Rivers Casino Philadelphia fined for unauthorized surveillance footage duplication

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) approved August 11 a consent agreement between the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel and Sugarhouse HSP Gaming LP, operator of Rivers Casino Philadelphia, resulting in a $7,500 fine.

The agreement responds to a violation of internal controls approved by the gaming board, as a member of the gaming floor personnel at the casino duplicated surveillance footage onto his cell phone in an attempt to qualm a patron dispute.

The security officer showed the surveillance video to a defiant customer who was disputing a $300 bet after losing a hand of blackjack on January 24, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The customer did not want the dealer to retrieve the losing bet.

However, the security officer acted without permission of the Surveillance Room Shift Manager: he recorded the video of the disputed hand on his personal phone, then returned to the casino floor and showed it to the customer, who then allowed the bet to be collected.

No disciplinary action was taken against the security shift supervisor for copying the video and the patron who tried to retain a losing bet was permanently evicted from the casino, The Philadelphia Inquirer further reports.

The Rivers Philadelphia policies, instituted under the consent agreement, stipulate video recordings not to be taken and that they will only be available to authorized agencies.

The PGCB is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling at 14 land-based casinos, as well as online casino games, retail and online sports wagering, and Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs), along with the regulation of online fantasy sports contests.

In June, the PGCB issued six consent agreements with license holders, resulting in a total of $284,000 in fines along with two non-monetary enforcements for various infractions.

On that occasion, Sugarhouse HSP Gaming, LP received no fine but were mandated to implement additional security and surveillance requirements stemming from “unattended children incidents.”