
BetMGM, the online gambling arm of Las Vegas-based gambling giant MGM Resorts International, has been fined $260,905 by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
The punishment relates to 152 occasions on which BetMGM allowed gamblers on the Pennsylvania Self- Exclusion list to wager on the platform. Operators in the state are bound by law not to allow people to gamble who have voluntarily joined the restricted list after experiencing problem gambling issues.
The wagers totaled $252,035. The fine for BetMGM was decided at the January 29 PGCB meeting and then announced later that day. It is the fourth-largest fine the regulator has handed out.
The Incidents
A total of $250,000 was wagered by gamblers who should have been prohibited from accessing their accounts over the 2021 to 2023 gambling period in which these incidents took place.
Those gamblers withdrew a total of $82,460, meaning they experienced a total loss of $169,575.
The bulk of those losses were from 2021 to 2022 over a hundred or so incidents exposed by a responsible gambling audit from the regulator. However, half-a-dozen or so incidents in Pennsylvania were self-reported by BetMGM.
That included two gamblers who managed to access their accounts despite being restricted in what was a “human error,” the operator said. Those two players deposited $183,000 between them, and $92,916 was withdrawn.
The Punishment
The $260,000 fine for BetMGM was the fourth-largest the PGCB has handed out. It’s also the largest since 2018, when American Gaming Systems was fined $350,000 for failing to disclose an agreement with a gambling business not licensed in the state.
The largest fine from the PGCB was for Mohegan Pennsylvania in 2017, also for doing business with unlicensed companies through its Downs Racing operation.
In handing out the fine, the PGCB noted BetMGM had taken steps to rectify the situation. The company said it retrained the employees responsible in the cases of human error and hasn’t reported any other similar incidents since 2023. It also agreed to make a donation of $20,000 to the Pennsylvania Council on Problem Gambling.
“We’ve worked closely through these issues with the Board, first by self-reporting when they were identified and carefully through the remediation measures that were implemented as a result,” said Sarah Brennan, BetMGM senior director of compliance.
“BetMGM is committed to the protection of patrons in the Commonwealth, and regrets and apologizes that these four issues have occurred.”

David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.