Four Adults Banned from Gambling at Casinos by the PGCB for Leaving Children Unattended
Four individuals have been banned from all casinos in the state after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board granted petitions submitted by its Office of Enforcement Counsel accusing these adults of leaving children unattended while they gambled.
- A female and male were put on the Involuntary Exclusion List after they left a 9-year-old unattended in a car in the Wind Creek Bethlehem parking garage for 1 hour and 34 minutes while they played slots;
- A female customer was put on the list after she left a 13-year-old unattended in a car in the Hollywood Casino York parking lot for nearly 40 minutes while she played slots;
- After leaving a 6-year-old unsupervised in a car in the Rivers Casino Pittsburgh parking underground for 1 hour and 44 minutes while he played table games, a male client was put on the Involuntary Exclusion List as well.
The Board’s actions serve as a warning that it is against the law for adults to leave children alone in a casino’s hotel, parking garage, or other areas because it might put them in danger. In addition to being barred from all PA casinos, leaving children unsupervised in a casino in PA may result in criminal charges for an offending adult.
Don’t Gamble with Kids is a public awareness campaign that the PGCB developed to support the efforts made by casinos to address this problem. Through the first seven months of 2022, the Board recorded 197 cases of unaccompanied children. 2023’s first seven months saw 126 incidents of this nature.