Posted on: May 20, 2026, 03:31h.
Last updated on: May 19, 2026, 02:35h.
- Police raided a social club near Pittsburgh on illegal gambling allegations
- The raid resulted in the seizure of $91,000
- The social club did not have a permit for small games of chance
Law enforcement in Pennsylvania says a recent raid of a social club in Pittsburgh turned up illegal gambling and $91,000 in illicit proceeds.
On May 12, Pennsylvania State Police Troop B and the commonwealth’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement executed a judicial warrant at the Independent Political Club. The small members-only social hall, located at 300 E. Prospect Avenue in Washington, PA, was reportedly tipped off for operating unlicensed gambling games.
Washington is roughly 20 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. The town is just minutes from the Meadowlands, where Hollywood Casino at The Meadows offers 2,500 slots, 65 table games, and a sportsbook.
Facebook Scrubbed
Pennsylvania State Police officials said the raid of the Independent Political Club resulted in $91,000 in cash being seized.
The sting confiscated a Queen of Hearts game, where players purchase a chance to uncover one of the 52 hidden cards. If the card turned over is the queen of hearts, the player wins the prize pool.
The Independent Political Club wasn’t shy about running its Queen of Hearts game. The social group routinely posted about the game and shared photos of the table on its public Facebook account. However, since the raid, the Facebook group has scrubbed the Queen of Hearts pictures.
The Independent Political Club additionally ran bingo nights, per its Facebook posts, and housed unregulated, slot-like skill games.
The registered nonprofit, a 501(c)(7) organization, did not have a valid small games of chance license. Even if it had, Queen of Hearts isn’t qualified as a small game of chance.
Small games of chance licenses are issued by counties in Pennsylvania, with only charities, nonprofits, and fraternal organizations qualifying for the permits.
Casino.org confirmed that Independent Political Club members pay annual dues of $40.
Criminal charges against the owners of the club are pending, police said. In Pennsylvania, an illegal gambling charge is typically a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. For large-scale organized operations, which likely won’t apply in this case, prosecutors can escalate the charges to felonies.
Estimates suggest that the unregulated gambling market in Pennsylvania generates annual revenue of $1.5 billion to $3 billion. Most of that money comes from skill games, slot-like games that state courts have ruled don’t constitute gambling because their payout rates are not solely dependent on chance.
PA Social Clubs
Social clubs in Pennsylvania, like the Independent Political Club, offer cheap eats and drinks for dues-paying members and their guests.
They also organize events and activities, with the Independent Political Club advertising a bus trip to the Pittsburgh Pirates game on June 15. For just $50, members get round-trip transportation and a ticket to the game versus the Miami Marlins.
