Pennsylvania slaps penalty worth US$480k

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board slapped fines worth of US$481,116 on a casino operator and three with other firms that provide gaming services.

The board and operators have reached an agreement over the fines. The Consent Agreements were negotiated and presented by the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel and approved by the Board at yesterday’s public meeting in Harrisburg.

Two of the Consent Agreements stemmed from a single matter in which a purchase agreement between two firms was enacted and led to the conducting of business with Pennsylvania casinos without proper notification to the Board or authorisation from the Board.

The larger of the fines, US$351,271.40, was levied against AGS. LLC, American Gaming Systems, a Nevada-based gaming manufacturer and distributor, for its failure to disclose their Intellectual Property Purchase Agreement with In Bet Gaming, LLC. Additionally, AGS, LLC then engaged in business with Pennsylvania casinos through In Bet Gaming, LLC and received proceeds from In Bet Gaming, LLC without having gained authorisation or licensure from the Board.

In Bet Gaming, Inc., a New Jersey-based Certified Gaming Related Service Provider to casinos in Pennsylvania, received a fine of US$55,744.60 for their role in this matter in which Pennsylvania licensing requirements were circumvented and led to AGS, LLC owning intellectual property rights to games operated in Pennsylvania casinos at a time when AGS, LLC was not authorised to do so.

Valley Forge Convention Center Partners, LP, operator of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in Montgomery County, faced a US$50,000 fine for giving out excess amounts of free slot play in violation of its approved complimentary matrix. Per regulation, each licensed facility in Pennsylvania is required to have in their internal controls a matrix of employees authorised to award complimentary services along with specific limits on the amount that may be authorised. An investigation by the PGCB’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement discovered that free slot play had been awarded during 2015 and 2016 by employees not authorised to do so or, if authorised, beyond limits of the authorisation, which lead to total awards higher than an approved level.

Ditronics Financial Services, LLC, a Nevada-based provider of slot machines to Pennsylvania casinos, received a US$24,100 fine for late filings of the required Audited Annual Financial Statements for 2016 and 2017. The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, 18 July 2018 in the PGCB’s Public Hearing Room located on the second floor of the Strawberry Square Complex in Harrisburg.

Source: FocusGamingNews