The 2004 statute with regard to gambling casinos in Pennsylvania is about to be modified. The new law would move the the Bureau and Investigations and Enforcement from the oversight of the Gaming Control Board to the Attorney General’s Office.
As noted in the article Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. … “The 73-person bureau investigates the backgrounds of applicants for slots casino licenses and employees of those casinos. Mr. Vereb, a former police officer, thinks the attorney general’s office is the proper agency to over see such investigations, saying it has ability to get criminal information from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies on the past arrests and convictions of slots applicants. The 2004 law creating the gaming board and authorizing 14 casinos in Pennsylvania doesn’t give such authority on criminal backgrounds to the BIE, he said.”
The modification of statutes and regulations comes as a result of a controversial granting of a Pocono Casino gambling license to someone who may have ties with organized crime. While the Gaming officials claim they have been doing a thorough job in conducting background checks, those in favor of the new law believe it will add extra dimension to the investigations as the Attorney General’s office is better able to gain access to federal and state criminal records searches.
