Children as young as 2 years old have been left unattended in vehicles while their parents gambled at casinos and sportsbooks
Currently, Pennsylvania blocks 1379 people from gambling within the state, and among the most recently blocked individuals are four parents who left their children unattended while gambling.
Pennsylvania Bans Several Parents
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board took action to place 17 individuals on its various Involuntary Exclusion Lists. From these, the four parents who left a minor or minors unattended while gaming are all male and have had their gambling privileges removed.
All of these cases are somewhat shocking. For example, one father left three children, aged 2, 11, and 12, unattended in a vehicle in the parking garage of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course for two hours and six minutes while he played table games. Another parent of three children, this time ages 8, 11, and 13, left his kids in a vehicle in the parking lot at Presque Isle Downs and Casino for 10 minutes while he gambled at the sportsbook.
One man was banned for leaving children unattended on two occasions. The first one was when he left two children, ages 3 and 12, in a vehicle in the parking lot for nine minutes while he gambled at the Rivers Casino Philadelphia. On the second occasion, he left two 14-year-old children in a vehicle in the parking lot for 10 minutes while he placed bets at the same sportsbook.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Comments On the Issue
According to the controlling body, actions such as denying gambling privileges to parents like these serve as a reminder to adults. Parents should not leave minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino.
Doing so creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children. To mitigate such dangerous practices, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board created an awareness campaign, “Don’t Gamble with Kids.”
This is one of the many gambling-related programs that the state has been implementing in recent times. Other notable developments in the gambling industry in the state, for example, include Pennsylvania joining the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement for poker, making it the sixth and largest member yet.
It is currently unclear when the four men, banned from gambling in the state, will be allowed to practice it once more.
