Earlier this week, Pennsylvania’s gambling regulator gave the green light to multiple fines worth $238,500 in total. Although the monetary penalties faced by local operators have been pricey, a new report has also revealed that the local casinos expect strong March revenues.
On April 13th, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), which currently oversees all aspects of the state’s gambling sector, involving 16 brick-and-mortar casinos, online casino gambling, retail and online sports betting, and truck stop-based VGTs (video gambling terminals) officially approved consent agreements between its Office of Enforcement Counsel and four casino operators and two licensed gambling software manufacturers for fines totaling almost $240,000.
The PGCB revealed it inked 6 consent agreements with licensed gambling software manufacturers and casino operators. They include:
- A $10,000 fine agreed upon with the operator of Rivers Casino Philadelphia – Sugarhouse HSP Gaming – for allowing an underage person to access the casino’s gaming floor and gamble;
- A 10,000 fine agreed upon with the operator of Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino – Downs Racing – for violation of a self-exclusion;
- A $7,500 fine agreed upon with the operator of the Rivers Casino Pittsburgh – Holdings Acquisition Co. – for using revoked software for some of the slot machines available at the casino;
- A 40,000 fine agreed upon with the operator of Hollywood Casino – Washington Trotting Association – for alcohol overservice at the casino;
- An $85,500 fine agreed upon with GPI Mexicana S.A. de C.V. for failure to file its financial statements on time;
- An $85,500 fine agreed upon with Gaming Partners International ISA Inc. for failure to file its financial statements on time
Apart from unveiling the monetary penalties mentioned above, the state’s industry watchdog also announced that another adult has been placed on its Involuntary Exclusion List after the person left a young child in a car and went into a casino to gamble.
Four Casinos and Two Gambling Software Manufacturers Face Monetary Fines over Violations in Pennsylvania
As reported above, the two largest fines worth $85,500 each are set to be paid by two licensed software manufacturers – GPI Mexicana S.A. de C.V. and Gaming Partners International ISA Inc. Both companies have been required by the legislation to table their annual financial statements to the state’s gambling regulatory body no later than 90 days after the end of its 2019 and 2020 fiscal years. However, the two companies ran late in submitting the required information – the 2019 financial reports were received by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board 610 days late, while the 2020 financial reports were received by the regulatory body 245 days late.
The second-largest monetary penalty worth $40,000 was imposed on the Washington Trotting Association for two incidents in which the staff of the Hollywood Casino overserved alcohol to casino patrons who had already been visibly intoxicated. The first one of the incidents involved a person who was served 17 draft beers during a period of fewer than 13 hours, with the person eventually falling and getting injured. The second incident involved an individual who was served a beer, 3 shots and 5 mixed drinks in about 3 hours and a half, with the person eventually physically assaulting 2 security guards and 2 other casino patrons.
Two monetary penalties worth $10,000 were imposed by the Pennsylvania gambling regulator on two licensed casino operators. The first one, issued against Down Racing LP, was imposed after the watchdog found out about an incident in which an individual included in the Self-Exclusion list of the PGCB was not stopped from accessing the gaming floor. The other $10,000 fine was issued against Sugarhouse HSP Gaming because an underage individual was allowed to access the gaming floor of Rivers Casino Philadelphia and gamble on table games.
As mentioned above, Holdings Acquisition Co. faced a $7,500 fine because the staff of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh failed to install replacement software on a number of slot machines as they were supposed to do under an instruction issued by the Bureau of Gaming Laboratory Operations.
