The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the gambling regulator in the state, is currently tasked with monitoring the gambling sector and enforcing the established rules. Overseeing the operations of Pennsylvania’s online casino games, the regulator is also in charge of monitoring sports wagering, video gaming terminals and retail casino gambling.
On Wednesday this week, the PGCB announced it imposed bans against four adults after petitions filed by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel. The bans come after the four adults were allegedly found to have left a total of six minors unattended in order to participate in gambling activities. Currently, it is prohibited for adults to leave minors unattended at hotels, parking lots or other areas adjacent to casinos in Pennsylvania.
Such actions are subject to criminal prosecution in the state. Moreover, whenever an adult is found to leave a minor unattended, they are added to an Involuntary Exclusion List. In other words, such adults are banned from casino gambling across the state.
The Gambling Watchdog Describes the Incidents
One female visitor of Live! Casino Philadelphia was banned after she left two minors, ages 10 and 13, in a car located at the parking lot of the venue. The children were left alone for 24 minutes while the woman gambled on slots at the casino.
On the other hand, another female patron was banned for leaving a 13-year-old unattended for 10 minutes in the Sky Bridge hallway at Mohegan Pennsylvania Casino. The visitor who gambled on slot machines was subsequently banned.
A male patron was banned from the state’s casinos after leaving two minors, aged 6 and 8 alone for 13 minutes. The children were left unattended in a car at the parking lot of Live! Casino Pittsburgh while the man gambled at slot machines.
Last but not least, another male patron was placed on the state’s Involuntary Exclusion List after he left a 1-year-old child unattended in a locked car at the parking lot of Valley Forge Casino Resort. The infant was left for 9 minutes inside the locked vehicle when the outside temperature was 84 degrees while the male patron gambled at a table game and a sportsbook.
Law enforcement arrived on the scene and broke the car’s window to extract the infant. According to the PGCB’s statement, the male later tried to flee the scene with his car where police uncovered illegal drugs. Besides his ban from casinos, he was also detained.
In addition to the four bans, the PGCB announced it approved a $40,000 fine against Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, the operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. The fine comes after individuals under the age of 21 were allegedly able to access the gaming floor and gamble on three occasions.