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.

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A series of concerning genetic test results have recently confirmed 11 cases of tuberculosis in Contra Costa County, California. Ten out of the 11 confirmed cases were genetically linked. 

Also, most of the confirmed cases were related to patrons and employees at California Grand Casino in Contra Costa County, California. The eleventh case has not been tested genetically yet.

As a result, Contra Costa Health (CCH) officials have issued a serious warning to the public, urging anyone who has spent time at the casino located on Pacheco Boulevard in the past five years to get tested for tuberculosis. 

So far, CCH has gotten in touch with over 300 individuals who might have been exposed to active tuberculosis. 

The integrated health system that is serving the people of Contra Costa County has also announced that it was collaborating with the casino’s management toward encouraging staff members to get tested and also to offer health education on the matter. 

According to California Grand Casino’s spokesperson, Becky Warren, their “foremost commitment” was to guarantee the well-being of their patrons and staff members. 

Warren also added that, as per the information provided by Contra Costa Health, none of the associated tuberculosis cases were “currently contagious”, and that they also did not involve their personnel. 

The spokesperson announced that the casino was actively working together with county officials to issue notifications and encourage testing to “uphold public health and safety.”

No Ongoing TB Transmission Sources 

While Contra Costa Health has not found any ongoing sources of tuberculosis transmission at the casino’s card room, testing and raising awareness are essential for the safety of the population. 

Health officials emphasize that testing is the only way of knowing if a person who has been exposed to tuberculosis is infected or not. The public should also know that the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium is capable of living inside someone’s body for a few months or even years without showing any symptoms or causing any noticeable health problems. 

It is important to be able to recognize the symptoms of active tuberculosis. These range from weight loss, fever, night sweats, persistent bloody cough, and fatigue.

According to county deputy health officer Dr. Meera Sreenivasan, while tuberculosis is capable of causing serious illness, it is also curable and can be treated with pepper medication, especially when it is caught early.

In January 2022, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency warned about a similar problem connected to a person diagnosed with tuberculosis who had visited Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, CA the previous year. 

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The Victorian government has joined Western Australia in its efforts to minimize gambling harm at the troubled Crown Casino. The Royal Commission recently recommended betting and time limits for Crown Perth in Western Australia, and authorities in Victoria have already mandated similar measures for the operator’s Melbourne branch. Patrons must take mandatory breaks every few hours and face daily and weekly limits.

Daily and Weekly Limits Will Encourage Safer Gambling

The ongoing controversy surrounding The Crown has kickstarted some long-overdue regulatory reforms. The 2021 Royal Commission investigation revealed systemic regulatory violations, tax evasion, severe money laundering, and ties to criminal organizations. The operator’s Australian properties have since felt the ire of the local regulators, paying hundreds of millions in fines and facing ongoing restrictions until they fall back into compliance.

Crown Melbourne now operates under the watchful eye of the Victorian government, which oversees the ongoing reforms. The newest updates aim to combat the rising problem of gambling rates by introducing mandatory breaks and time limits. Patrons will take a non-optional 15-minute break for every three continuous hours of play and a 24-hour break if they have gambled for over 12 hours daily.

Victoria authorities hope that such forced breaks, combined with a 36-hour weekly limit, will help dissuade patrons from overspending. The region’s Casino and Gaming minister Melissa Horne hoped the measures would lay the foundations for a safer gaming environment. A September 2022 legislation also introduced a cash cap of $1000 per 24 hours.

The Royal Commission (evidence) showed incredibly predatory behavior on people… struggling on the casino floor and in the pokie machine rooms in particular.

Melissa Horne, Victoria Casino, and Gaming minister

Anti-Gambling Advocates Find Such Measures Lacking

Despite the authorities’ good intentions, some experts remain skeptical of the practical benefits of time limits. Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Carol Bennett noted that individuals struggling with gambling addiction would move on to bet at another venue. The proliferation of pokeys across various establishments means a machine is always nearby.

The measures put in place in Crown should also be translated into pubs and clubs because we’re otherwise just shifting the problem.

Carol Bennett, Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO

Bennett tentatively agreed that such measures were a step in the right direction and urged widespread reforms encompassing all venues offering to gamble. However, each Australian region’s high degree of autonomy makes coordination difficult, and powerful lobbying groups ceaselessly fight to maintain the status quo. Even so, attempts to bring order to Australia’s premiere gambling destination should receive recognition.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the study titled, “What happens in Vegas, stays in your lungs: an assessment of fine particulate matter in casinos that prohibit and allow smoking in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA,” which compares the air quality in the non-smoking Park MGM casino, to other casinos that permit smoking.

New Study Advocates for Complete Ban on Smoking in Casinos

The Park MGM casino has been smoke-free since reopening in September 2020, following a six-month shutdown of the Las Vegas Strip due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study released by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims to be the first of its kind, examining air quality and comparing results with other similar casinos that permit smoking.

Authors of the study, Michael A. Tynan, Martin A. Cohen, and Jeffrey R. Harris used a real-time personal aerosol monitor to assess particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), a surrogate for secondhand smoke. Each of the casinos, which were part of the research, was visited two times for measurements.

The results of the study indicated that PM2.5 levels were significantly higher in casinos that permit smoking, in both gaming areas and areas where smoking is prohibited. The average PM2.5 in gaming areas in smoking casinos was 5.4 times higher at 164.9 µg/m3, compared to the smoke-free casino’s level of 30.5 µg/m3.

The average PM2.5 in areas where smoking is otherwise prohibited was 83.2 µg/m3 in smoking casinos, and 48.1 µg/m3 in the smoke-free casino. 

Based on the research findings, it is evident that despite the substantial proof of the hazardous impact of secondhand smoke, there is an alarming number of casino workers and tourists in Las Vegas who are continually exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke annually. As such, it is clear that the best course of action to shield individuals from the adverse effects of secondhand smoke is by implementing a complete ban on smoking within all indoor spaces.

New Jersey May Pave the Way for Complete Smoking Banks on Casinos across the US

There is growing support for a full smoking prohibition in casinos, and some states may be moving towards enacting legislation to implement such a ban. 

On February 13, a New Jersey Senate committee held the state’s inaugural hearing on a bill that seeks to outlaw smoking on gaming floors in Atlantic City. Likewise, in Pennsylvania, a comparable proposition that failed to gain traction in earlier legislative sessions is anticipated to pass, according to a proponent.

The casino industry’s argument that smoking prohibitions result in job losses, reduced profits, and lower tax revenues for states and municipalities have been debunked by a declining number of smokers across the country and impressive gaming revenue following COVID-19 closures.

If the New Jersey exemption is revoked, it would have a significant impact, as the state has a history of setting trends for the US gaming industry. It was the first to regulate casinos outside Nevada, authorize online casinos, and win a lawsuit that opened up full-fledged sports betting to all states.

 Although twenty states and three Louisiana cities have banned smoking in commercial gaming establishments, so far Colorado is the sole state that has eliminated the gaming-floor exemption from its clean-indoor-air statute.

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