The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is a governmental agency of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, founded in 2004 as the state licensing and the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s and

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

gambling in the state. The first completely new agency created in Pennsylvania in over 30 years, the PGCB administers the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, also known as "Act 71", and its regulations to assure public trust and confidence in the credibility and integrity of casinos in Pennsylvania. The Board also acts to fulfill "the objectives of limited gaming in the Commonwealth to deliver a significant source of revenue, assist the horse racing industry, provide broad economic opportunities, and enhance tourism." The PGCB does not oversee games of chance in the Commonwealth such as the

Pennsylvania Lottery The Pennsylvania Lottery is operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Lottery was created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on August 26, 1971; two months later, Henry Kaplan was appointed as its first executive director. The Pennsylv ...

or other permitted games of chance at clubs and non-profit organizations. In December 2020, Pennsylvania became the first state to use a self-exclusion tool for online gamblers. In Pennsylvania, about 200,000 gamblers have had problem gaming issues.

Composition

The board consists of seven voting members, three of which are appointed by the

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and four of which are appointed by the leadership of the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

. By statute, the State Treasurer, Secretary of Revenue, and Secretary of Agriculture are non-voting ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' members. Former commissioner Merritt C. Reitzel was appointed by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Joe Scarnati Joseph B. Scarnati III (born January 2, 1962) is an American politician from the U.S. State of Pennsylvania. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Pennsylvania State Senate as the member from the 25th District from 2001 to 2020, a ...

for a two-year term in 2017 and was re-appointed in 2019.

Notable board members

* Jeffrey Coy (2004–2006) *

Gregory Fajt Gregory C. Fajt (pronounced "fight"; born November 30, 1954) was the third chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. He was appointed to that position in June 2009. He currently serves as a Commissioner. Prior to serving on the Board, h ...

(Chairman, 2009–2011) *

Richard G. Jewell Richard G. Jewell was the eighth president of Grove City College, a Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. The 1967 Grove City graduate assumed the presidency in fall of 2003 after a successful career in law and business. He ...

* Keith R. McCall * William H. Ryan, Jr. (Chairman, 2011–2015) *

Gary Allan Sojka Gary Allan Sojka (born July 15, 1940) was president of Bucknell University from 1984 to 1995. Sojka received his BA from Coe College, and his MS and PhD from Purdue University. Sojka later became the President of the Pennsylvania Association of C ...

Duties

Among other duties, the Board operates a slot-machine testing laboratory. Located in the Board's

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

office, the laboratory was established in September 2008. Board employees at the lab test various models of slot machines against regulations. The PGCB also set up an Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling devoted to "understanding and alleviating the devastating effects of pathological gambling." Under PGCB's regulations, gambling facilities in the state must submit and have approved a compulsive-and-problem-gambling plan before starting gambling operations. These plans must include items such as employee training when dealing with compulsive gamblers, self-exclusion plans and how to handle people who want to be on Pennsylvania's self-exclusion list, the responsibility of patrons with respect to responsible gambling, the availability of printed material and signage throughout the casino, and procedures to prevent intoxicated and underage gambling. The Board also releases the report on the casino industry diversity aiming to ensure the achievement of the Commonwealth’s goal of enhanced representation of diverse groups in the gaming industry.

Funding and support

The PGCB's funding is from several sources, none directly from taxpayers. The largest funding mechanism is from slot machine revenues, but only after deduction of appropriate taxes that are transferred to a number of recipients: * the local and county governments that host a facility * the horse racing industry * economic development and tourism efforts, and * a State Gaming Fund which primarily provides revenues to school districts which, in turn, use toward the lowering of local property taxes. In addition, the PGCB bills applicants for investigative costs associated with securing any type of license and manufacturers of slot machines and related goods who seek approval of equipment to be used in casinos. The Gaming Act also requires a role in gaming oversight by the State Police, Department of Revenue and Attorney General, whose costs are also reimbursed from slot machine revenues.

References

External links

Pennsylvania Gaming Control BoardPA Gaming Control Board Fines Casino for Underage Gambling Violations
{{authority control

Gaming Control Board A gaming control board (GCB), also called by various names including gambling control board, casino control board, gambling board, and gaming commission, is a government agency charged with regulating casino and other types of gaming in a defined ...