HARRISBURG -- A statewide anti-casino group is urging state gambling regulators to hold off indefinitely on approvals of new slots licenses and license transfers from one casino owner to another.

Casino-Free Pennsylvania leader Dianne Berlin said yesterday that ongoing problems with three slots parlors -- including Don Barden's casino in Pittsburgh and a proposed Centaur Inc. racetrack/casino in Lawrence County -- show the need for such a moratorium.

Ms. Berlin, joined by Bruce Barron of No Dice, a Pittsburgh-based anti-gambling group, said state Attorney General Tom Corbett and state police should have a much larger role in investigating slots license applicants.

Currently that job is split between the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, an arm of the state Gaming Control Board, and state police, who look into an applicant's criminal history. The attorney general has no role in such background investigations.

Recent problems with three Pennsylvania casinos "have shown that the Gaming Control Board, despite its best efforts, is not competent to handle the challenging task of examining license applicants' backgrounds by itself," Ms. Berlin said.

Mr. Barron said that casinos "make much of their profits by preying on and deceiving the vulnerable, so it is not surprising that this industry should attract people of less than the highest ethical character. These aspiring profiteers should be closely scrutinized by the most proficient representatives of Pennsylvania law enforcement.''

Their complaints about the gaming board are similar to those made recently by several House Republicans, who will soon introduce bills to shift the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement from the gaming board's jurisdiction to either the attorney general or state police.

The gaming board is not expected to approve a moratorium on license transfers or approvals. It currently is considering whether to transfer a slots license from Mr. Barden, who got his license in December 2006 but who has had problems raising the money he needs, to a new Pittsburgh casino group led by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm. The board will hold a hearing Thursday on the transfer.

In Lawrence County, the board is considering whether to grant a slots license to Centaur Inc. of Indianapolis, which wants to build the $430 million Valley View Downs racetrack/casino west of New Castle. Centaur also has had trouble raising the money it needs and may face demands for repayment from its current lenders.

And in the Poconos, the gaming board has suspended the slots license granted to casino owner Louis DeNaples after he was charged with perjury. The board has named an interim official to run the casino until the DeNaples charges are resolved.