Senate Bill No. 3–Senator  Rhoads

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to gaming; reserving a portion of certain gaming license fees collected from persons licensed to conduct off-track pari-mutuel wagering to augment purses for horse racing in certain counties; revising certain provisions concerning the regulation of certain off-track pari-mutuel wagering; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

    Section 1. NRS 463.320 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    463.320  1.  All gaming license fees imposed by the provisions

 of NRS 463.370, 463.373 to 463.383, inclusive, and 463.3855 must

 be collected and disposed of as provided in this section.

    2.  All state gaming license fees and penalties must be collected

 by the Commission and paid over immediately to the State

 Treasurer to be disposed of as follows:

    (a) [All] Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (c) and

 (d), all state gaming license fees and penalties other than the license

 fees imposed by the provisions of NRS 463.380 must be deposited

 for credit to the State General Fund.

    (b) All state gaming license fees imposed by the provisions of

 NRS 463.380 must, after deduction of costs of administration and

 collection, be divided equally among the various counties and

 transmitted to the respective county treasurers. Such fees, except as

 otherwise provided in this section, must be deposited by the county

 treasurer in the county general fund and be expended for county

 purposes. If the board of county commissioners desires to apportion

 and allocate all or a portion of such fees to one or more cities or

 towns within the county, the board of county commissioners shall,

 annually, before the preparation of the city or town budget or

 budgets as required by chapter 354 of NRS, adopt a resolution so

 apportioning and allocating a percentage of such fees anticipated to

 be received during the coming fiscal year to such city or cities or

 town or towns for the next fiscal year commencing July 1. After the

 adoption of the resolution , the percentage so apportioned and

 allocated must be converted to a dollar figure and included in the

 city or town budget or budgets as an estimated receipt for the next

 fiscal year. Quarterly , upon receipt of the money from the State,

 the county treasurer shall deposit an amount of money equal to the

 percentage so apportioned and allocated to the credit of the city or

 town fund to be used for city or town purposes, and the balance

remaining must be deposited in the county general fund and must be

expended for county purposes.

    (c) One twenty-fifth of the license fee imposed by the

 provisions of NRS 463.370 on gross revenue which exceeds

 $134,000 per calendar month that is paid pursuant to subsection 2

 of NRS 464.045 by persons licensed to conduct off-track pari

-mutuel wagering must, after the deduction of costs of

 administration and collection, be allocated pro rata among the

 counties in this state whose population is less than 100,000 in

 which on-track pari-mutuel wagering is conducted. The

 allocation must be based upon the amounts paid from each such

 county pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 466.125 and transmitted

 to the respective county treasurers. Money received by a county

 treasurer pursuant to this paragraph must be deposited in the

 county general fund and expended to augment any stakes, purses

 or rewards which are offered with respect to horse races

 conducted in that county by a state fair association, agricultural

 society or county fair and recreation board.

    (d) Ten percent of the amount of the license fee imposed by the

 provisions of NRS 463.370 that is paid pursuant to subsection 2 of

 NRS 464.045 by persons licensed to conduct off-track pari-mutuel

 wagering which exceeds $5,036,938 per calendar year must, after

 the deduction of costs of administration and collection, be

 allocated pro rata among the counties in this state whose

 population is less than 100,000 in which on-track pari-mutuel

 wagering is conducted. The allocation must be based upon the

 amounts paid from each such county pursuant to subsection 2 of

 NRS 466.125 and must be transmitted to the respective county

 treasurers as provided in this paragraph. On March 1 of each

 year, the Board shall calculate the amount of money to be

 allocated to the respective county treasurers and notify the State

 Treasurer of the appropriate amount of each allocation. The State

 Treasurer shall transfer the money to the respective county

 treasurers. Money received by a county treasurer pursuant to this

 paragraph must be deposited in the county general fund and

 expended to augment any stakes, purses or rewards which are

 offered with respect to horse races conducted in that county by a

 state fair association, agricultural society or county fair and

 recreation board.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 464.020 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    464.020  1.  The Nevada Gaming Commission is charged with

 the administration of this chapter for the protection of the public

 and in the public interest.

    2.  The Nevada Gaming Commission may issue licenses

 permitting the conduct of the pari-mutuel system of wagering,

including off-track pari-mutuel wagering, and may adopt, amend

and repeal regulations relating to the conduct of such wagering.

    3.  The wagering must be conducted only by the licensee at the

 times determined by the Nevada Gaming Commission and only:

    (a) Within the enclosure wherein the race or other sporting event

 which is the subject of the wagering occurs; or

    (b) Within a licensed gaming establishment which has been

 approved to conduct off-track pari-mutuel wagering.

This subsection does not prohibit a person licensed to accept,

 pursuant to regulations adopted by the Nevada Gaming

 Commission, off-track pari-mutuel wagers from accepting wagers

 made by wire communication from patrons within the State of

 Nevada , [or] from other states in which such wagering is legal [.]

 or from places outside the United States in which such wagering

 is legal.

    4.  The regulations of the Nevada Gaming Commission may

 include, without limitation:

    (a) Requiring fingerprinting of an applicant or licensee, or other

 method of identification.

    (b) Requiring information concerning an applicant’s

 antecedents, habits and character.

    (c) Prescribing the method and form of application which any

 applicant for a license issued pursuant to this chapter must follow

 and complete before consideration of his application by the Nevada

 Gaming Commission.

    (d) Prescribing the permissible communications technology

 and requiring the implementation of border control technology

 that will ensure that a person cannot place a wager with a race

 book in this state from another state or another location where

 placing such a wager is illegal.

    5.  The Nevada Gaming Commission may appoint an Off-Track

 Pari-Mutuel Wagering Committee consisting of nine persons who

 are licensed to engage in off-track pari-mutuel wagering. If the

 Commission appoints such a Committee, it shall appoint to the

 Committee:

    (a) Five members from a list of nominees provided by the State

 Association of Gaming Establishments whose members collectively

 paid the most gross revenue fees to the State pursuant to NRS

 463.370 in the preceding year;

    (b) Two members who, in the preceding year, paid gross

 revenue fees pursuant to NRS 463.370 in an amount that was less

 than the average amount of gross revenue fees paid by licensees

 engaged in off-track pari-mutuel wagering in the preceding year;

 and

    (c) Two other members.

If a vacancy occurs in a position on the Committee for any reason,

including, but not limited to, termination of a member, the

 Commission shall appoint a successor member who satisfies the

 same criteria in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that applied to the member

 whose position has been vacated.

    6.  If the Nevada Gaming Commission appoints an Off-Track

 Pari-Mutuel Wagering Committee pursuant to subsection 5, the

 Commission shall:

    (a) Grant to the Off-Track Pari-Mutuel Wagering Committee the

 exclusive right to negotiate an agreement relating to off-track pari

-mutuel wagering with:

        (1) A person who is licensed or otherwise permitted to

 operate a wagering pool in another state; and

        (2) A person who is licensed pursuant to chapter 464 of NRS

 as an operator of a system.

    (b) Require the Off-Track Pari-Mutuel Wagering Committee to

 grant to each person licensed pursuant to this chapter to operate an

 off-track pari-mutuel race pool the right to receive, on a fair and

 equitable basis, all services concerning wagering in such a race

 pool that the Committee has negotiated to bring into or provide

 within this state.

    7.  The Nevada Gaming Commission shall, and it is granted the

 power to, demand access to and inspect all books and records of

 any person licensed pursuant to this chapter pertaining to and

 affecting the subject of the license.

    Sec. 3.  NRS 464.075 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    464.075  1.  [A] Except as otherwise provided in subsection

 4, a person who is licensed to engage in off-track pari-mutuel

 wagering shall not:

    (a) Accept from a patron less than the full face value of an off

-track pari-mutuel wager;

    (b) Agree to refund or rebate to a patron any portion or

 percentage of the full face value of an off-track pari-mutuel wager;

 or

    (c) Increase the payoff of, or pay a bonus on, a winning off-track

 pari-mutuel wager.

    2.  A person who is licensed to engage in off-track pari-mutuel

 wagering and who:

    (a) Attempts to evade the provisions of subsection 1 by offering

 to a patron a wager that is not posted and offered to all patrons; or

    (b) Otherwise violates the provisions of subsection 1,

is subject to the investigatory and disciplinary proceedings that are

 set forth in NRS 463.310 to 463.318, inclusive, and shall be

 punished as provided in those sections.

    3.  The Nevada Gaming Commission shall adopt regulations to

 carry out the provisions of subsections 1 and 2 of this section.

    4.  The Nevada Gaming Commission may, by regulation,

exempt certain bets, refunds, rebates, payoffs or bonuses from the

 provisions of subsection 1 if the Commission determines that such

 exemptions are in the best interests of the State of Nevada and

 licensed gaming in this state. Any bets, refunds, rebates, payoffs

 or bonuses that would result in the amount of such bets, refunds,

 rebates, payoffs or bonuses being directly or indirectly deductible

 from gross revenue may not be exempt.

    Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.

 

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