MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Ways and Means

By: Representative Clark

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-27-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MEANING OF THE TERM "SLOT AMUSEMENT MACHINE" FOR PURPOSES OF THE SLOT AMUSEMENT MACHINE TAX LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 75-76-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MEANING OF THE TERMS "GAMING DEVICE" AND "SLOT MACHINE" FOR PURPOSES OF THE MISSISSIPPI GAMING CONTROL ACT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 21-19-33 AND 97-33-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 27-27-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-27-3. The words, terms, and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meaning ascribed to them herein.

(a) "Slot amusement machine" or "machine" means any mechanical device or contrivance which is operated, played, worked, manipulated, or used by inserting or depositing any coin, slug, token, or thing of value, in which may be seen any picture or heard any music, or wherein any game may be played, or any form of diversion had, and includes, but is not limited to, such games as radio rifles, miniature football, golf, baseball, hockey, bumper, tennis, shooting galleries, pool tables, bowling, shuffleboard, pinball tables, marble tables, music vending phonographs, jukeboxes, cranes, video games, claw machines, bowling machines, console machines, pusher machines, novelty arcade machines and other similar musical devices for entertainment, and other miniature games, whether or not such machines show a score, and which is not otherwise excluded in this article.

(b) "Officer collecting the tax" means the tax collector of the county, or, in the case of a municipality, the person who collects the taxes for the municipality by whatever title he may be known.

(c) "Person" means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate, trust, or other group or combination acting as a unit and includes the plural as well as the singular in number.

SECTION 2. Section 75-76-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

75-76-5. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) "Applicant" means any person who has applied for or is about to apply for a state gaming license, registration or finding of suitability under the provisions of this chapter or approval of any act or transaction for which approval is required or permitted under the provisions of this chapter.

(b) "Application" means a request for the issuance of a state gaming license, registration or finding of suitability under the provisions of this chapter or for approval of any act or transaction for which approval is required or permitted under the provisions of this chapter but does not include any supplemental forms or information that may be required with the application.

(c) "Associated equipment" means any equipment or mechanical, electromechanical or electronic contrivance, component or machine used remotely or directly in connection with gaming or with any game, race book or sports pool that would not otherwise be classified as a gaming device, including dice, playing cards, links which connect to progressive slot machines, equipment which affects the proper reporting of gross revenue, computerized systems of betting at a race book or sports pool, computerized systems for monitoring slot machines, and devices for weighing or counting money.

(d) "Chairman," through September 30, 1993, means the Chairman of the State Tax Commission, and thereafter means the Chairman of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

(e) "Commission" or "Mississippi Gaming Commission," through September 30, 1993, means the State Tax Commission, and thereafter means the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

(f) "Commission member," through September 30, 1993, means a member of the State Tax Commission, and thereafter means a member of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

(g) "Credit instrument" means a writing which evidences a gaming debt owed to a person who holds a license at the time the debt is created, and includes any writing taken in consolidation, redemption or payment of a prior credit instrument.

(h) "Enforcement division" means a particular division supervised by the executive director that provides enforcement functions.

(i) "Establishment" means any premises wherein or whereon any gaming is done.

(j) "Executive director," through September 30, 1993, means the director appointed by the State Tax Commission pursuant to Section 75-76-15(1), and thereafter means the Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

(k) Except as otherwise provided by law, "game," or "gambling game" means any banking or percentage game played with cards, with dice or with any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, faro, monte, roulette, keno, fan-tan, twenty-one, blackjack, seven-and-a-half, big injun, klondike, craps, poker, chuck-a-luck (dai shu), wheel of fortune, chemin de fer, baccarat, pai gow, beat the banker, panguingui, slot machine, or any other game or device approved by the commission. However, "game" or "gambling game" shall not include bingo games or raffles which are held pursuant to the provisions of Section 97-33-51.

The commission shall not be required to recognize any game hereunder with respect to which the commission determines it does not have sufficient experience or expertise.

(l) "Gaming" or "gambling" means to deal, operate, carry on, conduct, maintain or expose for play any game as defined in this chapter.

(m) "Gaming device" means any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic contrivance, component or machine used in connection with gaming or any game which affects the result of a wager by determining win or loss. The term includes a system for processing information which can alter the normal criteria of random selection, which affects the operation of any game, or which determines the outcome of a game. The term does not include a system or device which affects a game solely by stopping its operation so that the outcome remains undetermined, and does not include any antique coin machine as defined in Section 27-27-12. The term does not include any slot amusement machine, as defined in Section 27-27-3, that includes a free amusement feature such as the privilege of playing additional free games if a certain score is made on a slot amusement machine, or noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items which are won by a player of a slot amusement machine which rewards players exclusively with merchandise limited to noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items, which have a wholesale value of not more than ten (10) times the cost charged to play the game or device once, or Five Dollars ($5.00), whichever is less, and in the event of accumulation of redeemable representations of value by any player, no noncash prize having a wholesale value of more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) may be given or awarded by any slot amusement machine operator or redeemed by any player.

(n) "Gaming employee" means any person connected directly with the operation of a gaming establishment licensed to conduct any game, including:

(i) Boxmen;

(ii) Cashiers;

(iii) Change personnel;

(iv) Counting room personnel;

(v) Dealers;

(vi) Floormen;

(vii) Hosts or other persons empowered to extend credit or complimentary services;

(viii) Keno runners;

(ix) Keno writers;

(x) Machine mechanics;

(xi) Security personnel;

(xii) Shift or pit bosses;

(xiii) Shills;

(xiv) Supervisors or managers; and

(xv) Ticket writers.

The term "gaming employee" also includes employees of manufacturers or distributors of gaming equipment within this state whose duties are directly involved with the manufacture, repair or distribution of gaming equipment.

"Gaming employee" does not include bartenders, cocktail waitresses or other persons engaged in preparing or serving food or beverages unless acting in some other capacity.

(o) "Gaming license" means any license issued by the state which authorizes the person named therein to engage in gaming.

(p) "Gross revenue" means the total of all of the following, less the total of all cash paid out as losses to patrons and those amounts paid to purchase annuities to fund losses paid to patrons over several years by independent financial institutions:

(i) Cash received as winnings;

(ii) Cash received in payment for credit extended by a licensee to a patron for purposes of gaming; and

(iii) Compensation received for conducting any game in which the licensee is not party to a wager.

For the purposes of this definition, cash or the value of noncash prizes awarded to patrons in a contest or tournament are not losses.

The term does not include:

(i) Counterfeit money or tokens;

(ii) Coins of other countries which are received in gaming devices;

(iii) Cash taken in fraudulent acts perpetrated against a licensee for which the licensee is not reimbursed; or

(iv) Cash received as entry fees for contests or tournaments in which the patrons compete for prizes.

(q) "Hearing examiner" means a member of the Mississippi Gaming Commission or other person authorized by the commission to conduct hearings.

(r) "Investigation division" means a particular division supervised by the executive director that provides investigative functions.

(s) "License" means a gaming license or a manufacturer's, seller's or distributor's license.

(t) "Licensee" means any person to whom a valid license has been issued.

(u) "License fees" means monies required by law to be paid to obtain or continue a gaming license or a manufacturer's, seller's or distributor's license.

(v) "Licensed gaming establishment" means any premises licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter wherein or whereon gaming is done.

(w) "Manufacturer's," "seller's" or "distributor's" license means a license issued pursuant to Section 75-76-79.

(x) "Navigable waters" shall have the meaning ascribed to such term under Section 27-109-1.

(y) "Operation" means the conduct of gaming.

(z) "Party" means the Mississippi Gaming Commission and any licensee or other person appearing of record in any proceeding before the commission; or the Mississippi Gaming Commission and any licensee or other person appearing of record in any proceeding for judicial review of any action, decision or order of the commission.

(aa) "Person" includes any association, corporation, firm, partnership, trust or other form of business association as well as a natural person.

(bb) "Premises" means land, together with all buildings, improvements and personal property located thereon, and includes all parts of any vessel or cruise vessel.

(cc) "Race book" means the business of accepting wagers upon the outcome of any event held at a track which uses the pari-mutuel system of wagering.

(dd) "Regulation" means a rule, standard, directive or statement of general applicability which effectuates law or policy or which describes the procedure or requirements for practicing before the commission. The term includes a proposed regulation and the amendment or repeal of a prior regulation but does not include:

(i) A statement concerning only the internal management of the commission and not affecting the rights or procedures available to any licensee or other person;

(ii) A declaratory ruling;

(iii) An interagency memorandum;

(iv) The commission's decision in a contested case or relating to an application for a license; or

(v) Any notice concerning the fees to be charged which are necessary for the administration of this chapter.

(ee) "Respondent" means any licensee or other person against whom a complaint has been filed with the commission.

(ff) "Slot machine" means any mechanical, electrical or other device, contrivance or machine which, upon insertion of a coin, token or similar object, or upon payment of any consideration, is available to play or operate, the play or operation of which, whether by reason of the skill of the operator or application of the element of chance, or both, may deliver or entitle the person playing or operating the machine to receive cash, premiums, merchandise, tokens or anything of value, whether the payoff is made automatically from the machine or in any other manner. The term does not include any antique coin machine as defined in Section 27-27-12. The term does not include any slot amusement machine, as defined in Section 27-27-3, that includes a free amusement feature such as the privilege of playing additional free games if a certain score is made on a slot amusement machine, or noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items which are won by a player of a slot amusement machine which rewards players exclusively with merchandise limited to noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items, which have a wholesale value of not more than ten (10) times the cost charged to play the game or device once, or Five Dollars ($5.00), whichever is less, and in the event of accumulation of redeemable representations of value by any player, no noncash prize having a wholesale value of more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) may be given or awarded by any slot amusement machine operator or redeemed by any player.

(gg) "Sports pool" means the business of accepting wagers on sporting events, except for athletic events, by any system or method of wagering other than the system known as the "pari-mutuel method of wagering."

(hh) "Temporary work permit" means a work permit which is valid only for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days from its date of issue and which is not renewable.

(ii) "Vessel" or "cruise vessel" shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms under Section 27-109-1.

(jj) "Work permit" means any card, certificate or permit issued by the commission, whether denominated as a work permit, registration card or otherwise, authorizing the employment of the holder as a gaming employee. A document issued by any governmental authority for any employment other than gaming is not a valid work permit for the purposes of this chapter.

(kk) "School or training institution" means any school or training institution which is licensed by the commission to teach or train gaming employees pursuant to Section 75-76-34.

(ll) "Cheat" means to alter the selection of criteria that determine:

(i) The rules of a game; or

(ii) The amount or frequency of payment in a game.

SECTION 3. Section 97-33-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-33-7. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm, copartnership, or corporation to have in possession, own, control, display, or operate any cane rack, knife rack, artful dodger, punch board, roll down, merchandise wheel, slot machine, pinball machine, or similar device or devices. Provided, however, that this section shall not be so construed as to make unlawful the ownership, possession, control, display or operation of any antique coin machine as defined in Section 27-27-12, or any music machine or bona fide automatic vending machine where the purchaser receives exactly the same quantity of merchandise on each operation of said machine. Any slot machine other than an antique coin machine as defined in Section 27-27-12 which delivers, or is so constructed as that by operation thereof it will deliver to the operator thereof anything of value in varying quantities, in addition to the merchandise received, and any slot machine other than an antique coin machine as defined in Section 27-27-12 that is constructed in such manner as that slugs, tokens, coins or similar devices are, or may be, used and delivered to the operator thereof in addition to merchandise of any sort contained in such machine, is hereby declared to be a gambling device, and shall be deemed unlawful under the provisions of this section. Provided, however, that pinball machines which do not return to the operator or player thereof anything but free additional games or plays shall not be deemed to be gambling devices, and neither this section nor any other law shall be construed to prohibit same.

(2) No property right shall exist in any person, natural or artificial, or be vested in such person, in any or all of the devices described herein that are not exempted from the provisions of this section; and all such devices are hereby declared to be at all times subject to confiscation and destruction, and their possession shall be unlawful, except when in the possession of officers carrying out the provisions of this section. It shall be the duty of all law-enforcing officers to seize and immediately destroy all such machines and devices.

(3) A first violation of the provisions of this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and the party offending shall, upon conviction, be fined in any sum not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or imprisoned not exceeding three (3) months, or both, in the discretion of the court. In the event of a second conviction for a violation of any of the provisions of this section, the party offending shall be subject to a sentence of not less than six (6) months in the county jail, nor more than two (2) years in the State Penitentiary, in the discretion of the trial court.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, it shall not be unlawful to operate any equipment or device described in subsection (1) of this section or any gaming, gambling or similar device or devices by whatever name called while:

(a) On a cruise vessel as defined in Section 27-109-1 whenever such vessel is in the waters within the State of Mississippi, which lie adjacent to the State of Mississippi south of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi, and in which the registered voters of the county in which the port is located have not voted to prohibit such betting, gaming or wagering on cruise vessels as provided in Section 19-3-79;

(b) On a vessel as defined in Section 27-109-1 whenever such vessel is on the Mississippi River or navigable waters within any county bordering on the Mississippi River, and in which the registered voters of the county in which the port is located have not voted to prohibit such betting, gaming or wagering on vessels as provided in Section 19-3-79; or

(c) That is legal under the laws of the State of Mississippi.

(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, it shall not be unlawful (a) to own, possess, repair or control any gambling device, machine or equipment on board any cruise vessel in this state of not less than one hundred fifty (150) feet in overall length or vessel in this state of not less than one hundred fifty (150) feet in overall length or on the business premises appurtenant to any such cruise vessel or vessel during any period of time in which such cruise vessel or vessel is being constructed, repaired, maintained or operated in this state; (b) to install any gambling device, machine or equipment on board any cruise vessel in this state of not less than one hundred fifty (150) feet in overall length or vessel in this state of not less than one hundred fifty (150) feet in overall length; (c) to possess or control any gambling device, machine or equipment during the process of procuring or transporting such device, machine or equipment for installation on any such cruise vessel or vessel; or (d) to store in a warehouse or other storage facility any gambling device, machine, equipment, or part thereof, regardless of whether the county or municipality in which the warehouse or storage facility is located has approved gaming aboard cruise vessels or vessels, provided that such device, machine or equipment is operated only in a county or municipality that has approved gaming aboard cruise vessels or vessels. Any gambling device, machine or equipment that is owned, possessed, controlled, installed, procured, repaired, transported or stored in accordance with this subsection shall not be subject to confiscation, seizure or destruction, and any person, firm, partnership or corporation which owns, possesses, controls, installs, procures, repairs, transports or stores any gambling device, machine or equipment in accordance with this subsection shall not be subject to any prosecution or penalty under this section. Any person constructing or repairing such cruise vessels or vessels within a municipality shall comply with all municipal ordinances protecting the general health or safety of the residents of the municipality.

(6) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, it shall not be unlawful to own, possess, repair or control any slot amusement machine, as defined in Section 27-27-3, that includes a free amusement feature such as the privilege of playing additional free games if a certain score is made on a slot amusement machine, or noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items which are won by a player of a slot amusement machine which rewards players exclusively with merchandise limited to noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items, which have a wholesale value of not more than ten (10) times the cost charged to play the game or device once, or Five Dollars ($5.00), whichever is less, and in the event of accumulation of redeemable representations of value by any player, no noncash prize having a wholesale value of more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) may be given or awarded by any slot amusement machine operator or redeemed by any player.

SECTION 4. Section 21-19-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

21-19-33. The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to adopt reasonable ordinances for the regulation of circuses, shows, theaters, bowling alleys, concerts, theatrical exhibitions, skating rinks, pistol or shooting galleries, amusement parks and devices, and other similar things. Said authorities shall have the power and authority to regulate, prohibit, or suppress billiard tables, poolrooms, fortune-tellers, cane or knife racks, and slot machines and other gambling devices within the corporate limits. However, such governing authorities shall not be authorized to regulate, prohibit or suppress any gambling device, machine or equipment that is owned, possessed, controlled, installed, procured, repaired or transported within the corporate limits in accordance with subsection (4) of Section 97-33-7 or Section 75-76-34. In addition, such governing authorities shall not be authorized to regulate, prohibit or suppress the ownership and display of antique coin machines as defined in Section 27-27-12. Further, governing authorities of municipalities shall not be authorized to regulate, prohibit or suppress the ownership, possession, repair or control of slot amusement machines, as defined in Section 27-27-3, that include a free amusement feature such as the privilege of playing additional free games if a certain score is made on a slot amusement machine, or noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items which are won by a player of a slot amusement machine which rewards players exclusively with merchandise limited to noncash prizes, toys, novelties or representations of value redeemable for those items, which have a wholesale value of not more than ten (10) times the cost charged to play the game or device once, or Five Dollars ($5.00), whichever is less, and in the event of accumulation of redeemable representations of value by any player, no noncash prize having a wholesale value of more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) may be given or awarded by any slot amusement machine operator or redeemed by any player.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1997.