Rivers Casino Philadelphia Fined For Allowing Underage People Access to Gaming

Rivers Casino Philadelphia Fined For Allowing Underage People Access to Gaming

Rivers Casino Philadelphia, located just northeast of downtown along the Delaware River, has been penalized by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) for permitting two underage individuals to enter the gaming area.

The PGCB announced on Wednesday that Sugarhouse HSP Gaming, LP, the casino operated by Rush Street Gaming from Chicago, mistakenly permitted two individuals under 21 to engage in gambling. Rivers Philly features over 1,500 slot machines, 72 live-dealer table games, and a 5,700-square-foot BetRivers Sportsbook.

Sugarhouse faced a $30K penalty for the two violations, equating to $15K for each offense. In Pennsylvania, the legal age for gambling is 21, except for the state-operated Pennsylvania Lottery, which allows players who are 18 and older.

In May 2024, the PGCB imposed a $125K fine on Wind Creek Bethlehem for 10 occurrences of minors accessing the Northampton County casino, which amounts to $12,500 for each violation. The Board stated that the infractions related to underage gambling at Wind Creek took place over a span of 20 months.

A representative from the PGCB informed Casino.org that the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel considers a “variety of factors” when deciding on a fine for underage violations. The statement indicated that the “ages of the individuals who accessed the gaming floor” at Rivers Philadelphia “justified a greater amount per incident” compared to the Wind Creek complaints.

 

FanDuel Penalized

In addition to Rivers Casino Philadelphia, the PGCB fined Betfair Interactive US, LLC, operating in the state as FanDuel, $40K. The fine resulted from the sportsbook and iGaming operator not promptly licensing several essential employees. Subsection 2 of Chapter 13, Section 11 of the Pennsylvania Gaming Act requires the licensing of essential employees. A key employee refers to any executive, staff member, or representative of a licensed gaming organization who can significantly impact business choices concerning its operations.

FanDuel runs iGaming and online sports wagering via its collaboration with Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia. In addition to Valley Forge, FanDuel’s physical sportsbook venues feature Live! Philadelphia Casino Hotel and Live! Casino Pittsburgh located in Greensburg.

 

Unintentional Inclusions

This week's PGCB meeting featured the addition of seven more individuals to the state’s different Involuntary Exclusion Lists.

One of the people who had their in-person gambling rights revoked was a woman who was found to have abandoned her children, aged eight and nine, in a hotel room at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows while she played on the casino floor for almost eight hours.

Two additional individuals were prohibited from iGaming for participating in "fraudulent activities." The PGCB states that the addition of the seven individuals increases the total count of involuntarily excluded persons to 1,411.

The PGCB emphasizes that children should never be left unsupervised in cars, hotel rooms, or any location while an adult is gambling, as highlighted in its PSA, “Don’t Gamble With Kids.”