Pennsylvania lawmakers ask for investigations after gaming regulators met privately with casino lobbyists

Thursday, June 15, 2023 8:48 PM
Photo: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
  • Angela Couloumbis, Spotlight PA

Two Pennsylvania lawmakers have requested investigations into the state Gaming Control Board following a Spotlight PA story that detailed how top officials met privately with casino lobbyists about a major competitor and failed to disclose the meeting on public logs required by the regulatory agency’s ethics rules.

State Sen. Gene Yaw (R., Lycoming) and state Rep. Jared Solomon (D., Philadelphia) have asked the state attorney general’s office and the state Ethics Commission respectively to review the gaming board’s actions for compliance with the law, and review internal rules established to ensure the agency remains impervious to outside influence.

“The people of Pennsylvania must have confidence that the regulatory bodies established by the Legislature are acting in good faith and following the law,” Solomon wrote in his letter, obtained by Spotlight PA, to the state Ethics Commission.