Underage Gaming Violations Lead to $120,000 in Fines for Two PA Casinos

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday levied fines totaling $120,000 for incidents at two casinos that permitted individuals under the age of 21 to access casino floors and, in most instances, to gamble.

All of the fines were the result of Board-approved consent agreements between the casino operator and the PGCB's Office of Enforcement Counsel.

The larger of the two fines, $85,000,was against Sands Bethworks Gaming LLC, operator of the Sands Casino Bethlehem in Northampton County for six individual instances of permitting individuals under the age of 21 to access its casino floor, gamble and, in some instances, consume alcohol:

• June 3, 2013 - a 17-year-old female gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at table games;
• August 18, 2013 - a 20-year-old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at both slot machines and table games;
• September 20, 2013 -  a 20-year-old female gained access to the gaming floor then gambled on slot machines and at table games;
• October 14, 2013 - a 20-year-old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at table games.
• December 29, 2013 - a 19-year-old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at table games and consumed an alcoholic beverage;
• January 29, 2014 - a 17-year-old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled on slot machines and consumed an alcoholic beverage.

All of the incidents listed above were self-reported by the Sands Casino to Gaming Control Board officials.

Prior to this, there have been four approved consent agreements with Sands Bethworks, LLC since June 2010 involving underage gambling with fines totaling $220,000 for 20 incidents. 

Valley Forge Casino Resort in Montgomery County received a $35,000 fine for two incidents that occurred last year involving three underage individuals:

• March 30, 2013 – a 19-year-old male gained access to the gaming floor utilizing a casino access pass legally held by a 21-year-old acquaintance, then gambled at a slot machine and consumed an alcoholic beverage;
• May 25, 2013 – two 20-year-old females who were attending a banquet at the resort and were registered guests of the resort's hotel were provided casino access passes and permitted to enter the gaming floor. Neither of the underage individuals gambled.

This was the second fine levied against Valley Forge Casino Resort for underage gambling violations. The previous was in July of 2013 for two incidents resulting in a $15,000 fine.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 9, 2014 in the PGCB's Public Hearing Room located on the second floor of Strawberry Square in Harrisburg. 

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established in 2004 with the passage of Act 71, also known as the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Pennsylvania's first new state agency in nearly 30 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state's casino industry. The 12 casinos in operation all offer both slot machine and table game gambling, employ over 16,000 people, and collectively generate an average of $4 million per day in tax revenue. A portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners; provide funds to the Commonwealth's horse racing industry, fire companies, a statewide water and sewer project grant program, and the state's General Fund; and, established a new stream of tax revenue to local governments that host casinos for community projects.

A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board's regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania's gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. At this website, visitors can watch Board meetings live or view videos of past meetings, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information.  You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

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

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

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