Underage Access and Unlicensed Staff Lead to PA Fines

Pennsylvania regulators are once again tightening the rules around casino and online gambling, and this update gives a clear signal. Two operators in Pennsylvania are now on the hook for $70,000 in total fines, and several individuals have been banned from gambling statewide.

Good to know

• FanDuel’s parent company Betfair Interactive was fined $40,000 for not licensing some of its staff properly.
• Rivers Casino Philadelphia, operated by Sugarhouse HSP Gaming, was hit with a $30,000 penalty for letting underage individuals access its gaming floor.
• The state banned seven more people from gambling across all Pennsylvania casinos and online platforms.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) just approved two separate fines after reviewing enforcement actions. The bigger fine—$40,000—was issued to Betfair Interactive, which runs as FanDuel in the state. According to the PGCB, the company failed to license multiple employees who were required to have approval.

On the other hand, Sugarhouse HSP Gaming, which operates Rivers Casino Philadelphia, received a $30,000 fine for allowing underage access to its gambling floor. Letting individuals under the legal age gamble is one of the more serious violations for any casino operator.

But that was not the end of it. Alongside those penalties, the PGCB also denied gambling privileges to seven individuals across the state. These bans mean they are blocked from betting at casinos, using any legal online betting platforms, or accessing video gaming terminals anywhere in Pennsylvania.

In one case, a gambler left two children, aged eight and nine, alone in a hotel room for nearly eight hours while they went to play table games. The PGCB flagged this as part of a growing concern over minors being left unattended while adults gamble. In response, the state launched an awareness campaign called “Don’t Gamble with Kids”.

The board added that a few of the individuals banned were involved in dishonest behavior tied to online gambling. Two were placed on the exclusion list after being caught in fraudulent activity during internet-based betting.

The message from Pennsylvania is clear: whether you are a major operator or a solo player, rules matter. As betting continues to expand—including platforms that accept Bitcoin or crypto—you can expect more states to step up enforcement like this.

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