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Am. Sub. S. B. No. 141 As Passed by the SenateAs Passed by the Senate
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors:
Senators Eklund, Faber, Hite, Jones, Uecker
A BILL
To amend sections 2915.01, 3772.03, and 3772.99 and
to enact section 2915.021 of the Revised Code to
create penalties related to casino gaming and
transacting with a casino facility, to require the
Casino Control Commission to include in its annual
report to the General Assembly information
regarding prosecutions for conduct that is subject
to those penalties, to prohibit illegal
sweepstakes conduct, and to declare an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2915.01, 3772.03, and 3772.99 be
amended and section 2915.021 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, 2915.021, 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 either of the following:
(1) An organization that 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) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2) A volunteer rescue service organization, volunteer
firefighter's organization, veteran's organization, fraternal
organization, or sporting organization that is exempt from federal
income taxation under subsection 501(c)(4), (c)(7), (c)(8),
(c)(10), or (c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code.
To qualify as a "charitable organization," an 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.
(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) "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 is
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.
(K) "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.
(L) "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.
(M) "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.
(N) "Charitable bingo game" means any bingo game described in
division (O)(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.
(O) "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 (O)(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.
(P) "Conduct" means to back, promote, organize, manage, carry
on, sponsor, or prepare for the operation of bingo or a game of
chance.
(Q) "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.
(R) "Participant" means any person who plays bingo.
(S) "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 (O)(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 (S)(1) of this section.
(T) "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.
(U) "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.
(V) "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 (K) of this section.
(W) "Internal Revenue Code" means the "Internal Revenue Code
of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as now or hereafter
amended.
(X) "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.
(Y) "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 (Y)(1) of this section.
(Z) "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.
(AA) "Instant bingo" means a form of bingo that shall use
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, and may also include games in which some winners are
determined by the random selection of one or more bingo numbers by
the use of a seal card or bingo blower. In all "instant bingo" the
prize amount and structure shall be predetermined. "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.
(BB) "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.
(CC) "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. "Raffle" does
not include the drawing of a ticket stub or other detachable
section of a ticket purchased to attend a professional sporting
event if both of the following apply:
(1) The ticket stub or other detachable section is used to
select the winner of a free prize given away at the professional
sporting event; and
(2) The cost of the ticket is the same as the cost of a
ticket to the professional sporting event on days when no free
prize is given away.
(DD) "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.
(EE) "Gross profit" means gross receipts minus the amount
actually expended for the payment of prize awards.
(FF) "Net profit" means gross profit minus expenses.
(GG) "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) Payment of real property taxes and assessments that are
levied on a premises on which bingo is conducted;
(13) 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.
(HH) "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.
(II) "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.
(JJ) "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.
(KK) "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.
(LL) "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.
(MM) "Gross annual revenues" means the annual gross receipts
derived from the conduct of bingo described in division (O)(1) of
this section plus the annual net profit derived from the conduct
of bingo described in division (O)(2) of this section.
(NN) "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.
(OO)(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.
(PP) "Deal of instant bingo tickets" means a single game of
instant bingo tickets all with the same serial number.
(QQ)(1) "Slot 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;
(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 bingo or a scheme or game
of chance.
(2) "Slot machine" does not include a skill-based amusement
machine or an instant bingo ticket dispenser.
(RR) "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, and, in the case of instant bingo conducted by a
veteran's, fraternal, or sporting organization, minus the payment
by that organization of real property taxes and assessments levied
on a premises on which instant bingo is conducted.
(SS) "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.
(TT) "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.
(UU)(1) "Skill-based amusement machine" means a 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.
A card for the purchase of gasoline is a redeemable voucher
for purposes of division (UU)(1) of this section even if the
skill-based amusement machine for the play of which the card is
awarded is located at a place where gasoline may not be legally
distributed to the public or the card is not redeemable at the
location of, or at the time of playing, the skill-based amusement
machine.
(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 player's 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.
(3) All of the following apply to any machine that is
operated as described in division (UU)(1) of this section:
(a) As used in division (UU) of this section, "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 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 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 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 (UU)(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.
(VV) "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 (VV)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.
(WW) "Redeemable voucher" means any ticket, token, coupon,
receipt, or other noncash representation of value.
(XX) "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.
(YY) "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 league of Ohio sportsmen, and
that has been in continuous existence in this state for a period
of three years.
(ZZ) "Community action agency" has the same meaning as in
section 122.66 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2915.021. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Sweepstakes" means any game, contest, advertising scheme
or plan, or other promotion for which consideration is not
required for a person to enter to win or become eligible to
receive any prize, the determination of which is based upon
chance. "Sweepstakes" does not include bingo as authorized under
this chapter, pari-mutuel wagering as authorized by Chapter 3769.
of the Revised Code, lotteries conducted by the state lottery
commission as authorized by Chapter 3770. of the Revised Code, and
casino gaming as authorized by Chapter 3772. of the Revised Code.
"Sweepstakes" does not include prizes awarded by any business
enterprise conducted at any location for less than thirteen days
per calendar year.
(2) "Business enterprise" means any enterprise whether
conducted for profit or not for profit.
(3) "Enterprise" has the same meaning as in section 2923.31
of the Revised Code.
(B) No person or entity in relation to any business
enterprise shall conduct any sweepstakes in which the person or
entity, during a calendar year for which the sweepstakes is
offered, awards cash or prizes that have a total value of more
than five per cent of the person's or entity's gross revenue for a
business location for that year from the business or entity for
which the person offered the sweepstakes to advertise or promote.
(C) The attorney general may adopt rules for the efficient
enforcement of and to ensure compliance with this section,
including, but not limited to, the aggregation of the gross
revenue of multijurisdictional locations offering marketing
programs in the form of food or other trade goods. The attorney
general may assess reasonable fees related to compliance with any
rules adopted under this division.
(D) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty
of illegal sweepstakes conduct, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
If the offender previously has been convicted of any gambling
offense, illegal sweepstakes conduct is a felony of the fifth
degree.
Sec. 3772.03. (A) To ensure the integrity of casino gaming,
the commission shall have authority to complete the functions of
licensing, regulating, investigating, and penalizing casino
operators, management companies, holding companies, key employees,
casino gaming employees, and gaming-related vendors. The
commission also shall have jurisdiction over all persons
participating in casino gaming authorized by Section 6(C) of
Article XV, Ohio Constitution, and this chapter.
(B) All rules adopted by the commission under this chapter
shall be adopted under procedures established in Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code. The commission may contract for the services of
experts and consultants to assist the commission in carrying out
its duties under this section.
(C) Within six months of September 10, 2010, the commission
shall adopt initial rules as are necessary for completing the
functions stated in division (A) of this section and for
addressing the subjects enumerated in division (D) of this
section.
(D) The commission shall adopt, and as advisable and
necessary shall amend or repeal, rules that include all of the
following:
(1) The prevention of practices detrimental to the public
interest;
(2) Prescribing the method of applying, and the form of
application, that an applicant for a license under this chapter
must follow as otherwise described in this chapter;
(3) Prescribing the information to be furnished by an
applicant or licensee as described in section 3772.11 of the
Revised Code;
(4) Describing the certification standards and duties of an
independent testing laboratory certified under section 3772.31 of
the Revised Code and the relationship between the commission, the
laboratory, the gaming-related vendor, and the casino operator;
(5) The minimum amount of insurance that must be maintained
by a casino operator, management company, holding company, or
gaming-related vendor;
(6) The approval process for a significant change in
ownership or transfer of control of a licensee as provided in
section 3772.091 of the Revised Code;
(7) The design of gaming supplies, devices, and equipment to
be distributed by gaming-related vendors;
(8) Identifying the casino gaming that is permitted,
identifying the gaming supplies, devices, and equipment, that are
permitted, defining the area in which the permitted casino gaming
may be conducted, and specifying the method of operation according
to which the permitted casino gaming is to be conducted as
provided in section 3772.20 of the Revised Code, and requiring
gaming devices and equipment to meet the standards of this state;
(9) Tournament play in any casino facility;
(10) Establishing and implementing a voluntary exclusion
program that provides all of the following:
(a) Except as provided by commission rule, a person who
participates in the program shall agree to refrain from entering a
casino facility.
(b) The name of a person participating in the program shall
be included on a list of persons excluded from all casino
facilities.
(c) Except as provided by commission rule, no person who
participates in the program shall petition the commission for
admittance into a casino facility.
(d) The list of persons participating in the program and the
personal information of those persons shall be confidential and
shall only be disseminated by the commission to a casino operator
and the agents and employees of the casino operator for purposes
of enforcement and to other entities, upon request of the
participant and agreement by the commission.
(e) A casino operator shall make all reasonable attempts as
determined by the commission to cease all direct marketing efforts
to a person participating in the program.
(f) A casino operator shall not cash the check of a person
participating in the program or extend credit to the person in any
manner. However, the program shall not exclude a casino operator
from seeking the payment of a debt accrued by a person before
participating in the program.
(g) Any and all locations at which a person may register as a
participant in the program shall be published.
(11) Requiring the commission to adopt standards regarding
the marketing materials of a licensed casino operator, including
allowing the commission to prohibit marketing materials that are
contrary to the adopted standards;
(12) Requiring that the records, including financial
statements, of any casino operator, management company, holding
company, and gaming-related vendor be maintained in the manner
prescribed by the commission and made available for inspection
upon demand by the commission, but shall be subject to section
3772.16 of the Revised Code;
(13) Permitting a licensed casino operator, management
company, key employee, or casino gaming employee to question a
person suspected of violating this chapter;
(14) The chips, tokens, tickets, electronic cards, or similar
objects that may be purchased by means of an agreement under which
credit is extended to a wagerer by a casino operator;
(15) Establishing standards for provisional key employee
licenses for a person who is required to be licensed as a key
employee and is in exigent circumstances and standards for
provisional licenses for casino gaming employees who submit
complete applications and are compliant under an instant
background check. A provisional license shall be valid not longer
than three months. A provisional license may be renewed one time,
at the commission's discretion, for an additional three months. In
establishing standards with regard to instant background checks
the commission shall take notice of criminal records checks as
they are conducted under section 311.41 of the Revised Code using
electronic fingerprint reading devices.
(16) Establishing approval procedures for third-party
engineering or accounting firms, as described in section 3772.09
of the Revised Code;
(17) Prescribing the manner in which winnings, compensation
from casino gaming, and gross revenue must be computed and
reported by a licensee as described in Chapter 5753. of the
Revised Code;
(18) Prescribing conditions under which a licensee's license
may be suspended or revoked as described in section 3772.04 of the
Revised Code;
(19) Prescribing the manner and procedure of all hearings to
be conducted by the commission or by any hearing examiner;
(20) Prescribing technical standards and requirements that
are to be met by security and surveillance equipment that is used
at and standards and requirements to be met by personnel who are
employed at casino facilities, and standards and requirements for
the provision of security at and surveillance of casino
facilities;
(21) Prescribing requirements for a casino operator to
provide unarmed security services at a casino facility by licensed
casino employees, and the training that shall be completed by
these employees;
(22) Prescribing standards according to which casino
operators shall keep accounts and standards according to which
casino accounts shall be audited, and establish means of assisting
the tax commissioner in levying and collecting the gross casino
revenue tax levied under section 5753.02 of the Revised Code;
(23) Defining penalties for violation of commission rules and
a process for imposing such penalties subject to the review of the
joint committee on gaming and wagering;
(24) Establishing standards for decertifying contractors that
violate statutes or rules of this state or the federal government;
(25) Establishing standards for the repair of casino gaming
equipment;
(26) Establishing procedures to ensure that casino operators,
management companies, and holding companies are compliant with the
compulsive and problem gambling plan submitted under section
3772.18 of the Revised Code;
(27) Prescribing, for institutional investors in or holding
companies of a casino operator, management company, holding
company, or gaming-related vendor that fall below the threshold
needed to be considered an institutional investor or a holding
company, standards regarding what any employees, members, or
owners of those investors or holding companies may do and shall
not do in relation to casino facilities and casino gaming in this
state, which standards shall rationally relate to the need to
proscribe conduct that is inconsistent with passive institutional
investment status;
(28) Providing for any other thing necessary and proper for
successful and efficient regulation of casino gaming under this
chapter.
(E) The commission shall employ and assign gaming agents as
necessary to assist the commission in carrying out the duties of
this chapter. In order to maintain employment as a gaming agent,
the gaming agent shall successfully complete all continuing
training programs required by the commission and shall not have
been convicted of or pleaded guilty or no contest to a
disqualifying offense as defined in section 3772.07 of the Revised
Code.
(F) The commission, as a law enforcement agency, and its
gaming agents, as law enforcement officers as defined in section
2901.01 of the Revised Code, shall have authority with regard to
the detection and investigation of, the seizure of evidence
allegedly relating to, and the apprehension and arrest of persons
allegedly committing gaming offenses, and shall have access to
casino facilities to carry out the requirements of this chapter.
(G) The commission may eject or exclude or authorize the
ejection or exclusion of and a gaming agent may eject a person
from a casino facility for any of the following reasons:
(1) The person's name is on the list of persons voluntarily
excluding themselves from all casinos in a program established
according to rules adopted by the commission;
(2) The person violates or conspires to violate this chapter
or a rule adopted thereunder; or
(3) The commission determines that the person's conduct or
reputation is such that the person's presence within a casino
facility may call into question the honesty and integrity of the
casino gaming operations or interfere with the orderly conduct of
the casino gaming operations.
(H) A person, other than a person participating in a
voluntary exclusion program, may petition the commission for a
public hearing on the person's ejection or exclusion under this
chapter.
(I) A casino operator or management company shall have the
same authority to eject or exclude a person from the management
company's casino facilities as authorized in division (G) of this
section. The licensee shall immediately notify the commission of
an ejection or exclusion.
(J) The commission shall submit a written annual report with
the governor, president and minority leader of the senate, speaker
and minority leader of the house of representatives, and joint
committee on gaming and wagering before the first day of September
each year. The annual report shall cover the previous fiscal year
and shall include a all of the following:
(1) A statement describing the receipts and disbursements of
the commission, relevant;
(2) Relevant financial data regarding casino gaming,
including gross revenues and disbursements made under this
chapter, actions;
(3) Actions taken by the commission, an;
(4) An update on casino operators', management companies',
and holding companies' compulsive and problem gambling plans and
the voluntary exclusion program and list, and any;
(5) Information regarding prosecutions for conduct described
in division (H) of section 3772.99 of the Revised Code, including,
but not limited to, the total number of prosecutions commenced and
the name of each person prosecuted;
(6) Any additional information that the commission considers
useful or that the governor, president or minority leader of the
senate, speaker or minority leader of the house of
representatives, or joint committee on gaming and wagering
requests.
(K) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, beginning on
July 1, 2011, the commission shall assume jurisdiction over and
oversee the regulation of skill-based amusement machines as is
provided in the law of this state.
Sec. 3772.99. (A) The commission shall levy and collect
penalties for noncriminal violations of this chapter. Noncriminal
violations include using the term "casino" in any advertisement in
regard to a facility operating video lottery terminals, as defined
in section 3770.21 of the Revised Code, in this state. Moneys
collected from such penalty levies shall be credited to the
general revenue fund.
(B) If a licensed casino operator, management company,
holding company, gaming-related vendor, or key employee violates
this chapter or engages in a fraudulent act, the commission may
suspend or revoke the license and may do either or both of the
following:
(1) Suspend, revoke, or restrict the casino gaming operations
of a casino operator;
(2) Require the removal of a management company, key
employee, or discontinuance of services from a gaming-related
vendor.
(C) The commission shall impose civil penalties against a
person who violates this chapter under the penalties adopted by
commission rule and reviewed by the joint committee on gaming and
wagering.
(D) A person who knowingly or intentionally does any of the
following commits a misdemeanor of the first degree on the first
offense and a felony of the fifth degree for a subsequent offense:
(1) Makes a false statement on an application submitted under
this chapter;
(2) Permits a person less than twenty-one years of age to
make a wager at a casino facility;
(3) Aids, induces, or causes a person less than twenty-one
years of age who is not an employee of the casino gaming operation
to enter or attempt to enter a casino facility;
(4) Enters or attempts to enter a casino facility while under
twenty-one years of age, unless the person enters a designated
area as described in section 3772.24 of the Revised Code;
(5) Is a casino operator or employee and participates in
casino gaming other than as part of operation or employment.
(E) A person who knowingly or intentionally does any of the
following commits a felony of the fifth degree on a first offense
and a felony of the fourth degree for a subsequent offense. If the
person is a licensee under this chapter, the commission shall
revoke the person's license after the first offense.
(1) Uses or possesses with the intent to use a device to
assist in projecting the outcome of the casino game, keeping track
of the cards played, analyzing the probability of the occurrence
of an event relating to the casino game, or analyzing the strategy
for playing or betting to be used in the casino game, except as
permitted by the commission;
(2) Cheats at a casino game;
(3) Manufactures, sells, or distributes any cards, chips,
dice, game, or device that is intended to be used to violate this
chapter;
(4) Alters or misrepresents the outcome of a casino game on
which wagers have been made after the outcome is made sure but
before the outcome is revealed to the players;
(5) Places, increases, or decreases a wager on the outcome of
a casino game after acquiring knowledge that is not available to
all players and concerns the outcome of the casino game that is
the subject of the wager;
(6) Aids a person in acquiring the knowledge described in
division (E)(5) of this section for the purpose of placing,
increasing, or decreasing a wager contingent on the outcome of a
casino game;
(7) Claims, collects, takes, or attempts to claim, collect,
or take money or anything of value in or from a casino game with
the intent to defraud or without having made a wager contingent on
winning a casino game;
(8) Claims, collects, or takes an amount of money or thing of
value of greater value than the amount won in a casino game;
(9) Uses or possesses counterfeit chips, tokens, or cashless
wagering instruments in or for use in a casino game;
(10) Possesses a key or device designed for opening,
entering, or affecting the operation of a casino game, drop box,
or an electronic or a mechanical device connected with the casino
game or removing coins, tokens, chips, or other contents of a
casino game. This division does not apply to a casino operator,
management company, or gaming-related vendor or their agents and
employees in the course of agency or employment.
(11) Possesses materials used to manufacture a device
intended to be used in a manner that violates this chapter;
(12) Operates a casino gaming operation in which wagering is
conducted or is to be conducted in a manner other than the manner
required under this chapter.
(F) The possession of more than one of the devices described
in division (E)(9), (10), or (11) of this section creates a
rebuttable presumption that the possessor intended to use the
devices for cheating.
(G) A person who knowingly or intentionally does any of the
following commits a felony of the third degree. If the person is a
licensee under this chapter, the commission shall revoke the
person's license after the first offense. A public servant or
party official who is convicted under this division is forever
disqualified from holding any public office, employment, or
position of trust in this state.
(1) Offers, promises, or gives anything of value or benefit
to a person who is connected with the casino operator, management
company, holding company, or gaming-related vendor, including
their officers and employees, under an agreement to influence or
with the intent to influence the actions of the person to whom the
offer, promise, or gift was made in order to affect or attempt to
affect the outcome of a casino game or an official action of a
commission member, agent, or employee;
(2) Solicits, accepts, or receives a promise of anything of
value or benefit while the person is connected with a casino,
including an officer or employee of a casino operator, management
company, or gaming-related vendor, under an agreement to influence
or with the intent to influence the actions of the person to
affect or attempt to affect the outcome of a casino game or an
official action of a commission member, agent, or employee;
(H) A person who knowingly or intentionally does any of the
following while participating in casino gaming or otherwise
transacting with a casino facility as permitted by Chapter 3772.
of the Revised Code commits a felony of the fifth degree on a
first offense and a felony of the fourth degree for a subsequent
offense:
(1) Causes or attempts to cause a casino facility to fail to
file a report required under 31 U.S.C. 5313(a) or 5325 or any
regulation prescribed thereunder or section 1315.53 of the Revised
Code, or to fail to file a report or maintain a record required by
an order issued under section 21 of the "Federal Deposit Insurance
Act" or section 123 of Pub. L. No. 91-508;
(2) Causes or attempts to cause a casino facility to file a
report required under 31 U.S.C. 5313(a) or 5325 or any regulation
prescribed thereunder or section 1315.53 of the Revised Code, to
file a report or to maintain a record required by any order issued
under 31 U.S.C. 5326, or to maintain a record required under any
regulation prescribed under section 21 of the "Federal Deposit
Insurance Act" or section 123 of Pub. L. No. 91-508 that contains
a material omission or misstatement of fact;
(3) With one or more casino facilities, structures a
transaction, is complicit in structuring a transaction, attempts
to structure a transaction, or is complicit in an attempt to
structure a transaction.
(I) A person who is convicted of a felony described in this
chapter may be barred for life from entering a casino facility by
the commission.
(J) As used in division (H) of this section:
(1) To be "complicit" means to engage in any conduct of a
type described in divisions (A)(1) to (4) of section 2923.03 of
the Revised Code.
(2) "Structure a transaction" has the same meaning as in
section 1315.51 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 2915.01, 3772.03, and
3772.99 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. This act is an emergency measure necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and
safety. The reasons for such necessity are to criminalize the
activities defined in the act as soon as possible. Therefore, this
act goes into immediate effect.
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