Pennsylvania regulator fines three operators a total of $150K
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
The Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, which manages the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, was handed two fines amounting to a total of $82K. The operator of Presque Isle Downs and Casino, as well as Chester Downs and Marina, which runs Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack in Chester, were each fined $45K and $22,500, respectively. Failings involved self-exclusion, underage gambling and alcohol service.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) approved consent agreements between the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel and three casino operators resulting in a total of $150,000 in fines.
The Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, the operator via its affiliates of internet gaming sites hollywoodcasino.com and barstoolsportsbook.com, was handed two fines of $57,000 and $25,000. According to the operator the first fine was for allowing self-excluded individuals to access and gamble on those websites, more specifically nine individuals that were currently on the PGCB's Voluntary iGaming Self-Exclusion List to create or gain access to casino-type gaming or sports wagering sites, and in some cases place wagers. iGaming sites must refuse wagers from and deny gaming privileges to any iGaming self-excluded person.
The second fine approved against Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association involved its Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course facility in Dauphin County. This case involved a single incident in which four persons under the age of 21 attempted to gain access to the gaming floor, two of the four individuals accessed the gaming floor, and one of the four individuals gambled at a slot machine. The individuals were 16, 17, 18, and 19 years of age.
Furthermore, PID, LLC, operator of Presque Isle Downs and Casino was fined $45,000 for violation of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Covid-19 Safety Order regarding alcohol service. The casino permitted a patron to consume alcohol on the gaming floor during a Pennsylvania state-wide order to protect the public from the spread of Covid-19 that prohibited all bars from serving alcohol unless it was in the same transaction as a meal.
Lastly, Chester Downs and Marina LLC, operator of Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack in Chester, was fined $22,500 for failure to protect assets. The report explained that the fine stemmed from two incidents in which the casino failed in its responsibility to safeguard assets. In one instance, a patron stole $955 of playing chips at a table game. In the other, a patron stole $24,000 in cash when a cash drawer was left open.
