PGCB Fines Three Operators $60K, Bans Two Punters from Casinos

Three consent agreements featuring $60,000 of fines to online casino operators were approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) at its latest public meeting. The watchdog also punished two punters for leaving their kids unattended at a casino while gambling.

Responsible Gaming Tool Violations

Presented by PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC), the consent agreements imposed fines to Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, Downs Racing, L.P. and its partner Unibet Interactive, Inc. and Evolution US, LLC, for different breaches of the gambling rules.

The operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, agreed to pay $45,000 for allowing five individuals enrolled in the iGaming Self-Exclusion program run by the PGCB to participate in online gaming activities with Barstool Sportsbook. The regulator noted that “an interactive gaming certificate must refuse wagers from and deny gaming privileges and benefits to an individual who has placed themselves on the iGaming Self-Exclusion List.”

The operator of Mohegan Pennsylvania casino, Downs Racing, L.P. and its iGaming partner, Unibet Interactive, were jointly fined $7,500 for failing to suspend the gaming account of an individual, who requested a 90-day “cool off” period but the request went unnoticed and substantial gaming activity was continued for 21 more days.

Holder of an iGaming Manufacturer License, Evolution US, was sanctioned with $7,500 for allowing an unlicensed employee to deal several games of blackjack in the operator’s gaming studio for live dealer interactive gaming.

Leaving Children Unattended to Gamble

Acting on OEC petitions, the PGCB banned two individuals, a male and a female, from all casinos in the Commonwealth for leaving their children unattended while engaging in gaming activities. The patrons left their kids, a 12-year-old and a 14-month-old, in running vehicles while placing wagers at the sportsbooks at the Presque Isle Downs & Casino and Valley Forge Casino and Resort, respectively.

In January, the watchdog sanctioned four individuals for similar offenses. On one of the occasions, a man left unattended five children, one of which an infant, for an hour and 12 min while he was playing slots at the Valley Forge Casino and Resort.

The two latest occasions brought the total number of incidents since the start of 2022 in which adults leave their children unattended to gamble at Pennsylvania casinos to 331, involving 522 minors.

The PGCB used the occasion to remind all adults that leaving minors unattended at a Pennsylvania casino is also a criminal offense as it creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children.