Three casinos and a sports book have been fined $5,000 by state regulators for downloading the updated self-ban gambling list one day late. Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood was involved, and general manager Sharon Hasselhoff explained what happened to the Racing and Gaming Commission.
“For the self exclusion process, we have one property in charge of the download, process and that property is Grand Falls. Unfortunately, my team missed the download by less than one day, I had a new director come into her role. And when she went on vacation, she did not designate somebody to do that download,” Hasselhoff says.
The late download led to the Rhythm City Casino in Davenport, the Riverside Casino, and Elite Hospitality sports book also being fined. Hasselhoff says there were no cards or mailings sent out to people on the banned list due to the mistake. Hasselhoff says they have taken action to be sure all lists are downloaded within seven days as required by state regulations.
“Measures have been added so this doesn’t happen again, from additional folks in the security team being added to that download process, as well as the team, including myself on email notifications. So I’m aware of when those downloads are occurring, so we never get close to that seven day deadline again,” she says. The $5,000 penalty is the lowest given for such violations. Racing and Gaming Commissioners said during their meeting last week it was a situation where they had not choice but to fine all the entities.
The Racing and Gaming Administrator says there are some things in the works that would help ensure that the self ban information is downloaded on time.