PGCB Slaps Mount Airy and SugarHouse HSP Gaming with Fines in PA

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board finalized investigations and issued fines to two Keystone State casino operators, to name Mount Airy and SugarHouse HSP Gaming.

Mount Airy and SugarHouse HSP Gaming Fined

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) issued two fines to state casino operators. Mount Airy, the operator behind Mount Airy Casino Resort, and SugarHouse HSP Gaming, the brand that currently runs Rivers Casino Philadelphia both received fines from the regulator over reported violation of existing licensing conditions.

The fines, which amounted to $135,000 cumulatively, were approved during the official meeting of the board and were negotiated by the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel and the two casino operators.

The PGCB took issue with complimentary bonus credits which were issued without a formal approval from the Board of Comp Matrix, which specifies on what occasions and to what extent such bonuses can be extended to the customer base.

More specifically, the Board of Comp Matrix dictates who may issue bonuses and how much bonus funds can be provided. Should an operator issue a bonus without obtaining an approval beforehand, that is in a direct conflict with the license agreement.

Mount Airy commanded the heftier penalty worth $90,000 following a detailed investigation by the regulator’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement (BIE) which delved into the matter and established that employees had issued bonus amounts bigger than the pre-agreed limits, and therefore not aligned with Comp Matrix’s targets.

Why Were Mount Airy and SugarHouse Fined?

Specifically, Mount Airy failed to stick to Internal Controls and had allowed 491 instances of discretionary free slot play that exceeded the pre-agreed amounts. A total of $262,500 has been issued. The matter was compounded by the fact that an employee had stolen $140,000 back in 2014 and 2015, leading to criminal charges levied against said employee and unnamed co-conspirator.

According to an investigation, Ashley Brosius, 30, who worked as a player coordinator in Mount Airy used insider knowledge to duplicate players’ personal identification card numbers and then top them up with free credits.

SugarHouse HSP Gaming penalty amounted to $45,000 and was a direct result from a similar probe opened into Rivers Casino Philadelphia by the BIE. The investigative body detected 405 instances in which the amounts distributed in complementary free spins exceeded the pre-established limits set by Comp Matrix, with some $25,562 allowed to enter into play.

The bureau reached a similar conclusion in the case but issued a smaller fine owing to the smaller amount involved.