PGCB Fines Valley Forge Casino after 13YO Gambled for Hours

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has issued a penalty against the Valley Forge Casino Resort in Montgomery County following an accident involving a 13-year-old boy who was allowed to gamble on the property for hours last year.

Individuals under the age of 21 are not allowed to gamble in Pennsylvania, and cannot even enter casino gaming floors, with the onus usually on the properties to ensure compliance. However, the fact that the boy was able to access the casino’s floor and gamble for hours resulted in a penalty for the property.

Father and Young Child Enter Casino Floor Unnoticed on Day One

Valley Forge Casino Resort will pay $300,000 for the accident, while the amount spent, lost, and won by the 13-year-old remains undisclosed. The boy did not sneak in on their own, however, as he was accompanied by his father.

The boy entered using his father’s identification. Security officers checked the ID and allowed the father in, not realizing that there was a person not authorized to enter at the time. The boy then spent about $1,640, according to independent reporting, but no further details were offered on the win-loss balance.

The boy also stayed with his father for the majority of the time. A waiter served the boy a soda and a beer to his father. Nothing happened on their first day of gambling this way. The pair was only caught the next day when they tried to enter together once again, but security noticed the boy this time and denied entrance, as well as reviewing security footage from earlier.

Kid Served Soda, and Staff None the Wiser Until Next Day

From that point on, things went hard for the father, who was hit with aiding and abetting charges and entered a guilty plea. As to the security officers who had let the accident take place, they received a final warning from the property, and the security staff received further training to ensure that such accidents do not take place any longer.

Still, this constituted a fairly obvious omission and breach of protocol of gambling laws in the state, hence the size of the penalty. Earlier this year, the PGCB issued penalties against BetMGM and other properties, citing various violations, mostly tied to instances of self-excluded people entering gaming floors.