Underage gambling is an issue taken very seriously across the US, and has come under some scrutiny in Pennsylvania just recently.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the state regulator which licenses and supervises all gambling operators in the state, had its first in-person public meeting since March last year, and the topics of underage gambling were touched upon.
The first topic that the Board took under advisement was a case of an underage person being allowed to gamble at the Parx Casino in Bucks County, which is owned by Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment Inc.
The Board found that an 18-year-old was allowed to access the gambling floor and play on the slot machines, against the state and federal laws. The Board issued a $10,000 fee to the Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment in response to this offence.
However, this was not the only incident that included minors at the meeting, as the Board was forced to intervene in three other cases.
Unattended Children in Casino Parking Lots
Three other cases that concern children were brought up at the hearing. In each case, a child was left unattended in a car in the parking lot or garage of a Pennsylvania casino for extended periods of time.
In each of the cases, the supervising adult entered the casino facility to either play in casino games, place sports bets, or meet with other individuals participating in casino games.
In all three cases, the Board decided that the individuals were acting in an irresponsible fashion, forcing them to be placed on the PGCB’s involuntary exclusion list, which prohibits the individual from playing in any casino facility in Pennsylvania.
Here are more details about the three cases at hand:
- The first person left his 11-year old child unattended in a parked vehicle in a casino parking lot, while they went inside to redeem a sports betting ticket.
- The second person left his 5 and 8-years old boys unattended in a parked vehicle in order to place a sports bet and play craps on the casino floor.
- The third person left four children, ages 2, 10, 13, and 13 unattended in a parked vehicle in order to enter the casino and watch her acquaintance play at the craps table.
All three individuals will no longer be able to play in any live casinos within Pennsylvania, and they will join 129 other people who have been put on the involuntary exclusion list over such incidents since it was formed in 2011.
PGCB Protecting the Pennsylvania Youth
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has done a good job of protecting the youth from the dangers of gambling, both by sanctioning the facilities that allow them to gamble, and by making sure that adults gamble responsibly and put their children first.
The Board reminded everyone that children are not to be left unattended in parking lots or on casino premises while they gamble, and that individuals who do so will be put on the exclusion list and banned from gambling within the state.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will meet again on Wednesday, November 10, and discuss other cases of breached regulations, as well as other topics that appear on the agenda.
