Pennsylvania: Man Left 5-Year-Old in Casino Garage for 36 Minutes While Playing Slots, Regulators Say

A man who left a 5-year-old unattended in a casino parking garage for 36 minutes while he played slot machines was one of 10 people added to Pennsylvania’s gambling exclusion lists on September 23, 2026.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board took the action at its monthly public meeting in Harrisburg, according to its announcement. The board said the child was left at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino, which, despite its name, is in Chester rather than the city of Philadelphia. At the same meeting, it also approved two licensing-related consent agreements with gaming companies.

What happened at Harrah’s

The board gave a brief account. It said the man left the child in the casino’s parking garage for 36 minutes while he gambled at slot machines. He was placed on the board’s Involuntary Casino Exclusion List, which bars him from gambling at Pennsylvania casinos.

The board said cases like this are a reminder that adults are not allowed to leave children unattended in a casino parking lot or garage, a hotel or other areas of a casino, because it “creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for children.”

To back up casinos’ own efforts on the problem, the board runs an awareness campaign called “Don’t Gamble with Kids.”

Who else was added to the lists

The board oversees Pennsylvania’s 18 land-based casinos, online casino games, sports wagering and video gaming terminals at qualified truck stops. It keeps several involuntary exclusion lists. Depending on the list, a person can be barred from gambling at Pennsylvania casinos, on online betting sites regulated by the board, or at video gaming terminal locations.

Before the meeting, the board’s agenda listed six people for the casino exclusion list and four for the interactive gaming list, which covers online gambling. The announcement did not say how the final 10 were split between the lists, or why the other nine were added.

These placements are decided by the regulator. That makes them different from self-exclusion, where people ask to be barred from gambling themselves.

After the September 23 actions, the board said 1,507 people were on its involuntary exclusion lists.

Separately: consent agreements with MGM and CountR

Separately, at the same meeting, the board approved two licensing-related consent agreements brought by its Office of Enforcement Counsel.

MGM Resorts International was fined $50,250 for failing to file a principal licensing application on time.

CountR GmbH, a German-based company, will pay the board $50,000 to settle its unpaid license. The board said the case involved an unapproved change of control of the company’s license and a failure to pay required licensing fees.

Copies of both agreements are available on request from the board’s Office of Communications, the announcement said. The board’s next meeting is scheduled for October 14, 2026, in Harrisburg.