PRESS RELEASE

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (“Board”) today placed 26 individuals onto its various Involuntary Exclusion Lists. These placements, which prohibit the individuals from either gaming in a casino in Pennsylvania or via an online betting site regulated by the Board, includes four persons who left minors unattended in order to engage in gaming activities in a casino and nine others for committing fraud using iGaming sites.

The approvals were made during an online public meeting and upon the recommendation of its Office of Enforcement Counsel (“OEC”). 

Placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List for unattended minors were:

• Two patrons, male & female, left three minors, ages 5,7 and 9, unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Valley Forge Casino Resort for 6 minutes in 80-degree weather while they gambled at the sportsbook and on table games;

• A male patron left an 11-month-old child unattended in a vehicle in the parking garage at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course for 45 minutes in 40-degree weather while he gambled on slot machines; and,

• A male patron left a 13-year-old minor unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot at Live! Casino Philadelphia for 10 minutes in 75-degree weather while he gambled at the sportsbook.

Actions such as these to deny statewide gambling privileges serve as a reminder that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino since it creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children. To compliment the efforts by casinos to mitigate this issue, the Board created an awareness campaign, “Don’t Gamble with Kids”.

14 additional persons, whose presence in a licensed facility would be inimical to the interest of the Commonwealth and licensed gaming, were placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List for various offenses. Since its inception, 1,269, persons have been placed on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion List. Additionally, there are 3 people on both the casino and iGaming involuntary exclusion list.

Additionally, 8 persons were placed on the Board’s Involuntary iGaming Exclusion Lists for fraudulent behavior in which an individual:

• created and accessed 15 separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals;

• created and accessed 9 separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals;

• created and accessed 7 online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals, funded those accounts with credit cards belonging to other individual, then withdrew a total of $1,490 from those accounts into his own personal banking accounts;

• created and accessed 8 separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals.

• created and accessed 19 separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals;

• created and accessed 20 separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals;

• created and accessed 14 separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals and then illegally requested and received chargebacks to a credit card totaling $6,681; and,

• created and accessed 6 separate online accounts using the personal identifying information of other individuals.

The Board’s actions in these matters stem from its commitment to keep individuals who have committed fraud from gaming online in Pennsylvania. The additions made today brought the total number of individuals who are currently on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List to 61.

The Gaming Control Board is scheduled to meet next at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 in the Board’s Public Hearing Room located on the second floor of the Strawberry Square Complex in Harrisburg. More information including agendas for these meetings will be posted on the Board’s website prior to each meeting.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling involving 17 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 four mini-casinos (Category 4).  A significant job generator in the Commonwealth, casinos and the other types of Board-regulated gaming generated $2.54 billion in tax revenue in Fiscal Year 2023/24.

Additional information about both the PGCB’s gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Doug Harbach or Richard McGarvey - (717) 346-8321

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