PRESS RELEASE

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (Board) approved actions today at its public meeting that led to the involuntary exclusion from all Commonwealth casinos of two adults who left children unattended in a vehicle while gambling.

DETAILS

• A male left an 8-year-old child in an unattended vehicle at Rivers Casino Philadelphia while he gambled in the casino’s sportsbook facility; and
   
• A female left an 8-year-old child in an unattended vehicle at the Valley Forge Casino Resort while she gambled in the facility.  

This behavior led to the approval today by the Board of the placement of both adults on the PGCB’s Involuntary Exclusion List that prohibits individuals from entering and gambling at all Pennsylvania casinos.

The Board does note that since the incident at its facility, Valley Forge Casino Resort has committed $776,000 to develop and implement a plan that is designed to mitigate the incidents of unattended minors at its property.

Since 2011, 134 individuals have been placed on the Involuntary Exclusion list for this type of incident.

The Board is reminding the gambling public to not leave children unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venue at a casino, not only because of the possible exclusion from all Pennsylvania casinos and prosecution, but more importantly due to the safety hazard to the child.

Copies of the documents related to either of these matters are available upon request through the Board’s Office of Communications.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 13, 2022 in the PGCB’s Public Hearing Room located on the second floor of the Strawberry Square Complex in Harrisburg.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling involving 16 land-based casinos, online casino games, retail and online sports wagering, and Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs) at qualified truck stops, along with the regulation of online fantasy sports contests.

The land-based casino industry in Pennsylvania consists of six racetrack (Category 1) casinos, five stand-alone (Category 2) casinos, two resort (Category 3) casinos and three mini-casinos (Category 4).  Casino expansion will continue over the next couple of years with the anticipated openings of up to two additional Category 4 casinos. A significant job generator in the Commonwealth, casinos and the other types of Board-regulated gaming is expected to generate over $2 billion in tax revenue during the 2021/2022 State Fiscal Year.

Additional information about both the PGCB’s gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov . You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.