A consent agreement presented by the Board's Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC) was approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and a $10,000 fine was issued to the Parx Casino in Bucks County.
This fine is the result of casino personnel permitting an 18-year-old male onto the gaming floor who then proceeded to gamble at one of the tables.
Pennsylvania law prohibits individuals under the age of 21 from accessing the gaming floor or gambling in a casino. It is the burden of the casino personnel to verify the age of any individuals accessing its casino and participating in gaming activities.
The board continued by acting on petitions from the OEC to ban seven adults from all Commonwealth casinos for leaving a total of 13 children unattended in order to gamble.
Leaving minors unattended at a Pennsylvania casino subjects the offending adult(s) to criminal prosecution along with exclusion from all Pennsylvania casinos.
One male patron was placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List after leaving three children, unattended in a vehicle located in the Presque Isle Downs & Casino parking lot.
The children included an infant and two six-year-olds that were left alone for 16 minutes while the adult placed bets at the sportsbook.
At the Valley Forge Casino Resort, five children ranging from infancy to the age of 14 were left unattended in the food court for 64 minutes while the adult played slot machines. The female patron and adult were then placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List.
The most shocking case happened at Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack where a 15-year-old child was left unattended for over seven hours while a female patron gambled inside the casino.
