From next year on, all slot machines and gambling services that have not been approved by the Dauphin County authorities will be even more carefully scrutinized provided that the request made by county’s attorney is approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Ed Marsico, the district attorney, has requested the state regulators to grant approximately $167,000 to the county. Once received, the sum will enable Marsico to hire professionals who would find and penalize any operator that provides gambling activities on the unregulated gambling market on the territory of Dauphin County.
Five years ago, the county got such a financial aid but Marsico said that during the investigation, only “a few” violations of the law were found.
However, now, things are slightly different as additional gambling facilities are going to be investigated. Marsico said that the sports gambling activities will be investigated as he considers them to pose a greater problem to the county than the illegal slots.
According to the application Marsico has submitted to the state gaming regulators, the sum requested will cover the expenses for inspecting more than a hundred venues such as bars and clubs.
The reason why Dauphin County has not received grants since 2009 was the change in the approach of how the funds are distributed and administered.
Understandably, the media asked Marsico why such a great emphasis is put on gambling affairs when the county has many more issues to deal with.
The attorney said that for the time being, officials are more focused on solving gambling issues because there is a particular amount of money set aside for that purpose. He also added that if an opportunity for applying for other kind of grants arises, he will have no hesitations in taking it.
According to the grant application, communities are tempted by the idea that one might get rich in literally a few minutes, which, in most cases, results in an increased percentage of people likely to take part in illegal gambling activities.
During 2015 Dauphin County officials will concentrate all their efforts on investigating and prosecuting those who violate the rules, reviewing previous cases and last but not least, keeping a close eye on people who were suspected in using illegal slot machines in the past. In case there is a chance for more grants to be received, the investigation will be even more thorough.
Dauphin County commissioners approved of Marsico’s request on Nov.26th and now, they are impatient to know what the final say of the state regulators will be.
