PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania gaming officials are reminding the public not to neglect their children at casinos. Four parents have recently been banned from all casinos in the state after they were found to have abandoned their kids in parking lots while they were inside gambling.
Doug Harbach of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board says it has been an ongoing problem, but it seems to have worsened through the pandemic.
“During the pandemic, and then with the reopening of the casinos, we then saw this ramp up a good bit recently,” Harbach said.
“And normally what happened is casino personnel, their security, and a lot of times patrons, will see a child in a car in the parking lot, and they'll report it, and then action is taken, and the parent or parents are found.”
He says after proper investigations, the four people were put on the board’s “involuntary exclusion” list, meaning they are banned from all 15 casinos in the state for life.
“If they go into a casino when they're on that list, and are caught, they can be fined. They can have winnings taken,” he said.
In one incident, a man left his 1- and 3-year-old for about 30 minutes before someone discovered the children alone and notified security. Two others were also banned after their kids were found in Philadelphia’s Rivers Casino parking lot unattended.
“The thing that the parents have to understand is, first and foremost, they're putting a child's life in jeopardy by doing this,” Harbach said.
“And No. 2 is there are consequences for them. Not only do we ban them for life from going to any casino in Pennsylvania, a privilege that they obviously like, but also they face law enforcement issues by abandoning that child.”
Gaming Control Board officials say over the past decade more than 130 people have been placed on the involuntary exclusion list for abandoning their children.