Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Bans 26 People from Casinos

Pennsylvania is home to many of our best sportsbooks and real-money online casinos, but some people have found themselves restricted from the fun.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has banned 26 people from gaming in a Pennsylvania casino or any PA online casino regulated by the Board. 

Four individuals banned on Wednesday were placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List for leaving children unattended in vehicles while entering a Pennsylvania casino. 

One instance included a man and a woman leaving three minors, ages 5, 7, and 9, for six minutes in 80-degree weather. Another included an 11-month-old child in a vehicle in a parking garage for 45 minutes in 40-degree weather. The final instance included a 13-year-old in a vehicle for 10 minutes in 75-degree weather. Across all four cases, the banned individuals engaged in the casinos’ gambling activities while the children remained in the vehicle. 

Fourteen banned individuals were placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List for various other offenses, while eight were placed on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List for fraudulent behavior.

The Board has multiple Exclusion Lists to keep hazardous individuals from gambling in Pennsylvania. One of these lists is the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List for individuals banned from Pennsylvania’s casinos. Since its creation, 1,269 people have been placed on this list. The other list is the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List for individuals banned from online betting sites regulated by the Board.

The majority of the fraudulent behavior pertained to creating and accessing multiple separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals. However, one had withdrawn a total of $1,490 and another had received chargebacks totaling $6,681. 

With these additions, the total number of individuals on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List is now 61.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board oversees gambling across 17 land-based casinos, online casino games, retail and online sports wagering, and Video Gaming Terminals. Online poker is also available in PA, with the market expanding following Rush Street Interactive’s launch in the state in November. 

“Don’t Gamble With Kids”

The morning after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced the bans, it took the opportunity to remind its players that adults are not permitted to leave minors unattended on the casino’s property. 

Kevin O’Toole, the Executive Director of the Board, said, “This has been an issue dating back to the opening of casinos in 2006. However, as the number of venues has increased and new types of gaming have been added, more incidents have been reported.”

Since 2022, 269 incidents of minors left unattended in a vehicle have been recorded by the Board’s Bureau of Casino Compliance. These incidents involved 441 minors, of which 68 were 6 years old or younger. Comparatively, in 2021, 181 incidents were recorded involving 279 minors.

To combat these incidents, the Board has announced the launch of its new awareness campaign, “Don’t Gamble With Kids.”

“We are hopeful this campaign will raise awareness not only for those who gamble and are responsible for children,” said O’Toole, “but also for the gaming public who we hope will be more diligent in looking out for children at risk.”

Strict consequences

For leaving a child unattended in a vehicle in Pennsylvania, an adult caregiver may face a lifetime ban by the casino where the incident occurred. The caregiver may also be placed on the Board’s Exclusion List, which would mean a blanket ban from entering all casinos in Pennsylvania.

Law enforcement could also file criminal charges, while the applicable county’s Department of Children and Youth Services could seek to investigate the matter further.