HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PCGB) banned four adults on Wednesday, Jan. 25 from entering state casinos after leaving children unattended in order to gamble in those casinos.
The board also denied requests by two other adults to be removed from the list for similar incidents.
The actions to place four adults on the PGCB’s Involuntary Exclusion List were due to the approvals of petitions presented by the Board’s Office of the Enforcement Council and included nine children.
As quoted in the release, action has been taken on the following people:
- A man was placed on the list after leaving five children, including an infant, along with children between ages one and 14 in the food court of Valley Forge Casino Resort. The children were left unattended for an hour and 12 minutes while the adult was at slot machines.
- Another man was placed on the list after leaving a 12-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Valley Forge Casino Resort. The child was left unattended for 5 minutes while the man wagered at the sportsbook.
- Another guest was placed on the list after leaving a 13-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack’s parking garage. After the man attempted to enter the casino with the child and claimed he was his brother, the child returned to the vehicle while the adult entered the casino and wagered at the sportsbook. The child was left unattended for 15 minutes.
- A woman was placed on the list after leaving a two-year-old and a 14-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the parking lot of Mohegan Pennsylvania Casino in Wilkes-Barre. The children were left unattended for over two hours while the woman gambled at slot machines.
The board also denied requests to be removed from the list by two women who were placed on the list back in 2020 for separate incidents involving three children being left unattended.
These actions are to remind gamblers that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino, due to the potentially unsafe environment that can be created for the children. Offenders can be subject to criminal prosecution in addition to being banned at all state casinos.
The PGCB reported that during 2022 it identified 303 incidents of adults leaving children unattended to gamble at Pennsylvania casinos involving 486 minors.