Summary
- Several people were added to the casino exclusion list in PA
- Children ages 2 to 14 were left alone in vehicles.
- The board is taking swift action against adults who leave their children unattended.
As surprising as it may seem, the state of Pennsylvania still has an issue with parents leaving children unattended to gamble.
For years now, adults have faced charges of child endangerment for leaving their kids in vehicles while they go inside a casino to gamble. This week. the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board placed several individuals on an Involuntary Exclusion List for such behavior.
Leaving Children Alone to Gamble
This week, the PGCB announced several adults were placed on the Involuntary Exclusion list for their behavior involving children. A female patron was one of the individuals put on the list after leaving a two year old and 14 year old alone to play at the Mohegan.
A male visitor was banned after leaving not one, but five children alone in the food court of the Valley Forge Casino. The children were 14, 10, 9, 1, and an infant. The kids were left alone for over an hour while the man played slot games.
Another man was added to the list after leaving a 13 year old alone in a vehicle outside of Harrah’s Casino in Philadelphia. The man tried to go inside the casino with the preteen but was denied. The childe went back to the car and the man went inside to the sportsbook. This child was alone for about 15 minutes.
Two women were denied the right to visit Pennsylvania casinos again after they requested to be removed from the Involuntary Exclusion list. The women were involved in two different incidents of leaving children in vehicles in 2020.
Do Not Leave Your Kids Alone
It really goes without saying, but adults should not be leaving children unattended to visit a casino and gambling. The board who launched the “Don’t Gamble with Kids” campaign last year will act on any adult that leaves a child alone in a parking lot, garage, hotel, or other section of a casino site.
Leaving a child unattended puts the minor at risk of being harmed or put in danger. The child may be taken by another adult or get into mischief that could lead to bodily harm. Last year, there were over 300 incidents in which kids were left alone. The incidents involved just under 500 children.
It seems no matter the action taken against others, there are still adults willing to take the risk and leave kids alone while gambling. It will be interesting to see if the board requires casinos to take additional measures such as parking lot checks to ensure that this type of behavior is halted or at least lessened in the future.
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