Pennsylvania regulator fines three operators $60K for online gaming breaches
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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has approved three consent agreements presented by the board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel. The fines, all related to online gaming, total $60,000. Two relate to breaches of self-exclusion requests.
Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, the operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, was fined $45,000 for allowing five people enrolled in the Board’s self-exclusion program to conduct gaming activity on its online Barstool Sportsbook. An interactive gaming provider must refuse wagers from anyone on the list, noted the regulator.
Meanwhile, Downs Racing, operator of the Mohegan Pennsylvania casino, and its iGaming partner Unibet Interactive, were jointly ordered to pay a fine of $7,500 for failure to suspend an account of a player who had requested a temporary suspension of online gaming activities. The player had requested a 90-day "cool off" period, but the request went unacknowledged, and "substantial" activity continued for 21 more days.
Finally, Evolution US, holder of an iGaming manufacturer license, was fined $7,500over an unlicensed employee dealing with several games of blackjack in its gaming studio for live dealer interactive gaming.
In another update, the regulator announced it also acted on petitions by OEC to ban two adults from casinos in the Commonwealth for leaving children unattended. A man was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving a 12-year-old unattended in a running vehicle in the Presque Isle Downs & Casino parking lot while he wagered at the sportsbook. Additionally, a woman was placed on the list for having left a 14-month-old unattended in a running vehicle in the Valley Forge Casino and Resort parking lot while she wagered at the sportsbook.
The board said its actions serve as a reminder that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino. “Leaving minors unattended at a Pennsylvania casino also subjects the offending adult to criminal prosecution in addition to exclusion from all Pennsylvania casinos," the regulator said.
The PGCB is reporting that since the start of 2022 through February 2023, it has identified331 incidents of adults leaving children unattended to gamble at Pennsylvania casinos involving 522 minors.
In November, the regulator launched a new awareness campaign on the issue. The “Don’t Gamble with Kids” campaign was spurred by concern over the number of minors being left in vehicles in casino parking lots or hotel rooms.
