Hollywood Casino Columbus Faces $200K Fine for Regulatory Violations

Article by : Erik Gibbs Sep 23, 2023

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Hollywood Casino Columbus has agreed to pay an outstanding fine due to its compliance violations. The fine was set at $200,000 and was imposed by the Ohio Casino Control Commission due to security and underage gambling issues at the casino.

These problems included inadequate security staffing and instances where individuals under 21 accessed the casino.

This fine marks the first penalty issued by the commission this year related to casino operations, as previous penalties were primarily focused on new sportsbook operators.

The issues at Hollywood Casino were not disclosed during the public meeting where the fine was announced.

The settlement agreement, comprising five pages, briefly outlines the problems and highlights that PENN Entertainment chose not to contest the allegations at a hearing. No representative from PENN addressed the topic during the commission meeting.

Regarding security staffing, the settlement agreement revealed that the commission had granted the casino flexibility to manage staffing shortages from the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hollywood Columbus should have notified the Ohio Casino Control Commission when it was understaffed on security on multiple occasions.

Additionally, the agreement mentioned that on March 1 of this year, enforcement agents from the Ohio Casino Control Commission required assistance with an ongoing incident inside the casino.
Hollywood Columbus asserted that it could not provide security officers to assist because of insufficient staffing.

Furthermore, the agreement highlighted two instances on March 24 and 25 when security staff allowed underage patrons to enter the casino, even though the IDs they presented had been flagged as invalid by the casino’s ID verification system.

Under the settlement terms, Hollywood Columbus must hire additional security officers in addition to the 18 newly employed since March 23.

The casino must also develop a comprehensive security plan, implement new training processes, and conduct follow-up meetings with Ohio Casino Control Commission staff.

Hollywood Columbus, one of Ohio’s four casinos owned by PENN, is the state’s leading revenue generator, earning $160.1 million from January through July. The casino offers over 1,600 slot machines and 88 table games.