130th Ohio General Assembly
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Am. Sub. S. B. No. 141  As Passed by the Senate
As Passed by the Senate

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
Am. Sub. S. B. No. 141


Senators Obhof, Hughes 

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;
(5) Safes;
(6) Cash registers;
(7) Hiring security personnel;
(8) Advertising bingo;
(9) Renting premises in which to conduct a bingo session;
(10) Tables and chairs;
(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;
(3) The form number;
(4) The ticket count;
(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;
(6) The cost per play;
(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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