BILL REQ. #:  S-4993.3 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to increasing the minimum age for gambling; amending RCW 9.46.110, 9.46.0321, and 82.04.285; adding a new section to chapter 9.46 RCW; repealing RCW 9.46.0201 and 9.46.0331; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) It is unlawful for a person under the age of twenty-one to engage in the wagering activities allowed by this chapter when such activities are conducted in any portion of a facility under the ownership or management control of the holder of a license issued by the liquor control board if: (a) Alcohol for on-site consumption is sold anywhere in the facility; or (b) the on-site consumption of alcohol is allowed anywhere in the facility. A violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor.
     (2) It is unlawful for any person twenty-one years of age or older to assist, participate with, or knowingly allow a person under the age of twenty-one years to engage in any wagering activity allowed by this chapter when such activities are conducted in any portion of a facility under the ownership or management control of the holder of a license issued by the liquor control board if: (a) Alcohol for on-site consumption is sold anywhere in the facility; or (b) the on-site consumption of alcohol is allowed anywhere in the facility. A violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor.

Sec. 2   RCW 9.46.110 and 1999 c 221 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The legislative authority of any county, city-county, city, or town, by local law and ordinance, and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter, may provide for the taxing of any gambling activity authorized by this chapter within its jurisdiction, the tax receipts to go to the county, city-county, city, or town so taxing the activity. Any such tax imposed by a county alone shall not apply to any gambling activity within a city or town located in the county but the tax rate established by a county, if any, shall constitute the tax rate throughout the unincorporated areas of such county.
     (2) The operation of punch boards and pull-tabs are subject to the following conditions:
     (a) Chances may only be sold to adults;
     (b) The price of a single chance may not exceed one dollar;
     (c) No punch board or pull-tab license may award as a prize upon a winning number or symbol being drawn the opportunity of taking a chance upon any other punch board or pull-tab;
     (d) All prizes available to be won must be described on an information flare. All merchandise prizes must be on display within the immediate area of the premises in which any such punch board or pull-tab is located. Upon a winning number or symbol being drawn, a merchandise prize must be immediately removed from the display and awarded to the winner. All references to cash or merchandise prizes, with a value over twenty dollars, must be removed immediately from the information flare when won, or such omission shall be deemed a fraud for the purposes of this chapter; and
     (e) When any person wins money or merchandise from any punch board or pull-tab over an amount determined by the commission, every licensee shall keep a public record of the award for at least ninety days containing such information as the commission shall deem necessary.
     (3)(a) Taxation of bingo and raffles shall never be in an amount greater than five percent of the gross receipts from a bingo game or raffle less the amount awarded as cash or merchandise prizes.
     (b) ((Taxation of amusement games shall only be in an amount sufficient to pay the actual costs of enforcement of the provisions of this chapter by the county, city or town law enforcement agency and in no event shall such taxation exceed two percent of the gross receipts from the amusement game less the amount awarded as prizes.
     (c))) No tax shall be imposed under the authority of this chapter on bingo or amusement games when such activities or any combination thereof are conducted by any bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in this chapter, which organization has no paid operating or management personnel and has gross receipts from bingo or amusement games, or a combination thereof, not exceeding five thousand dollars per year, less the amount awarded as cash or merchandise prizes.
     (((d))) (c) No tax shall be imposed on the first ten thousand dollars of gross receipts less the amount awarded as cash or merchandise prizes from raffles conducted by any bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in this chapter.
     (((e))) (d) Taxation of punch boards and pull-tabs for bona fide charitable or nonprofit organizations is based on gross receipts from the operation of the games less the amount awarded as cash or merchandise prizes, and shall not exceed a rate of ten percent. At the option of the county, city-county, city, or town, the taxation of punch boards and pull-tabs for commercial stimulant operators may be based on gross receipts from the operation of the games, and may not exceed a rate of five percent, or may be based on gross receipts from the operation of the games less the amount awarded as cash or merchandise prizes, and may not exceed a rate of ten percent.
     (((f))) (e) Taxation of social card games may not exceed twenty percent of the gross revenue from such games.
     (4) Taxes imposed under this chapter become a lien upon personal and real property used in the gambling activity in the same manner as provided for under RCW 84.60.010. The lien shall attach on the date the tax becomes due and shall relate back and have priority against real and personal property to the same extent as ad valorem taxes.

Sec. 3   RCW 9.46.0321 and 1987 c 4 s 28 are each amended to read as follows:
     Bona fide charitable or bona fide nonprofit organizations organized primarily for purposes other than the conduct of such activities are hereby authorized to conduct bingo((,)) and raffles((, and amusement games,)) without obtaining a license to do so from the commission but only when:
     (1) Such activities are held in accordance with all other requirements of this chapter, other applicable laws, and rules of the commission;
     (2) Said activities are, alone or in any combination, conducted no more than twice each calendar year and over a period of no more than twelve consecutive days each time, notwithstanding the limitations of RCW 9.46.0205: PROVIDED, That a raffle conducted under this subsection may be conducted for a period longer than twelve days;
     (3) Only bona fide members of that organization, who are not paid for such services, participate in the management or operation of the activities;
     (4) Gross revenues to the organization from all the activities together do not exceed five thousand dollars during any calendar year;
     (5) All revenue therefrom, after deducting the cost of prizes and other expenses of the activity, is devoted solely to the purposes for which the organization qualifies as a bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization;
     (6) The organization gives notice at least five days in advance of the conduct of any of the activities to the local police agency of the jurisdiction within which the activities are to be conducted of the organization's intent to conduct the activities, the location of the activities, and the date or dates they will be conducted; and
     (7) The organization conducting the activities maintains records for a period of one year from the date of the event which accurately show at a minimum the gross revenue from each activity, details of the expenses of conducting the activities, and details of the uses to which the gross revenue therefrom is put.

Sec. 4   RCW 82.04.285 and 2005 c 369 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Upon every person engaging within this state in the business of operating contests of chance; as to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to the business of operating contests of chance is equal to the gross income of the business derived from contests of chance multiplied by the rate of 1.5 percent.
     (2) An additional tax is imposed on those persons subject to tax in subsection (1) of this section. The amount of the additional tax with respect to the business of operating contests of chance is equal to the gross income of the business derived from contests of chance multiplied by the rate of 0.1 percent through June 30, 2006, and 0.13 percent thereafter. The money collected under this subsection (2) shall be deposited in the problem gambling account created in RCW 43.20A.892. This subsection does not apply to businesses operating contests of chance when the gross income from the operation of contests of chance is less than fifty thousand dollars per year.
     (3) For the purpose of this section, "contests of chance" means any contests, games, gaming schemes, or gaming devices, other than the state lottery as defined in RCW 67.70.010, in which the outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that skill of the contestants may also be a factor in the outcome. The term includes social card games, bingo, raffle, and punchboard games, and pull-tabs as defined in chapter 9.46 RCW. The term does not include race meets for the conduct of which a license must be secured from the Washington horse racing commission((, or "amusement game" as defined in RCW 9.46.0201)).
     (4) "Gross income of the business" does not include the monetary value or actual cost of any prizes that are awarded, amounts paid to players for winning wagers, accrual of prizes for progressive jackpot contests, or repayment of amounts used to seed guaranteed progressive jackpot prizes.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
     (1) RCW 9.46.0201 ("Amusement game") and 1987 c 4 s 2; and
     (2) RCW 9.46.0331 (Amusement games authorized -- Minimum rules) and 1991 c 287 s 1 & 1987 c 4 s 30.