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Am. Sub. H. B. No. 177 As Passed by the SenateAs Passed by the Senate
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Adams, Yuko, Webster
Senators Jacobson, Harris, Amstutz
A BILL
To amend sections 2915.01 and 3769.07 and to enact
sections 2915.06 and 2915.061 of the Revised Code
to allow
the same person, association, trust, or
corporation to own and operate two
separate race
tracks in Ohio, to modify the
definition of "slot
machine" and "skill-based amusement machine"
for
purposes of the
Gambling Law, to create a limit
on the
redemption value of
prizes associated
with skill-based amusement
machines, and to
clarify regulatory authority pertaining to
skill-based amusement machines and to declare an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2915.01 and 3769.07 be
amended and
sections 2915.06 and 2915.061 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:
Sec. 2915.01. As used in this chapter:
(A)
"Bookmaking" means the business of receiving or paying
off bets.
(B)
"Bet" means the hazarding of anything of value upon
the
result of an event, undertaking, or contingency, but does not
include a bona fide business risk.
(C)
"Scheme of chance" means a
slot machine,
lottery, numbers
game,
pool conducted for profit,
or other scheme in which a
participant gives a
valuable
consideration for a chance to win a
prize,
but does not
include
bingo, a skill-based amusement
machine, or a pool not conducted for profit.
(D)
"Game of chance" means poker, craps, roulette,
or other
game in which a player gives
anything of value in the hope of
gain, the outcome of which is
determined largely
by chance,
but
does not include
bingo.
(E)
"Game of chance conducted for profit"
means
any
game of
chance designed to produce income for
the
person who conducts or
operates the
game of chance,
but
does not include
bingo.
(F)
"Gambling device" means
any of the following:
(1) A book, totalizer, or other equipment for recording
bets;
(2) A ticket, token, or other device representing a
chance,
share, or interest in a scheme of chance or evidencing a bet;
(3) A deck of cards, dice, gaming table, roulette wheel,
slot
machine,
or other apparatus designed for use in
connection with a
game of chance;
(4) Any equipment, device, apparatus, or paraphernalia
specially designed for gambling purposes;
(5)
Bingo supplies sold or otherwise provided, or used, in
violation of this
chapter.
(G)
"Gambling offense" means any of the following:
(1) A violation of section 2915.02, 2915.03, 2915.04,
2915.05, 2915.06, 2915.07, 2915.08,
2915.081, 2915.082, 2915.09,
2915.091,
2915.092, 2915.10, or 2915.11
of the Revised Code;
(2) A violation of an existing or former municipal
ordinance
or law of this or any other state or the United States
substantially equivalent to any section listed in division (G)(1)
of this section or a violation of section 2915.06 of the
Revised
Code as it existed prior to
July
1, 1996;
(3) An offense under an existing or former municipal
ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States,
of which gambling is an element;
(4) A conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in
committing, any offense under division (G)(1), (2), or (3) of this
section.
(H)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter,
"charitable
organization" means any tax exempt
religious,
educational,
veteran's, fraternal, sporting, service, nonprofit
medical,
volunteer rescue service, volunteer
firefighter's,
senior
citizen's, historic railroad educational, youth athletic, amateur
athletic, or youth
athletic
park organization.
An organization is
tax exempt if the
organization is, and has
received from the
internal revenue
service a determination letter
that currently is
in effect stating
that the organization is,
exempt from federal
income taxation
under subsection 501(a) and
described in
subsection 501(c)(3),
501(c)(4), 501(c)(8),
501(c)(10), or
501(c)(19) of the Internal
Revenue Code, or if the organization is
a sporting organization that is exempt from federal income
taxation under subsection 501(a) and is described in subsection
501(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code.
To
qualify as a charitable
organization, an
organization, except a
volunteer rescue service
or volunteer
fire
fighter's firefighter's
organization,
shall have
been in
continuous existence as
such in this state for
a period of
two
years immediately preceding
either the making of
an
application
for a
bingo license under
section 2915.08 of the
Revised Code or
the conducting of any
game of
chance as
provided
in division
(D) of
section 2915.02 of
the
Revised
Code.
A
charitable organization
that is exempt from federal income
taxation under subsection
501(a) and described in subsection
501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code and that is created by a
veteran's organization, a
fraternal organization, or a sporting
organization does not have to have been in continuous
existence as
such in this state for a period of two years
immediately preceding
either the making of an application for a
bingo license under
section 2915.08 of the Revised Code or the
conducting of any game
of chance as provided
in division (D) of section 2915.02 of the
Revised Code.
(I)
"Religious organization" means any church, body of
communicants, or group that is not organized or operated for
profit and that gathers in common membership for regular worship
and
religious observances.
(J)
"Educational organization" means any organization
within
this state that is not organized for profit, the
primary
purpose
of which
is
to educate and develop the capabilities of
individuals
through instruction by means of operating or contributing to the
support of a school, academy,
college, or
university.
(K)
"Veteran's organization" means any individual post or
state headquarters of
a
national veteran's association or an
auxiliary unit of any
individual post of a national veteran's
association, which post, state headquarters,
or
auxiliary unit has
been in continuous existence in this state for at least two years
and incorporated as a nonprofit
corporation
and either has
received a letter from
the state
headquarters of the national
veteran's association
indicating that
the individual post or
auxiliary unit is in good
standing with the
national veteran's
association or has received a letter from the national veteran's
association indicating that the state headquarters is in good
standing with the national veteran's association. As used in
this
division,
"national veteran's association" means any
veteran's
association
that has been in continuous existence as
such for a
period of at
least
five years and either is
incorporated by an act
of the
United States congress or has a
national dues-paying
membership of
at least five thousand
persons.
(L)
"Volunteer
firefighter's organization"
means any
organization of volunteer
firefighters, as
defined in section
146.01
of the Revised Code, that is organized
and operated
exclusively
to provide financial support for a
volunteer fire
department or a
volunteer fire company
and that is
recognized or
ratified by a county,
municipal corporation, or
township.
(M)
"Fraternal organization" means any society, order, state
headquarters, or
association within this state, except a college
or high school
fraternity, that is not organized for profit, that
is a branch,
lodge, or chapter of a national or state
organization, that
exists
exclusively for the common business or
sodality of its
members,
and that has been in continuous existence
in this state
for a
period of
five
years.
(N)
"Volunteer rescue service organization" means any
organization of volunteers organized to function as an emergency
medical service organization, as defined in section 4765.01 of the
Revised Code.
(O)
"Service organization" means either of the following:
(1) Any organization, not
organized for profit, that is
organized and operated exclusively
to provide, or to contribute to
the support of organizations or
institutions organized and
operated exclusively to provide,
medical and therapeutic services
for persons who are crippled,
born with birth defects, or have any
other mental or physical
defect or those organized and operated
exclusively to protect, or
to contribute to the support of
organizations or institutions
organized and operated exclusively
to protect, animals from
inhumane treatment or provide immediate
shelter to victims of domestic violence;
(2) Any organization that is described in subsection
509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
and is either a governmental unit or an organization that is tax
exempt under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that is an
organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and
operated primarily to provide, or to contribute to the support of
organizations or institutions organized and operated primarily to
provide, medical and therapeutic services for persons who are
crippled, born with birth defects, or have any other mental or
physical defect.
(P)
"Nonprofit medical organization" means either of the
following:
(1) Any
organization that has been incorporated as a
nonprofit
corporation for at least
five years and that has
continuously
operated and will be operated
exclusively to provide,
or to
contribute to the support of
organizations or institutions
organized and operated exclusively to provide, hospital, medical,
research, or therapeutic services
for the public;
(2) Any organization that is described and qualified under
subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, that has been
incorporated as a nonprofit corporation for at least five years,
and that has continuously operated and will be operated primarily
to provide, or to contribute to the support of organizations or
institutions organized and operated primarily to provide,
hospital, medical, research, or therapeutic services for the
public.
(Q)
"Senior citizen's organization" means any private
organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and
operated exclusively to provide recreational or social services
for persons who are fifty-five years of age or older and that is
described and qualified under subsection 501(c)(3) of the
Internal
Revenue Code.
(R)
"Charitable bingo game" means any bingo game
described
in
division
(S)(1) or (2) of this section that is
conducted by a
charitable organization that has obtained a
license pursuant
to
section 2915.08 of the Revised Code and the
proceeds of which
are
used for a charitable purpose.
(S)
"Bingo" means
either of the following:
(1) A game with all of the following characteristics:
(a) The participants use bingo cards
or sheets, including
paper formats and electronic representation or image formats, that
are
divided into
twenty-five spaces arranged in five horizontal
and
five vertical
rows of spaces, with each space, except the
central
space, being
designated by a combination of a letter and a
number
and with the
central space being designated as a free
space.
(b) The participants cover the spaces on the bingo cards
or
sheets that correspond to combinations of letters and numbers that
are
announced by a bingo game operator.
(c) A bingo game operator announces combinations of
letters
and numbers that appear on objects that a bingo game
operator
selects by chance, either manually or mechanically, from
a
receptacle that contains seventy-five objects at the beginning
of
each game, each object marked by a different combination of a
letter and a number that corresponds to one of the seventy-five
possible combinations of a letter and a number that can appear on
the bingo cards
or sheets.
(d) The winner of the bingo game includes any participant
who
properly announces during the interval between the
announcements
of letters and numbers as described in division
(S)(1)(c) of this
section, that a predetermined and preannounced
pattern of spaces
has been covered on a bingo card
or sheet being
used by
the
participant.
(2)
Instant bingo, punch boards, and
raffles.
(T)
"Conduct" means to back, promote, organize, manage,
carry
on,
sponsor, or prepare for the operation of
bingo or
a
game
of
chance.
(U)
"Bingo game operator" means any person, except
security
personnel, who performs work or labor at the site of
bingo,
including, but not limited to, collecting money from
participants,
handing out bingo cards or
sheets or objects to cover spaces
on
bingo
cards
or sheets, selecting from a receptacle the objects
that
contain the
combination of letters and numbers that appear on
bingo cards
or sheets,
calling out the combinations of letters
and
numbers,
distributing
prizes,
selling or redeeming instant
bingo
tickets or cards, supervising
the operation of a punch
board,
selling raffle tickets,
selecting
raffle tickets from a
receptacle
and announcing the winning
numbers
in a raffle, and
preparing,
selling, and serving food or
beverages.
(V)
"Participant" means any person who plays bingo.
(W)
"Bingo session" means a period
that includes both of
the
following:
(1) Not to exceed five
continuous hours
for the conduct of
one or more
games
described in division (S)(1) of this section,
instant
bingo, and
seal cards;
(2) A period for the conduct of instant bingo and seal cards
for not
more
than two hours before and not more than two hours
after the
period
described in division
(W)(1) of this section.
(X)
"Gross receipts" means all money or assets, including
admission fees, that a person receives from
bingo
without the
deduction of any amounts for
prizes paid out
or for the expenses
of
conducting
bingo.
"Gross receipts" does not include
any money
directly taken in from the sale of food or beverages by
a
charitable organization conducting
bingo, or by a
bona
fide
auxiliary unit or society of a charitable organization
conducting
bingo,
provided all of the following apply:
(1) The auxiliary unit or society has been in existence as
a
bona fide auxiliary unit or society of the charitable
organization
for at least two years prior to
conducting
bingo.
(2) The person who purchases the food or beverage receives
nothing of value except the food or beverage and items
customarily
received with the purchase of that food or beverage.
(3) The food and beverages are sold at customary and
reasonable prices.
(Y)
"Security personnel" includes any person who either is
a
sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, township
constable, or member of an organized police department of a
municipal corporation or has successfully completed a peace
officer's training course pursuant to sections 109.71 to 109.79
of
the Revised Code and who is hired to provide security for the
premises on which
bingo
is conducted.
(Z)
"Charitable
purpose" means
that the
net profit of
bingo,
other than instant bingo, is used by, or
is
given,
donated, or
otherwise transferred to, any
of the following:
(1)
Any organization that is
described in subsection
509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code
and is either a governmental unit or an
organization that is tax
exempt under subsection 501(a) and
described in subsection
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2)
A veteran's organization that is a post, chapter,
or
organization of
veterans, or an auxiliary unit or society
of, or a
trust or
foundation for, any such post, chapter, or
organization
organized
in the United States or any of its
possessions, at least
seventy-five per cent of the members of
which are
veterans and
substantially all of the other members
of which are individuals
who are
spouses, widows, or widowers of
veterans, or such
individuals,
provided that no part of the net
earnings of such
post, chapter,
or
organization inures to the benefit of
any
private shareholder
or
individual, and further provided that
the
net profit is used by the post, chapter, or
organization for
the
charitable
purposes set forth in division (B)(12) of section
5739.02 of the
Revised Code,
is used for awarding
scholarships
to
or for
attendance at an institution mentioned in division
(B)(12)
of
section 5739.02 of the Revised Code,
is donated
to
a
governmental agency, or
is used for nonprofit youth
activities,
the purchase of United States or Ohio flags that are
donated to
schools, youth groups, or other bona fide nonprofit
organizations,
promotion of patriotism, or disaster relief;
(3) A fraternal organization
that
has been
in continuous
existence in this state for fifteen years
and that uses
the
net
profit
exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific,
literary, or
educational purposes, or for the prevention of
cruelty to
children or animals, if contributions for such use
would qualify
as a deductible charitable contribution under
subsection 170 of
the Internal Revenue Code;
(4)
A volunteer
firefighter's organization
that uses the net
profit for the
purposes set
forth in division (L) of
this section.
(AA)
"Internal Revenue Code" means the
"Internal Revenue
Code
of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as now or hereafter
amended.
(BB)
"Youth athletic organization" means any organization,
not organized for profit, that is organized and operated
exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate,
athletic activities for persons who are twenty-one years of age
or
younger by means of sponsoring, organizing, operating, or
contributing to the support of an athletic team, club, league, or
association.
(CC)
"Youth athletic park organization" means any
organization, not organized for profit, that satisfies both of
the
following:
(1) It owns, operates, and maintains playing fields that
satisfy both of the following:
(a) The playing fields are used at least one hundred days
per
year for athletic activities by one or more organizations,
not
organized for profit, each of which is organized and operated
exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate,
athletic activities for persons who are eighteen years of age or
younger by means of sponsoring, organizing, operating, or
contributing to the support of an athletic team, club, league, or
association.
(b) The playing fields are not used for any profit-making
activity at any time during the year.
(2) It uses the proceeds of
bingo
it conducts
exclusively for
the operation, maintenance, and improvement of
its
playing fields
of the type described in division (CC)(1) of
this
section.
(DD)
"Amateur athletic organization" means any
organization,
not organized for profit, that is organized and operated
exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate,
athletic
activities for persons who are training for amateur
athletic competition that
is sanctioned by a national governing
body as defined in the
"Amateur
Sports Act of 1978," 90 Stat.
3045, 36 U.S.C.A. 373.
(EE)
"Bingo supplies" means bingo
cards or sheets; instant
bingo tickets or
cards; electronic bingo
aids; raffle tickets;
punch boards; seal
cards;
instant bingo
ticket dispensers; and
devices for selecting
or
displaying
the
combination of bingo
letters and numbers or
raffle
tickets. Items
that are
"bingo
supplies" are not
gambling
devices
if sold or
otherwise provided,
and used, in accordance
with this
chapter. For
purposes of this
chapter, "bingo supplies"
are not to be
considered equipment used
to conduct a bingo game.
(FF)
"Instant bingo" means a form of
bingo that uses folded
or banded tickets or paper cards with
perforated break-open tabs,
a face of which is covered or
otherwise hidden from view to
conceal a number, letter, or
symbol, or set of numbers, letters,
or symbols, some of which
have been designated in advance as prize
winners. "Instant bingo" includes seal cards. "Instant bingo"
does
not include any device that is activated by
the insertion of
a
coin, currency, token, or an equivalent, and that
contains as
one
of its components a video display monitor that is
capable of
displaying numbers, letters, symbols, or characters in
winning or
losing combinations.
(GG)
"Seal card" means a
form of instant bingo that uses
instant bingo tickets in conjunction
with a board or placard that
contains one or more
seals that, when removed or opened, reveal
predesignated winning
numbers, letters, or symbols.
(HH)
"Raffle" means a form of bingo
in which the one or more
prizes are won by one or more persons
who have purchased a raffle
ticket. The one or more winners of
the raffle are determined by
drawing a ticket stub or other
detachable section from a
receptacle containing ticket stubs or
detachable sections
corresponding to all tickets sold for the
raffle.
(II)
"Punch board" means a board
containing a number of
holes
or receptacles of uniform size in
which are placed,
mechanically
and randomly, serially numbered
slips of paper that
may be punched
or drawn from the hole or
receptacle when used in
conjunction with
instant bingo. A player
may punch or draw the
numbered slips of
paper from the holes or
receptacles and obtain
the prize
established for the game if the
number drawn corresponds
to a
winning number or, if the punch
board includes the use of a
seal
card, a potential winning
number.
(JJ)
"Gross profit" means gross
receipts minus the amount
actually expended for the payment of
prize awards.
(KK)
"Net profit" means gross profit
minus expenses.
(LL)
"Expenses" means the reasonable
amount of gross profit
actually expended for all of the
following:
(1)
The purchase or lease of bingo supplies;
(2)
The annual license fee required under section
2915.08 of
the Revised Code;
(3)
Bank fees and service charges for a bingo session or
game
account described in section 2915.10 of the Revised Code;
(4)
Audits and accounting services;
(7)
Hiring security personnel;
(9) Renting premises in which to conduct a bingo session;
(11) Expenses for maintaining and operating a charitable
organization's facilities, including, but not limited to, a post
home, club house, lounge, tavern, or canteen and any grounds
attached to the post home, club house, lounge, tavern, or canteen;
(12) Any other product or service directly related to
the
conduct of bingo that is authorized in rules adopted by the
attorney
general under division (B)(1) of section
2915.08 of the
Revised Code.
(MM)
"Person" has the same meaning as
in section 1.59 of the
Revised Code and includes
any firm or any other legal entity,
however organized.
(NN)
"Revoke" means to void
permanently all rights and
privileges of the holder of a license
issued under section
2915.08, 2915.081, or 2915.082 of the Revised Code
or a charitable
gaming license issued by
another jurisdiction.
(OO)
"Suspend" means to interrupt
temporarily all rights and
privileges of the holder of a license
issued under section
2915.08, 2915.081, or 2915.082 of the Revised Code
or a charitable
gaming license issued by
another jurisdiction.
(PP)
"Distributor" means any person who purchases or obtains
bingo
supplies and who does either of the following:
(1) Sells, offers for sale, or otherwise
provides
or offers
to provide the
bingo supplies to another person
for use in this
state;
(2) Modifies, converts, adds to, or removes parts from the
bingo supplies to further their promotion or sale for use in this
state.
(QQ)
"Manufacturer" means any person who assembles completed
bingo
supplies from raw materials, other items, or subparts or who
modifies, converts, adds to, or removes parts from bingo supplies
to further their promotion or sale.
(RR)
"Gross annual revenues" means the annual gross receipts
derived from the conduct of bingo described in division (S)(1) of
this section plus the annual net profit derived from the conduct
of bingo
described in division (S)(2) of this section.
(SS) "Instant bingo ticket dispenser" means a mechanical
device that dispenses an instant bingo ticket or card as the sole
item of value dispensed and that has the following
characteristics:
(1) It is activated upon the insertion of United States
currency.
(2) It performs no gaming functions.
(3) It does not contain a video display monitor or generate
noise.
(4) It is not capable of displaying any numbers, letters,
symbols, or characters in winning or losing combinations.
(5) It does not simulate or display rolling or spinning
reels.
(6) It is incapable of determining whether a dispensed
bingo
ticket or card is a winning or nonwinning ticket or card and
requires a winning ticket or card to be paid by a bingo game
operator.
(7) It may provide accounting and security features to aid
in
accounting for the instant bingo tickets or cards it dispenses.
(8) It is not part of an electronic network and is not
interactive.
(TT)(1) "Electronic bingo aid" means an electronic device
used by a participant to monitor bingo cards or sheets
purchased
at the time and place of a bingo session and that does
all of the
following:
(a) It provides a means for a participant to input numbers
and letters announced by a bingo caller.
(b) It compares the numbers and letters entered by the
participant to
the bingo faces previously stored in the memory of
the device.
(c) It identifies a winning bingo pattern.
(2) "Electronic bingo aid" does not include any device into
which a coin, currency, token, or an equivalent is inserted to
activate play.
(UU) "Deal of instant bingo tickets" means a single game of
instant bingo tickets all with the same serial number.
(VV)(1) "Slot machine" machine means either of the following:
(a) Any
mechanical, electronic, video, or digital device
that
is capable
of accepting anything of value, directly or
indirectly,
from or on
behalf of a player who gives the thing of
value in the
hope of
gain, the outcome of which is determined
largely or wholly
by
chance;
(b) Any mechanical, electronic, video, or digital device
that
is capable of accepting anything of value, directly or
indirectly,
from or on behalf of a player to conduct or dispense
bingo or a
scheme or game of chance.
(2) "Slot machine" does not include a skill-based amusement
machine.
(WW) "Net profit from the
proceeds of the sale of instant
bingo" means gross profit minus
the ordinary, necessary, and
reasonable expense expended for the
purchase of instant bingo
supplies.
(XX) "Charitable instant bingo organization" means an
organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under
subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code and is a charitable organization as defined
in this section. A "charitable instant bingo organization" does
not include a charitable organization that is exempt from federal
income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in
subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that is
created by a veteran's organization, a fraternal organization, or
a sporting organization in
regards to bingo conducted or assisted
by a veteran's organization, a fraternal organization, or a
sporting organization pursuant to section 2915.13 of the
Revised
Code.
(YY) "Game flare" means the board or placard that accompanies
each deal of instant bingo tickets and that has printed on or
affixed to it the following information for the game:
(1) The name of the game;
(2) The manufacturer's name or distinctive logo;
(5) The prize structure, including the number of winning
instant bingo tickets by denomination and the respective winning
symbol or number combinations for the winning instant bingo
tickets;
(7) The serial number of the game.
(ZZ) "Historic railroad educational organization" means an
organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under
subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, that owns in fee simple the tracks and the
right of way of a historic railroad that the organization restores
or maintains and on which the organization provides excursions as
part of a program to promote tourism and educate visitors
regarding the role of railroad transportation in Ohio history, and
that received as donations from a charitable organization that
holds a license to conduct bingo under this chapter an amount
equal to at least fifty per cent of that licensed charitable
organization's net proceeds from the conduct of bingo during each
of the five years preceding June 30, 2003. "Historic railroad"
means all or a portion of the tracks and right-of-way of a
railroad that was owned and operated by a for-profit common
carrier in this state at any time prior to January 1, 1950.
(AAA)(1) "Skill-based amusement machine" means a skill-based
amusement device, such as a mechanical, electronic, video, or
digital device, or machine, whether or not the skill-based
amusement machine requires payment for use through a coin or bill
validator or other payment of consideration or value to
participate in the machine's offering or to activate the machine,
provided that all of the following apply:
(a) The machine involves a task, game, play, contest,
competition, or tournament in which the player actively
participates in the task, game, play, contest, competition, or
tournament.
(b) The outcome of an individual's play and participation is
not determined largely or wholly by chance.
(c) The outcome of play during a game is not controlled by a
person not actively participating in the game mechanical, video,
digital, or
electronic device that rewards the player or players,
if at all,
only with merchandise prizes or with redeemable
vouchers
redeemable only for merchandise prizes, provided that
with respect
to rewards for playing the game all of the following
apply:
(a) The wholesale value of a merchandise prize awarded as a
result of the single play of a machine does not exceed ten
dollars;
(b) Redeemable vouchers awarded for any single play of a
machine are not redeemable for a merchandise prize with a
wholesale value of more than ten dollars;
(c) Redeemable vouchers are not redeemable for a merchandise
prize that has a wholesale value of more than ten dollars times
the fewest number of single plays necessary to accrue the
redeemable vouchers required to obtain that prize; and
(d) Any redeemable vouchers or merchandise prizes are
distributed at the site of the skill-based amusement machine at
the time of play.
(2) A device shall not be considered a skill-based amusement
machine and shall be considered a slot machine if it pays cash or
one or more of
the following apply:
(a) The ability of a player to succeed at the game is
impacted by the number or ratio of prior wins to prior losses of
players playing the game.
(b) Any reward of redeemable vouchers is not based solely on
the player achieving the object of the game or the players score;
(c) The outcome of the game, or the value of the redeemable
voucher or merchandise prize awarded for winning the game, can be
controlled by a source
other than any player playing the game.
(d) The success of any player is or may be determined by a
chance event that cannot be altered by player actions.
(e) The ability of any player to succeed at the game is
determined by game features not visible or known to the player.
(f) The ability of the player to succeed at the game is
impacted by the exercise of a skill that no reasonable player
could exercise.
(2)(3) All of the following apply to any machine that is
operated as described in division (AAA)(1) of this section:
(a) As used in this section, "task," "game," and "play" mean
one event from the initial activation of the machine until the
results of play are determined without payment of additional
consideration. An individual utilizing a machine that involves a
single task, game, play, contest, competition, or tournament may
be awarded redeemable vouchers or merchandise prizes based on the
results of play.
(b) Advance play for a single task, game, play, contest,
competition, or tournament participation may be purchased. The
cost of the contest, competition, or tournament participation may
be greater than a single non-contest noncontest, competition, or
tournament
play.
(c) To the extent that the machine is used in a contest,
competition, or tournament, that contest, competition, or
tournament has a defined starting and ending date and is open to
participants in competition for scoring and ranking results toward
the awarding of redeemable vouchers or merchandise prizes that are
stated prior to the start of the
contest, competition, or
tournament.
(4) For purposes of division (AAA)(1) of this section, the
mere presence of a device, such as a pin-setting, ball-releasing,
or scoring mechanism, that does not contribute to or affect the
outcome of the play of the game does not make the device a
skill-based amusement machine.
(BBB) "Merchandise prize" means any item of value, but shall
not include any of the following:
(1) Cash, gift cards, or any equivalent thereof;
(2) Plays on games of chance, state lottery tickets, bingo,
or instant bingo;
(3) Firearms, tobacco, or alcoholic beverages; or
(4) A redeemable voucher that is redeemable for any of the
items listed in division (BBB)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.
(CCC) "Redeemable voucher" means any ticket, token, coupon,
receipt, or other noncash representation of value.
(DDD) "Pool not conducted for profit" means a scheme in which
a participant gives a valuable consideration for a chance to win a
prize and the total amount of consideration wagered is distributed
to a participant or participants.
(CCC)(EEE) "Sporting organization" means a hunting, fishing,
or trapping organization, other than a college or high school
fraternity or sorority, that is not organized for profit, that is
affiliated with a state or national sporting organization,
including but not limited to, the Ohio League league of sportsmen,
and that has been in continuous existence in this state for a
period of three years.
(DDD)(FFF) "Community action agency" has the same meaning as
in section 122.66 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2915.06. (A) No person shall give to another person any
item described in division
(BBB)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of section
2915.01 of the Revised Code in exchange
for a noncash prize, toy,
or novelty
received as a reward for
playing or operating a
skill-based
amusement machine or for a
free or
reduced-price
game won on a
skill-based amusement
machine.
(B) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is
guilty
of skill-based amusement machine prohibited conduct. A violation
of division (A) of this section
is a
misdemeanor of the first
degree for each redemption of a
prize
that is involved in the
violation. If the offender
previously has
been convicted of a
violation of division (A) of this section,
a violation of that
division is a
felony of the fifth degree
for each
redemption of
a prize
that is involved in the violation.
The
maximum fine
authorized to
be imposed for a felony of
the
fifth degree shall
be imposed
upon the offender.
Sec. 2915.061. Any regulation of skill-based amusement
machines shall be governed by this chapter and not by Chapter
1345. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3769.07. Except as otherwise provided in this
section,
no permit shall be issued under sections 3769.01 to
3769.14 of the
Revised Code, authorizing the conduct of a
live racing program for
thoroughbred horses and quarter horses at
any
place, track, or
enclosure except between the hours of twelve
noon and seven p.m.,
for running horse-racing meetings, except
that on special events
days running horse-racing meetings may
begin at nine a.m. by
application to the state racing commission
and except that the
seven p.m. time may be extended to eight p.m.
on a Sunday or
holiday by application to the commission, and
no permit shall be
issued under those sections authorizing the conduct of a
live
racing program for harness horses at any place, track, or
enclosure
except between the hours of twelve noon and twelve
midnight for light
harness horse-racing meetings. The seven p.m.
and eight p.m. closing times
described in this section shall upon
application to the commission be extended
to nine p.m. for any
running horse-racing meeting conducted between the
fifteenth day
of May and the fifteenth day of September at a track that is
located more than twenty-five miles from a track located in this
state where a
light harness horse-racing meeting, other than a
light harness horse-racing
meeting at a county fair or independent
fair, is being conducted and that is
located less than twenty-five
miles from a track located outside this state.
A permit issued
for horse racing
at a county fair shall authorize live horse
racing to begin at nine
a.m. No
No permit shall be granted for the holding or conducting of
a
horse-racing meeting after the tenth day of December in any
calendar year, except for racing at winterized tracks.
"Winterized
track" means a track with enclosed club house or
grandstand,
all-weather racing track, heated facilities for
jockeys or
drivers, backstretch facilities that are properly
prepared for
winter racing, and adequate snow removal equipment
available. No
No permit shall be issued for more than an aggregate
of
fifty-six racing days in any one calendar year, except that an
additional five days of racing may be approved by the commission
upon application by a permit holder and except that an additional
thirty days of racing may be granted for racing at any time after
the fifteenth day of October and prior to the fifteenth day of
March to a permit holder who has a winterized facility, but no
more than thirty such additional days may be issued at any one
track or enclosure. No more than an aggregate of fifty-six
racing
days shall be issued in any one calendar year for any one
race
track, place, or enclosure, except for the additional five
days of
racing for each permit holder which may be approved by
the
commission pursuant to this section, except as provided in
sections 3769.071 and 3769.13 of the Revised Code, except for
racing days granted as a result of a winterized facility, and
except that the commission may issue a second permit for a
maximum
of fifty-six racing days for any one track, place, or
enclosure,
if the commission determines that the issuance of such
second
permit is not against the public interest. No such second
permit
shall be issued:
(A) For the operation of racing in any county with a
population of less than seven hundred thousand or for the
operation of racing in any county which has more than one race
track at which a racing meet has been authorized, except as
provided in this division and in sections 3769.071 and 3769.13 of
the Revised Code, in the same year by the commission. A second
permit issued pursuant to this division may be issued at either
or
both race tracks in a county that has only two race tracks if
a
racing meet has been authorized at both race tracks in the same
year by the commission and one race track has been authorized to
conduct thoroughbred racing meets and the other race track has
been authorized to conduct harness racing meets. When such
second
permit is issued pursuant to this division for racing at
the one
race track, racing shall not be conducted at that race
track on
the same day that racing is conducted at the other race
track in
the county except by mutual agreement of the two race
tracks.
(B) To any corporation having one or more shareholders
owning
an interest in any other permit issued by the commission
for the
operation of racing, in the same year, at any other race
track,
place, or enclosure in this state;
(C) To any person, association, or trust which owns, or
which
has any members owning, an interest in any other permit issued by
the commission for the operation of racing, in the same
year, at
any other race track, place, or enclosure in this state.
No permit shall be issued so as to permit live racing
programs on
the same hour at more than one track in one county or
on tracks
in operation in 1975 within fifty miles of each other,
nor shall
any other form of pari-mutuel wagering other than horse
racing be
permitted within seventy-five miles of a track where
horse racing
is being conducted, except that this provision shall
not apply to
a horse-racing meeting held at the state fair or at a
fair
conducted by a county agricultural society or at a fair
conducted
by an independent agricultural society; nor shall
more
than one
permit in any one year be granted to the same
person,
association, trust, or corporation for the holding or
conducting
of a horse-racing meeting, at more than one race track,
place, or
enclosure in this state. Distribution of days shall not
apply to
fairs or horse shows not required to secure a permit
under such
section. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, a
person, association, trust, or corporation may own or
operate two
separate facilities in this state that are conducting
horse-racing meetings.
A permit, granted under sections 3769.01 to 3769.14 of the
Revised Code, shall be conspicuously displayed during the
horse-racing meeting in the principal office at such race track
and at all reasonable times shall be exhibited to any authorized
person requesting to see the same.
Section 2. That existing sections 2915.01 and 3769.07 of the
Revised Code
are hereby repealed.
Section 3. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, and safety. The reason for this necessity lies in
the fact that a change in the definition of "skill-based amusement
machine" must be made very soon to clarify the legality of the
operation of these machines. Therefore, this act shall go into
immediate effect.
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