Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to pursue the panel game under panel n.¹ ; thus panelling n.

1848		‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. I 37: Come the panel over him, eh? Was the swell a goldfinch?
1870		N.Y. Herald 13 Jan. n.p.: [headline] A Countryman ‘Panelled’ and Too Bashful to Prosecute [...] It appears that the frail young ‘damsels’ lured a gentleman from the country into a panel house [etc].
1928		M.C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) 257: Panelling has certain advantages over the two other forms of stealing. The chief reason for this is that some men are satisfied to have a good time playing cards, or drinking. It is easy to heat the room to excess, and set the example of taking off coats and outer garments. A heavy chair is placed with its back to the sliding panel, in a wall or door, the victim’s coat is thrown over the chair, and the victim is seated with his back to the works.