The Philadelphia Inquirer has come out in opposition to the state’s huge growth of economic playing. That’s after the Pennsylvania Gaming Management Board (PGCB) launched a marketing campaign to deal with the continued downside of gamblers leaving youngsters unattended of their autos whereas they gamble.
Earlier this month, the PGCB debuted a sequence of public service bulletins (PSA) underneath the marketing campaign “Don’t Gamble with Children.” The state gaming regulator initiated the PSAs after incidences involving unattended youngsters left in autos outdoors casinos within the commonwealth spiked 60% this yr from 2021.
“By no means go away your youngsters alone while you go right into a on line casino. Even in the event you win, somebody nonetheless loses,” one of many PSA warns. “Don’t be a father or mother who takes a foul gamble.”
Inquirer: Casinos Partially to Blame
The Philadelphia Inquirer is the most-circulated newspaper in Pennsylvania. And in a Sunday op-ed from the paper’s Editorial Board, the media outlet scolds the PGCB for not addressing the true downside.
“The Pennsylvania Gaming Management Board has a foolish answer for a significant issue,” the op-ed started. “Scores of shoppers at native casinos proceed to depart youngsters locked of their automobiles whereas they go inside and gamble.
So how does the gaming board plan to deal with this life and loss of life difficulty? With public service bulletins. Is that the most effective the Playing Management Board members — who receives a commission $145,000 a yr to satisfy a couple of times a month — may give you?” the board questioned.
The Inquirer editorial crew says the true downside is the state’s ongoing playing growth. It started almost twenty years in the past, in 2004 when Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell signed off on permitting state horse racetracks to accommodate slot machines.
Since then, Pennsylvania has undergone a number of further rounds of gaming growth. The state as we speak is the second-richest gaming jurisdiction within the nation, behind solely Nevada. Pennsylvania is residence to 16 brick-and-mortar casinos, iGaming, retail and cell sports activities betting, day by day fantasy sports activities, and video lottery terminals inside truck stops.
The Inquirer op-ed states that the casinos and PGCB share some accountability for unattended youngsters outdoors casinos.
Casinos are usually not passive companies. They aggressively market to their patrons, providing reward factors, discounted meals, and coupons at no cost play,” the editorial continued.
The newspaper’s editorial crew says as a substitute of warning gamblers about leaving their youngsters in automobiles, the state ought to be doing extra to assist downside gamblers.
“Working public service bulletins won’t cease the social ills spurred by reckless authorities coverage,” the op-ed concluded.
Earlier Efforts Ineffective
The problem of youngsters being left unattended in autos outdoors Pennsylvania casinos isn’t a brand new downside. The problem has stemmed almost for the reason that first authorized slot machine was turned on.
Earlier makes an attempt to curb the dire downside, together with making it unlawful to depart somebody underneath 18 in a automobile outdoors a on line casino and requiring casinos to watch their parking tons for such violations recurrently, have largely gone unsuccessful.
The PGCB’s PSA shared on YouTube isn’t precisely going viral, both. Almost three weeks after it was printed, the 30-spot has lower than 200 views.