The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has imposed a $45,000 fine on a Video Gaming Terminal (VGT) Establishment located at a qualified truck stop in the Commonwealth. The regulator has also placed four individuals on its exclusion list due to incidents where children were left unattended at casinos.
The Board approved the consent agreement presented by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel during its latest public meeting. Pilot Travel Centers, LLC, 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.
Furthermore, the PGCB has added four adults to the exclusion list, prohibiting them from entering any Pennsylvania casino. This action follows instances where nine children, ranging in age from 3 to 14 years, were left unattended at various casinos, including Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Rivers Casino Philadelphia, Live! Philadelphia Casino, and Wind Creek Bethlehem Casino.
The children were left alone for periods ranging from 22 minutes to 2 hours while adults engaged in gaming activities or attempted to gain access to the casinos. The PGCB emphasized that leaving minors unattended at a casino creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children. It also reminded the public that adults who leave minors unattended at Pennsylvania casinos can face criminal prosecution in addition to exclusion from all casinos in the state.
To complement the efforts by casinos to mitigate this issue, the Board has created an awareness campaign called “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 regulator’s meeting is scheduled for October 18.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/noticias/2023/09/22/68886-pennsylvania-regulator-issues-45-000-in-fines-to-a-video-gaming-terminal-establishment
