General Appropriations Bill H. 4700 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998
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10 SECTION 2
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12 TO AMEND SECTIONS 12-21-2710, AS AMENDED, 12-21-2712, 12-21-2720, AS AMENDED, AND 12-21-2726 OF THE 1976
13 CODE, RELATING TO COIN-OPERATED MACHINES OR DEVICES, SO AS TO EXTEND THE PROHIBITION ON SLOT
14 MACHINES AND OTHER MACHINES OR DEVICES PERTAINING TO GAMES OF CHANCE TO VIDEO GAMES WITH
15 A FREE PLAY FEATURE OR ANY OTHER COIN-OPERATED MACHINE OR DEVICE USED FOR GAMBLING AND
16 PROVIDE FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS SECTION, TO EXTEND THE SEIZURE AND DESTRUCTION
17 PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO GAMES OF CHANCE TO THESE EXPANDED PROHIBITIONS, TO CONFORM EXISTING
18 LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR COIN-OPERATED MACHINES AND DEVICES TO THESE EXPANDED
19 PROHIBITIONS AND TO DELETE REFERENCES TO PROVISIONS OF LAW REPEALED BY THIS SECTION; TO AMEND
20 SECTION 12-54-40, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO TAX CRIMES AND PENALTIES, SO AS TO DELETE THE OFFENSE
21 OF OPERATING AN UNMETERED VIDEO GAME WITH A FREE PLAY FEATURE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 16-19-40 AND
22 16-19-50, RELATING TO THE OFFENSE OF GAMBLING, SO AS TO EXTEND THESE OFFENSES SPECIFICALLY TO
23 PLAYING OR MAINTAINING ANY LICENSED COIN-OPERATED MACHINE OR DEVICE USED FOR GAMBLING
24 PURPOSES; AND TO REPEAL SECTIONS 12-21-2703, 16-19-60, AND ARTICLE 20, CHAPTER 21 OF TITLE 12, RELATING
25 RESPECTIVELY TO THE RETAIL LICENSE REQUIREMENT FOR A LOCATION WITH VIDEO GAMES WITH A FREE
26 PLAY FEATURE, THE EXEMPTION OF VIDEO GAMES WITH A FREE PLAY FEATURE FROM THE GAMBLING
27 OFFENSES, AND THE VIDEO GAMES MACHINES ACT.
28 Amend Title to Conform
29
30 A. Section 12-21-2710 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 155 of 1997, is further amended to read:
31
32 "Section 12-21-2710. It is unlawful for any person to keep on his premises or operate or permit to be kept on his premises or operated
33 within this State any vending or slot machine, or any video game machine with a free play feature operated by a slot in which is deposited
34 a coin or thing of value, or other device operated by a slot in which is deposited a coin or thing of value for the play of poker, blackjack,
35 keno, lotto, bingo, or craps, or any machine or device licensed pursuant to Section 12-21-2720 and used for gambling or any punch board,
PART II PAGE 519
1 pull board, or other device pertaining to games of chance of whatever name or kind, including those machines, boards, or other devices
2 that display different pictures, words, or symbols, at different plays or different numbers, whether in words or figures or, which deposit
3 tokens or coins at regular intervals or in varying numbers to the player or in the machine, but the provisions of this section do not extend
4 to coin-operated nonpayout pin tables, in-line pin games, and video games with free play feature which meet the technical requirements
5 provided for in Section 12-21-2782 and Section 12-21-2783, or to automatic weighing, measuring, musical, and vending machines which
6 are constructed as to give a certain uniform and fair return in value for each coin deposited and in which there is no element of chance.
7 Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five
8 hundred dollars or imprisoned for a period of not more than one year, or both. The Department of Revenue, the State Law Enforcement
9 Division, and other law enforcement agencies having appropriate jurisdiction shall enforce the provisions of this section."
10
11 B. Section 12-21-2712 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
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13 "Section 12-21-2712. Any vending or slot machine, punch board, or other device pertaining to games of chance prohibited by Section
14 12-21-2710 must be seized by any officer of the law law enforcement officer and at once taken before any magistrate of the county in
15 which the machine, board, or device is seized who shall immediately examine it, and if he is satisfied that it is in violation of Section
16 12-21-2710 or any other law of this State, he shall direct that it be immediately destroyed."
17
18 C. (1) Section 12-21-2720(A)(3) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Section 148, Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
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20 "(3) a machine of the nonpayout type, or in-line pin game, or video game with free play feature operated by a slot in which is
21 deposited a coin or thing of value except machines of the nonpayout pin table type with levers or flippers' operated by the player by which
22 the course of the balls may be altered or changed."
23
24 (2) Section 12-21-2720(C) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 145 of 1995, is further amended to read:
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26 "(C) The owner or operator of any coin-operated device which is exempt from Section 16-19-60 and is subject to licensing under
27 Section 12-21-2720(A)(3) and which has multi-player stations, shall purchase a separate license for each such station and any such
28 multi-player station counts as a machine when determining the number of machines authorized for licensure under Section
29 12-21-2804(A)."
30
31 (3) Section 12-21-2720 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 155 of 1997, is further amended by deleting subsections (E) and
32 (F), which read:
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34 "(E) The department shall not issue a license for the operation of a video game with a free play feature which is located or
35 intended to be located on a watercraft or vessel plying the territorial waters of this State.
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1 (F) Four hundred dollars of the four thousand dollar license fee imposed in subsection (A) may be retained by the department
2 and expended in budgeted operations for the implementation and ongoing operation of the monitoring system required by law or in other
3 programs and services as the director may determine necessary and appropriate."
4
5 D. Section 12-21-2726 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 164 of 1993, is further amended to read:
6
7 "Section 12-21-2726. Every person who maintains for use or permits the use of, on a place or premises occupied by him, a machine
8 subject to the license imposed by this article by way of proof of licensing must have a current license displayed conspicuously on the front
9 of the machine. Except for the provisions of Sections 12-21-2774 and 12-21-2776, each machine licensed pursuant to this section must
10 be operated in a stand-alone fashion and may not be linked in any way to another coin-operated machine or device."
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12 E. Section 12-54-40 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 155 of 1997, is further amended by deleting subsection (g) which reads:
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14 "(g) A machine owner or distributor, as defined in Article 20, Chapter 21 of this title, who allows or causes a machine to be operated
15 without a metering device, or who wilfully places a machine on location or who wilfully allows or causes a machine to be operated with
16 a metering device that does not accurately record the information required under Article 20, Chapter 21 of this title is guilty of a felony
17 and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not less than one year nor more than ten years, without benefit of probation, parole, or
18 suspension of sentence, and in addition may be fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars."
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20 F. Section 16-19-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
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22 "Section 16-19-40. If any person shall play at any tavern, inn, store for the retailing of spirituous liquors or in any house used as a
23 place of gaming, barn, kitchen, stable or other outhouse, street, highway, open wood, race field or open place at (a) any game with cards
24 or dice, (b) any gaming table, commonly called A, B, C, or E, O, or any gaming table known or distinguished by any other letters or by
25 any figures, (c) any roley-poley table, (d) rouge et noir, (e) any faro bank or (f) any other table or bank of the same or the like kind under
26 any denomination whatsoever or (g) any machine or device licensed pursuant to Section 12-21-2720 and used for gambling purposes,
27 except the games of billiards, bowls, backgammon, chess, draughts or whist when there is no betting on any such game of billiards, bowls,
28 backgammon, chess, draughts or whist, or shall bet on the sides or hands of such as do game, upon being convicted thereof, before any
29 magistrate, shall be imprisoned for a period of not over thirty days or shall suffer a fine of fined not over one hundred dollars, and every
30 person so keeping such tavern, inn, retail store, public place or house used as a place for gaming or such other house shall, upon being
31 convicted thereof, upon indictment, be imprisoned for a period not exceeding twelve months and forfeit a sum not exceeding two thousand
32 dollars, for each and every offense."
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1 G. Section 16-19-50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
2
3 "Section 16-19-50. Any person who shall set up, keep or use any (a) gaming table, commonly called A, B, C, or E, O, or any gaming
4 table known or distinguished by any other letters or by any figures, (b) roley-poley table, (c) table to play at rouge et noir, (d) faro bank
5 or (e) any other gaming table or bank of the like kind or of any other kind for the purpose of gaming, or (f) any machine or device licensed
6 pursuant to Section 12-21-2720 and used for gambling purposes except the games of billiards, bowls, chess, draughts and backgammon,
7 upon being convicted thereof, upon indictment, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars and not less than two hundred
8 dollars."
9
10 H. (A) Of the funds appropriated to the Employment Security Commission under the Unemployment Insurance Program for other
11 operating expenses, the Commission shall provide assistance to employees of owners or operators of any coin-operated devices who lose
12 their jobs as a result of the loss of revenue caused by this act. Assistance provided shall include individualized re-employment services
13 such as job counseling, job search, and placement of those who have transferable job skills. For those who do not have transferable job
14 skills, occupational training must be made available at no cost to the individuals.
15 (B) This subsection takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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17 I. Sections 12-21-2703 and 16-19-60 and Article 20, Chapter 21 of Title 12, all of the 1976 Code, are repealed.
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19 J. Except as otherwise provided in this section, this section takes effect June 1, 1999.
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