PERMANENT RULES
Date of Adoption: May 12, 2000.
Purpose: This amendment allows Class F and house-banked card room licensees to conduct a card tournament for a fee without obtaining a card tournament license and housekeeping changes.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 230-40-055.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 9.46.070.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 00-07-139 on March 22, 2000, with a publication of April 5, 2000.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
May 12, 2000
Susan Arland
Rules Coordinator
OTS-3878.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 250, filed 3/16/94, effective
4/16/94)
WAC 230-40-055
Card tournaments for fee and
prizes -- Reporting requirements.
(1) A card tournament wherein a
fee is charged to the participants and prizes are awarded to the
winning players shall be licensed by the commission. Card room
licensees with a Class A, B, ((or)) E, F or house-banked license
may conduct a card tournament for a fee without obtaining a card
tournament license: Provided, That ((Class B)) licensees are
limited to only those card games authorized under their
((licensing)) license class. Card room licensees with a Class D
or R license must first obtain a card tournament license before
they can conduct a card tournament in which the players are
charged a fee to enter. The licensee shall notify the commission
ten days in advance of any card tournament where the single or
multiple buy-in exceeds fifty dollars. A card tournament shall
not exceed ten consecutive calendar days.
(2) The fee for a player to enter a card tournament for prizes shall not exceed fifty dollars, including all separate fees which might be paid by a player for various phases, events of the tournament, food and drink offerings, and promotional material. The fee to enter a tournament and a description of all goods and services to be provided as a part of the tournament must be fully disclosed to each entrant prior to their paying such fee. Such disclosure must be posted conspicuously on the premises at the time payment is received and remain posted until the tournament is complete. This same information must be included in all advertisements for said tournament. Operators may offer "free roll" or customer appreciation tournaments: Provided, That the pretournament play requirements do not exceed the fifty-dollar entry fee limitation. Entrants in such tournaments must initially be provided with the same number of chips or points and the same opportunity for re-buys. All prizes awarded for free roll or customer appreciation tournaments may be deducted as prizes for determining adjusted net gambling receipts for compliance with WAC 230-12-075.
(3) All fees paid to enter a tournament shall be reported as gross gambling receipts: Provided, That if an operator prepares and provides food and drink items to all tournament entrants on the licensed premises as a part of their entry fee, the fair market value of the food and drink provided, not to exceed twenty-five dollars or fifty percent of the entry fee, which ever is greater, shall be treated as sales of food and drink for on premises consumption and not included as gross gambling receipts. Such sales, must be properly supported by records: Provided further, That if an operator provides items promoting the tournament or licensed business, such as hats, t-shirts, etc., to all participants as a part of their entry fee, the actual cost of such items, supported by invoices and other such records, shall be deducted as prizes in determining adjusted net gambling receipts for compliance with WAC 230-12-075.
(4) In addition to the entry fee, a minimum buy-in of chips may be required. The total buy-in per player shall not exceed two hundred dollars per tournament and may be either a single or multiple buy-in during the course of the tournament. A record of the buy-ins for each participant will be maintained by the licensee in a format provided by the commission. All buy-ins of chips are not gross gambling receipts and shall be returned to the participants in the form of prizes. Prizes from buy-ins are not deductible for commercial stimulant purposes.
(5) The chips used in card tournaments shall have no monetary value and may be redeemed only for prizes established by the licensee. The licensee may award prizes in excess of those entry fees collected as authorized in subsection (2) of this section. The licensees actual cost for prizes awarded to the players may be deducted as prizes for determining adjusted net gambling receipts generated by the entry fees.
(6) The licensee shall adopt tournament rules to facilitate the operation of card tournaments: Provided, That all tournament rules for tournaments where the single or multiple buy-in exceeds fifty dollars must be submitted to the commission for approval. All tournament rules must be posted where all tournament participants can see and read the rules.
(7) The licensee shall maintain a record of all such fees collected and the number of participant for each tournament conducted. This information shall be entered in a format approved by the commission. The total gross gambling receipts for the tournament shall be entered on the card room daily control sheet for the time and date the tournament begins and the record of participants shall be attached and maintained with that daily control sheet.
(8) The licensee shall maintain a record of all prizes awarded to include the amount the licensed operator actually paid for each prize and the name and complete address of each winning participant: Provided, That the name and address of each participant receiving promotional items as set forth in subsection (3) of this section shall not be required on the prize record. The record shall be attached to the daily control sheet used on the date the majority of the prizes are awarded.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 9.46.070. 94-07-084 (Order 250), § 230-40-055, filed 3/16/94, effective 4/16/94. Statutory Authority: RCW 9.46.070 and 9.46.0325. 93-12-082, § 230-40-055, filed 5/28/93, effective 7/1/93. Statutory Authority: RCW 9.46.0281 and 9.46.070 (11), (12) and (14). 88-22-019 (Order 184), § 230-40-055, filed 10/24/88. Statutory Authority: Chapter 9.46 RCW. 86-17-057 (Order 160), § 230-40-055, filed 8/18/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 9.46.070 (1), (2), (4), (5), (6), (9), (11), (14) and (17) and 9.46.020 (19) and (23). 85-17-015 (Order 153), § 230-40-055, filed 8/12/85. Statutory Authority: RCW 9.46.020 (20)(d), 9.46.050(3) and 9.46.070 (1), (2), (5), (8), (9), (11) and (12). 85-03-026 (Order 144), § 230-40-055, filed 1/9/85.]