Pa. ban on guns in casinos axed

A state regulation banning guns in Pennsylvania casinos was stricken from the books Thursday, but individual gambling establishments will still have the discretion to prohibit firearms on their properties.

The action follows an August 2014 review by Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane that determined the Gaming Control Board had no authority to limit firearms at privately owned facilities.

The ban has not been enforceable since the state General Assembly passed a 2011 law that said no commonwealth agency could regulate firearms, said Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the Gaming Control Board.

"If someone had been accused of violating [the ban], they could have said, 'Wait, here's the law,'" McGarvey said. "We're just cleaning up the regulations."

Still, it remains unlikely that pistol-packing players will be admitted to Pennsylvania slot and poker palaces.

A spokesman for Parx Casino said current rules prohibiting guns at the Bensalem racino will remain unchanged.

"The Gaming Control Board can no longer regulate firearms on the casino properties, that is true," said Mark Oppenheimer, spokesman for Parx and Greenwood Gaming. "However, Parx is going to keep in place its policy that no firearms are allowed."

Oppenheimer, who has worked in the gaming industry for 11 years, said he wasn't aware of any casino in the nation that allowed firearms on its property.

Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFirePa, an organization that works to reduce gun violence, said Parx continued gun prohibition at Parx was "very smart. "

"There's a lot of drinking and a lot of emotions running high at the casinos," she said. "It's probably not the best place for firearms."

Joshua Prince, a Bechtelsville attorney whose practice focuses on firearms law, first challenged the Gaming Control Board's regulation in April 2014. He said a number of Pennsylvania gamblers have been assaulted or robbed in casino parking lots.

"There are a number of individuals who want to carry at casinos solely to protect themselves so they are not victims of crime," Prince said. "Casinos still have a final say, just like patrons have a say to determine if they want to patronize those facilities that restrict their rights."

He warned that casinos could face a set of problems if they continued to prohibit guns and a player became a victim of a crime.

"They could be liable for any damages suffered as a result," Prince said.

A spokesman for Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack in Chester did not immediately return a call requesting comment.