PGCB To Accept Applications For $2 Million Grant Program To Assist Law Enforcement Agencies In Preventing Unlawful Gaming Activities

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today announced that applications for grants for law enforcement agencies to investigate violations and enforce laws relating to unlawful gambling in the Commonwealth are available on its web site.

The Local Law Enforcement Grant program was approved by the Legislature as part of the 2004 Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, but was amended in January of this year with the passage of legislation that also approved table games in state slot machine casinos.

The program sets aside a total of $2 million annually from revenue generated from the play of slot machines and is available to local police departments, county or city district attorneys, and the Pennsylvania State Police. In addition, any multi-jurisdiction law enforcement group composed of any of those agencies is eligible.

Legislative changes also expanded the scope of the use of grant money related to the identification, prevention, deterrence, enforcement, investigation or prosecution of activities involving just slot machine gaming to any form of unlawful gaming.

If received, law enforcement can use the grants for:

attending education and training events sponsored by authoritative agencies for the purpose of training officers, investigators or attorneys in techniques appropriate to the enforcement and prevention of unlawful gambling in the Commonwealth;
Conducting programs that utilize proven methods to deter or prevent unlawful gambling;
Defraying costs related to assigning officers or investigators to prevent, deter, enforce or investigate unlawful gambling, and the costs of prosecuting crimes involving unlawful gambling;
Funding other prevention and enforcement programs that address prevention and enforcement of unlawful gambling within the Commonwealth.

The Board will make the awards based on a number of criteria including overall quality of the project, funding adequacy, timetable and anticipated results, past performance and the completeness of the application.

Additional guidelines on the use of grant money, along with the application, is available on the PGCB web site, www.pgcb.state.pa.us. All applications for funding in the 2010-2011 Commonwealth Fiscal Year must be postmarked by July 16, 2010.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established in 2004 with the passage of Act 71, also known as the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Pennsylvania’s first new state agency in nearly 40 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. To date, with nine of a maximum fourteen casinos in operation, legalized gaming in the Commonwealth has created over 8,000 new living wage jobs, revenue that has provided property tax reduction in each of the past two years for all homeowners, funds that have reinvigorated Pennsylvania’s horse racing industry, and new revenue to local governments that has funded scores of community projects. A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.pgcb.state.pa.us. At this web site, videos and information on the operation of the PGCB, problem gambling efforts and assistance, future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, an interactive map of casino locations, and a link to request a speaker are among the many items available.

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