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Pennsylvania’s gambling watchdog handed down $112,500 in fines to three operators and added eight people to its exclusion lists during a public meeting late last month.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board signed three separate permits agreements at its February 25 session, ending enforcement cases tied to a casino operator, an online gaming supplier, and another brick-and-mortar property.
The highest penalty, $70,000, went to Holding Acquisition Co., LP, which operates Rivers Casino Pittsburgh. State officials said the fine was tied to seven incidents in which patrons who voluntarily placed themselves on the casino’s self-exclusion list were still able to enter the gaming floor and place bets.
Regulators have repeatedly emphasized that self-exclusion is one of the state’s central responsible gambling safeguards, designed to block people who identify as having a gambling problem from accessing casinos and online platforms.
Relax Gaming North America, LLC was ordered to pay $32,500 after making a change of control without first obtaining approval from the board, something required by state regulations on licensed internet gaming manufacturers.
Stadium Casino Westmoreland, RE, LLC, the operator of the Live! Casino Pittsburgh, faces a $10,000 fine. In that case, a minor individual younger than 21 accessed the gambling floor and gambled, a violation of Pennsylvania law.
Pennsylvania’s gambling regulator fined part of a broader enforcement trend
The latest actions follow a series of enforcement measures in recent months. In previous meetings, placed on the board 22 people on the exclusion list on a broom and 15 others were banned in another round of decisions.
The board has also targeted casinos for underage gambling in the past. In a separate case reported earlier this year, a the property was fined $30,000 after allowing a teenager to gamblewhich reinforces the expectation that operators will maintain strict age verification controls.
In another push for enforcement, regulators imposed a combined $70,000 in fines of well-known operators for compliance failures.
With eight new additions approved in February, Pennsylvania’s various involuntary opt-out lists now include 1,499 people. Anyone placed on the lists is prohibited from entering casinos, betting at video game terminal locations, or using state-controlled online betting sites.
Board officials said the cases were presented jointly by the Office of Chief Counsel and the Office of Enforcement Counsel, which investigates and prosecutes violations of state gaming laws.
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The post Pennsylvania regulator imposes fines on casinos totaling $112,500, while expanding list of gambling exclusions first appeared in ReadWrite.
