Pennsylvania bans two adults from entering casinos statewide

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and casinos in the Keystone State have been working together to ensure that irresponsible adults leaving children unattended in casino parking lots and garages face consequences for their actions. In the latest such enforcement action, the state’s single gambling regulator banned two adults from entering casinos anywhere in the Commonwealth.

The offenders, a woman, and a man had left children unattended to gamble, the PGCB revealed during a meeting last week and in a subsequent press release. In Pennsylvania, children and underage individuals are not allowed to enter the premises of a gambling facility even with a guardian and a parent present. As a result, there have been cases where adults would drive to casinos and leave their children unattended in adjoining facilities or directly in vehicles parked on the premises.

The PGCB has vowed to fight against such acts and has put the onus on casino operators and gambling establishments in the Keystone State to make sure that they do not allow such incidents to happen. Many casinos have doubled their patrols on parking lot premises and installed additional cameras in a bid to comply.

In the case of the two adults now banned under the Involuntary Self-Exclusion mandate, the couple had left children aged one and six in a hotel room while they gambled in the adjoining casino. The mother and boyfriend also face charges by the State Police.

As a clarification to adults who wish to gamble, the PGCB stressed that leaving minors unattended in parking lots, garages, the adjoining hotel, or other venue associated with the casino, such as the canteen area, could entail criminal prosecution along with a permanent ban to enter any of the state’s gambling operators.

The issue has been documented in the state for a while now. Back in May, PGCB Director of CommunicationsDough Harbach said that such instances were more common now that COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted.

However, Harbach confirmed the regulator’s commitment to ensure that such offenses are kept to a minimum and those who are found breaking the rules punished appropriately. The increased scrutiny into the issue has already been paying social dividends as well. Businesses have submitted action plans to the PGCB, presenting how they intend to address the problem.

Part of these plans includes staff on-site to be specifically trained and equipped with the skills necessary to detect individuals who may have neglected children to access gambling venues. Commenting on this issue at the time, Harbach said that this is indeed a trainable skill – just the way casino staff can be trained to look for signs of problem gambling in patrons.

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