 2023.

The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 18, 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 $2.3 billion in tax revenue during the 2022/2023 State Fiscal Year.

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 X (formerly Twitter) by choosing @PAGamingControl.

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.