Pennsylvania’s Hollywood Casino Fined for Improper Poker Games
Pennsylvania’s Hollywood Casino has been called to pay a fine of $20,000 for allegedly hosting unauthorized poker tournaments in 2019. The penalty was announced by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. This is due to the fact that the gaming operation saw revenue of 3.26 percent during 2019 compared to prior years. During 2019, Hollywood Casino’s total revenue reached $251,351,715. This indicates a 3.26 percent jump over $243 million seen in 2018.
Alex Hvizda, Director of Compliance at Hollywood Casino, reported the violation to the Board. Pennsylvania’s Hollywood Casino received the fine because it did not fulfill a consent agreement with that Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association. The Association operates the casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville.
Hollywood Casino launched an online gambling platform after a couple of months of testing by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. In the United States, Pennsylvania became the fourth state to offer online casino gambling. The online platform was also the first to launch since 2013.
Pennsylvania Casinos Records High Revenue in 2019
In 2019, Pennsylvania casinos recorded a revenue of over $3.4 billion. Fantasy contest and total gaming revenue was 4.5 percent over the amounts produced in Pennsylvania the previous year. During the 2018-19 fiscal year, Pennsylvania gaming revenue reached $3.3 billion.
During 2019, the total tax revenue generated through fantasy and gaming contests was $1,415,879,539 as opposed to 2018, which totaled $1,380,456,782 in 2018. The gaming revenue came from casino games including retail and internet sports wagering, table games, video gaming terminals, slot machines, internet gaming as well as fantasy contests.
Efforts to Ban Skill Gaming Machines
The state-wide drive to ban controversial skill-based gaming machines is an important project by Pennsylvania casinos. According to Pennsylvania casinos, the machines are found to have elements of illegal gambling offerings. The Pennsylvania State Police, as well as the General Assembly, are backing 11 other licensed casino operators in declaring the skill-based terminals unlawful.
The distributors and manufacturers of the machines are disputing the accusations. According to Pace-O-Matic (POM), the machines are different from slots in that they require players to identify a winning payline. POM maintains that it is distributing skill-based gaming machines that are providing substantial revenue.