Three separate incidents of underage wagering occurred at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National according to an announcement by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board last week, and a $40,000 fine was issued. Let’s go through some of the revived discussions around gambling in Pennsylvania.
Minor Trouble
According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, there were three incidents of underage gambling at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National between July 2021 and June 2022. The legal age to enter and play at a casino is 21 but teens as young as 17 years old breached staffed checkpoints where they were not asked to show identification.
The minors then entered the slots area and played on the machines for between 6 and 13 minutes according to reports. Ultimately, they were identified as underage, police were contacted and the youths were charged before being removed from the premises. The casino was slapped with a $40,000 fine.
Disciplinary Action Against Security Personnel
The security personnel charged with checking IDs were identified and disciplinary action was taken, but the nature of that action was not revealed. Casino representatives stated, “We’re doing everything in our power to make sure this never happens again.”
In another disciplinary measure meted out by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, slot manufacturer Lightning Gaming Inc. was fined $5,000 after failing to alert regulators of changes in the company’s financial status as required by state law.
Putting Children at Risk
The fine for Hollywood Casino at Penn National wasn’t the only news reported, as four more people were banished to the state’s monthly involuntary exclusion list. All four had to do with putting children at risk while the adults played inside the casinos.
It was reported that a man patronizing the Valley Forge Casino Resort left a one-year-old alone inside his car on an 84-degree day for nine minutes while he played at the sportsbook and visited a table game.
Another man left a six and eight-year-old alone while he played for 13 minutes at the Live! Casino Pittsburgh, while two women were accused of leaving minors alone while frequenting Live! Casino Philadelphia and Mohegan Pennsylvania Casino in separate incidents.
Awareness Campaign
A PGCB statement read: “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.”
That campaign, “Don’t Gamble with Kids“, has been in effect for over a year and was created to combat the growing problem of adults leaving children alone in hotel rooms or parking lots while they gamble.
Gaming Control Board Executive Director Kevin O’Toole stated in a press release at the time, “We are hopeful this campaign will raise awareness not only for those who gamble and are responsible for children, but also for the gaming public who we hope will be more diligent in looking out for children at risk.”
“Ultimately, we want everyone to understand the scope of this problem and know what to do if confronted with a situation in a parking lot, hotel, or elsewhere. That is, immediately report the situation to casino or hotel security, who have extensive training on how to appropriately respond.”
Calculators
