The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (Board) unanimously voted to renew the Category 2 stand-alone casino license of Wind Creek Bethlehem LLC, operator of Wind Creek Bethlehem casino in Northampton County.

In making the decision, the Board determined that Wind Creek Bethlehem LLC had fulfilled the obligations under its previously approved casino operator’s license and therefore qualified to have its license renewed for an additional five-year period.

The decision to renew the license was based on a process utilized by the Board that enables both the operator and the public to provide information relevant to the renewal decision. A public input hearing was held in July 2024 in the casino’s host municipality, the City of Bethlehem, where personnel of Wind Creek Bethlehem submitted exhibits and presented testimony on various aspects of the facility’s operation since its last license renewal was granted. The public was also permitted to provide testimony about the casino and its impact in the community.

In reaching its decision, the Board also received information from local government officials, community groups and the PA State Police, along with the Gaming Control Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel, Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, Office of Compulsive and Problem Gaming, and Bureau of Casino Compliance.

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Additionally, a public hearing was held in Harrisburg to permit Board members to further question Wind Creek Bethlehem LLC representatives about any remaining issues prior to voting on the renewal.

Since its opening in May 2009 through September 2024, Wind Creek Bethlehem has generated over $7 billion in revenue from the play of retail slot machines and table games, sports wagering and iGaming, and has returned to the Commonwealth a total of $2.9 billion from tax revenue, assessments and fees. Wind Creek Bethlehem currently operates 2318 slot machines, 202 table games and a 20-table poker room while providing employment to 2242 persons directly or through third-party tenants in the events center, food and beverage outlets or retail stores. 94% of those employees are Pennsylvania residents.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) will hold a hearing on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 to take public comment on the renewal of the Category 1 Slot Machine Operator License for Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association LLC, operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Dauphin County. The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. and be held at the East Hanover Township Building, 8848 Jonestown Road, Grantville, PA 17028.

Citizens, public officials, and community groups can choose to speak or submit written testimony. The hearing is open to the public.

Individuals who wish to provide in-person or written testimony should visit the Board’s website, gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov, and choose the special link on the homepage in the “PGCB Meetings” section for more information and registration. Persons wishing to provide comments will need to register ahead of time. The deadline for registration to speak or submit written testimony is noon on Monday, August 26.

A listing of all government officials, community groups, and individuals who have registered to speak at this hearing will be posted on the Board’s website beginning the week prior to the hearing and updated daily.

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Written comments can be submitted directly through the Board’s website.

Pursuant to Section 1326 of the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, all licenses are subject to periodic renewal. The renewal application must include an update of the information since its last renewal.

To implement the renewal requirement, the Board utilizes a two-step process:

First, a public input hearing is held in the municipality where the casino operates before the Director of the Board’s Office of Hearings and Appeals for the purpose of receiving documentary evidence, hearing testimony and building a record which the Board will use in its licensing decision. The hearing record, along with a report from the Director of Hearings and Appeals, will be transmitted to the Board.

The second step is to hold a separate public hearing in Harrisburg at a later date where representatives of the casino licensee will offer evidence and oral arguments. At that time, the Board members can ask additional questions.

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The burden is on the renewal applicant to establish and demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence, its eligibility and suitability for renewal of a gaming license. During the hearing, the renewal applicant will be given the opportunity to demonstrate, among other things, its good character, honesty and integrity; compliance with its statement of conditions; as well as provide evidence on tax revenue generated; jobs created; success in implementing its diversity plan; and involvement in the surrounding communities.

Following this proceeding, the Board will ultimately determine whether the licensee remains eligible and suitable consistent with the laws of the Commonwealth, and is otherwise qualified to have the license renewed for a five-year period.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) on Wednesday approved recommendations by its Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC) for the placement of seven individuals on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List.

The online transactions that these seven individuals engaged in, totaling $27,168, were investigated by the Board’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement (BIE) and found to be fraudulent in two major respects:

• an individual used a fraudulent scheme to obtain an online account or accounts in another person’s name and identifiers, placed funds into these accounts utilizing other persons’ payment methods, and without engaging in any gaming activity, managed to have funds withdrawn from the fraudulently-established account or accounts directly into their own bank account; or,
• requested and received a refund for a disputed credit or debit card transaction from a card issuer even though that refund was fraudulent.

The specific fraudulent conduct of each individual is further described below:

• Created two separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $300;
• Created 13 separate online casino-type games accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $545;
• Created six separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1000;
• Created four separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1123;
• Created two separate online sports wagering accounts using the personal identification and credit cards of other individuals, and withdrew $1500;
• Illegally requested and received six chargebacks to a credit card associated with an online casino-type games account totaling $10,100;
• Created one online sports wagering account using the personal identification and credit card of another individual, and withdrew $12,600.

The Board’s actions in these matters stem from its commitment to keep individuals who have committed fraud from gaming online in Pennsylvania. The additions made bring to 37 the total number of individuals who are currently on the iGaming Involuntary Exclusion List.

The Board also placed four other individuals on its Casino Involuntary Exclusion List. The number of individuals currently on that list totals 1197 and stems from various reasons including theft, cheating, child endangerment disorderly conduct, and using counterfeit currency.