Bills Target Gambling Parents Who Leave Kids in Car

Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering increased penalties for parents and guardians who leave children in vehicles while gambling inside casinos around the commonwealth.

The (Wilkes-Barre) Times-Leader says one of the two bills circulating would also call for anyone caught leaving a child unattended while gambling to be placed on a state casino exclusion list.

The measures drafted by Rep. Michael O'Brien, D-Phila., have been forwarded without opposition by the House Gaming Oversight Committee and will be considered by the full House.

O'Brien said he submitted the bills after 10 instances in which parents left children unattended in parked vehicles at the Parx Casino & Racetrack in Bensalem while they gambled inside at the establishment in Bucks County, just north of Philadelphia.

Officials said The Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh has had at least one case, and it has happened at least twice at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville and once at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.
      
"I know the terror and anxiety a child can feel when left alone while his dad or mom gambles," O'Brien said. "My legislation is about protecting those children."

One of the measures would bar anyone from leaving a child younger than 14 unattended in a vehicle on casino property. If caught, the individual would be ejected from the casino and charged with a third-degree misdemeanor for the first offense. A second-degree misdemeanor would be leveled for later incidents. In addition, law enforcement officials would be required to notify child and youth agencies of violations within 48 hours.
     
Bobby Soper, president and CEO of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Plains Township, said he supports any efforts to prevent parents from leaving children in unattended vehicles, but called it "remarkable" that the law only targets casinos.

"This is bad public policy and could create a scary and dangerous legislative precedent," Soper said.

Last year, measures that sought to make it a third-degree felony to leave a child under the age of 13 in a motor vehicle without adult supervision never made it to the full House or Senate.

Another bill would require casinos to post easy-to-see signs warning against leaving children unattended in parking areas, and casinos would face fines of $1,000 for each day signs were not posted.

If a casino failed to post signs or to report violations to law enforcement, it would face fines of up to $150,000 for a first offense and up to $300,000 for subsequent offenses.
      
Soper called the requirement to post signs "a bit silly." "Does the local Walmart and theater and shopping mall post signs at their places?" Soper asked, saying parents might also leave a child unattended in a vehicle at such places while they shopped or sought entertainment.