PA Gaming Control Board Levies $67,500 in Fines

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

HARRISBURG, PA (July 26, 2023) – The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“Board”) approved three consent agreements today presented by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel (“OEC”) during its public meeting regarding violations that occurred at casinos. Total fines levied were $67,500.

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

• Downs Racing, L.P., operator of Mohegan Pennsylvania, a $50,000 fine for allowing individuals under the age of 21 to gain access to the gaming floor. In the first incident, the individual gained access multiple times to gamble. In the other incident, the individual gained access and was provided alcohol;
• Holdings Acquisition, L.P., operator of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, a $10,000 fine for allowing an individual under the age of 21 to gain access to the gaming floor and gamble; and
• Sugarhouse HSP Gaming, L.P., operator of Rivers Casino Philadelphia, a $7,500 fine for allowing an untrained employee to deal roulette.

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 minors unattended in order to engage in gaming activities:

• A male and female were placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 9-year-old child unattended in a hotel room numerous times at Mt. Airy Casino Resort for a total of 7 hours 48 minutes over a 2 ½ day period in order to gamble;
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 5-year-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking garage of Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 35 minutes while he gambled in the sportsbook;

• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 3-year-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Live! Philadelphia Hotel and Casino for 10 minutes while he gambled in the sportsbook;

• A female patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving four children, ages 2, 10, 13 and 13 unattended in a vehicle in the parking garage of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh for 40 minutes while she patronized the casino and observed an acquaintance gambling;
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 7-year-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Parx Casino Bensalem for 23 minutes while he gambled in the sportsbook and at a slot machine; and,
• A male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving an 11-month-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 42 minutes while he gambled at table games.

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 June 2023 it has identified 397 incidents of adults leaving children unattended to gamble at Pennsylvania casinos involving 633 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, August 23, 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 Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.