Rivers Casino Philadelphia Slapped with $60K Fine for Juvenile Gambling
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has slapped Rivers Casino Philadelphia with a five-figure fine for failure to avoid juvenile patrons from betting on its gaming floor. The state gaming regulator approved a consent agreement with Sugarhouse HSP Gaming L.P on Wednesday, under which the operative of Rivers Casino Philadelphia has agreed to pay a $62,500 penalty for three occurrences of gambling players under the age of 21 accessing the casino floor. The first of the three occurrences for which Rivers Casino Philadelphia was slapped with a fine this week involved a 20-year female patron who was stopped at the casino entrance in February 2018 after being discovered to have used fraudulent identification.
The Casino security footage displayed that she was able to access the casino floor on four different days and to play on its table games and slot machines. She was served alcohol and allowed to join the casino’s loyalty program, which extended her access to gaming services.
Rivers Casino and Underage Gambling Violations
A 20-year male patron accessed the casino without being asked for any identification by security guards in October 2018. He gambled money on slot machines at the casino before thieving a $69.50 slot machine voucher from a gambler and escaping the betting venue. The third incident of an underage bettor being able to sneak into the casino and bet money took place this past February. A 20-year old male was overlooked by security guards, who were busy talking to each other, and he was able to get into the gambling venue.
He was able to gamble at the casino’s table games for about eight hours before asked to produce identification by a manager. He went on to present a fraudulent ID. Rivers Casino Philadelphia told the gaming board members that the three players involved in the events were officially evicted from the casino, while the casino security staff that had failed to deny the underage bettor’s access to the gaming floor were disciplined.
Earlier this year, the casino was fined $15,000 for its failure to monitor the serving of complimentary alcoholic beverages to an individual properly. As a result, the customer played in a drunk state and caused manifold disturbances on the gaming floor.
Rivers Casino recently completed its prearranged rebrand from Sugarhouse Casino. The move formed part of a strategy of the property’s parent firm, Rush Street Gaming, to bring its casinos under the same brand.