Five gamblers banned at Pennsylvania casinos for leaving kids unattended
By Ramona Depares
There has been a worrying surge involving adult gamblers at US online casinos over the past few years. In Pennsylvania (PA), dozens of gambling parents have been found to leave their young children unattended in cars and parking lots while they spend their money at brick-and-mortar casinos.
This yearly trend – which hampers responsible gambling efforts – has reached unprecedented levels to the point that some of gamblers have been put on involuntary exclusion lists for all casinos in the state.
In the most recent casino, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) imposed a total ban on five gamblers from casinos, after they left their children unattended while they were trying their luck playing casino games. With the ages of the children being revealed by WTAJ-TV to be extremely young, ranging between four to 12, the cases shocked the Pennsylvania (PA) gambling community.
WTAJ journalist Olivia Bosar revealed that the one woman and four men had been placed on the list of involuntary exclusion at all PA casinos. Upon handing down the ban, the PGCB reminded all gamblers that it is illegal to leave minors unattended in any part of a casino venue. This includes parking lots or garages, and even hotels or any other venue that is part of a casino.
Similar cases reported in Pennsylvania in the last few years
This is not the first such case to attract the ire of the PGCB. According to PAhomepage, between January 2022 and May 2023, some 370 adults were discovered by the Board to have left children unattended so as to be able to gamble at PA casinos. The number of children left alone in this period was 596.
The issue appears to be a recurring one, with the number of parents leaving their children alone to gamble increasing year after year. According to The Inquirer, in 2021, 171 people were banned by the Board for leaving a total of 279 children unattended. By 2022, that number had gone up to 303 incidents, affecting a total of 486 children.
The PGCB implements the regulations related to responsible gambling in a thorough manner, and recently turned down requests by parents or guardians who were placed on the involuntary exclusion list in 2020 for similar reasons. In a press statement, the Board clarified that these were two female adults who in separate incidents had left a total of five children unattended while they gambled.
In most cases, the children are discovered by another patron, although in some cases it is casino security who sounds the alarm after spotting children left alone in cars. Sometimes, the kids actually leave the car and are spotted wandering around by passers-by. No matter how the discovery is made, the casino’s head of security is usually alerted so as to identify the parent in question via surveillance. The Board is always informed about such matters, as are law enforcement officers.
PGCB Commissioner Sean Logan has gone on record telling various members of the press that a strong collaboration between the Board, the casinos, the state police and the local police is needed to tackle the problem. Erie News has in fact stated that adults caught leaving children unattended at casinos are now facing criminal prosecution.
The US law related to leaving children unattended at casinos
Pennsylvania recognised the problem as far back as 2011 when the Pennsylvania House Gaming Oversight Committee approved legislation to prohibit anyone from leaving children under the age of 14 unattended in a vehicle on a property controlled by a casino. According to CBC News, the law was in direct response towards repeated incidents at Bensalem’s Parx Casino.
But, while a large number of other US casinos have struggled with the same problem, as yet there is no one federal law that prohibits leaving minors unattended at casinos. That said, various states have encountered similar issues and have taken it upon themselves to introduce laws similar to Pennsylvania’s.
According to a legal report by the US law firm Lento, parents may potentially face criminal charges even outside of Pennsylvania as more and more states become aware of the urgency of the problem and state gambling regulators become increasingly stricter towards offenders.
The New Jersey Gaming Control Board, for example, has regularly started slapping involuntary exclusions to parents found guilty of leaving their children unattended at casinos. Moreover, in NJ those in violation of gambling regulations also face potential fines, restraint and contempt proceedings. More significantly, a report is fined with Child Protection Officers, which can lead to possible custody issues.
In Connecticut, specific laws are in place prohibiting parents or guardians from leaving children alone. Moreover, existing case law lays down that parents leaving children alone in any US casinos are subject to criminal liability.
Why millions of parents in the US are opting for online casinos
With the costly reality of child-minding services being out of reach for many families, millions of parents across the state are opting for online casinos. Registering at US real money online casinos removes the problem of childcare, as parents or guardians can simply enjoy their favorite games from the comfort of home, while keeping their young children safe and under their watchful eye.
The US casinos online landscape has evolved to an incredible degree, and nowadays even the most modest of budgets will offer you hours of entertainment. This is especially true with the advent of sweepstake casinos, where you don’t even need to spend money and deposit in order to play casino games and to win real prizes.
More importantly, online casinos allow you to keep a careful balance, making enough time for quality time with your children while managing to fit in a couple of spins on your favourite slots or table games. It is thus unsurprising that their popularity is expected to continue increasing across many US states.
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