Ohio Code 3772.99 – Enforcement of chapter
(A) The commission shall levy and collect penalties for noncriminal violations of this chapter. Noncriminal violations include using the term “casino” in any advertisement in regard to a facility operating video lottery terminals, as defined in section 3770.21 of the Revised Code, in this state. Moneys collected from such penalty levies shall be credited to the general revenue fund.
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony of the third degree | 9 months to 5 years | up to $10,000 |
| Felony of the fourth degree | 6 to 18 months | up to $5,000 |
| Felony of the fifth degree | 6 to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
| Misdemeanor of the first degree | up to 180 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3772.99
- anything of value: includes :
(A) Money, bank bills or notes, United States treasury notes, and other bills, bonds, or notes issued by lawful authority and intended to pass and circulate as money;
(B) Goods and chattels;
(C) Promissory notes, bills of exchange, orders, drafts, warrants, checks, or bonds given for the payment of money;
(D) Receipts given for the payment of money or other property;
(E) Rights in action;
(F) Things which savor of the realty and are, at the time they are taken, a part of the freehold, whether they are of the substance or produce thereof or affixed thereto, although there may be no interval between the severing and taking away;
(G) Any interest in realty, including fee simple and partial interests, present and future, contingent or vested interests, beneficial interests, leasehold interests, and any other interest in realty;
(H) Any promise of future employment;
(I) Every other thing of value. See Ohio Code 1.03
- Casino facility: means a casino facility as defined in Section 6(C)(9) of Article XV, Ohio Constitution. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Casino game: means any slot machine or table game as defined in this chapter. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Casino gaming: means any type of slot machine or table game wagering, using money, casino credit, or any representative of value, authorized in any of the states of Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as of January 1, 2009, and includes slot machine and table game wagering subsequently authorized by, but shall not be limited by, subsequent restrictions placed on such wagering in such states. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Casino operator: means any person, trust, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, association, limited liability company, or other business enterprise that directly or indirectly holds an ownership or leasehold interest in a casino facility. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Commission: means the Ohio casino control commission. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Gaming-related vendor: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, trust, or any other group of individuals, however organized, who supplies gaming-related equipment, goods, or services to a casino operator or management company, that are directly related to or affect casino gaming authorized under this chapter, including, but not limited to, the manufacture, sale, distribution, or repair of slot machines and table game equipment. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Holding company: means any corporation, firm, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, trust, or other form of business organization not a natural person which directly or indirectly does any of the following:
(1) Has the power or right to control a casino operator, management company, or gaming-related vendor license applicant or licensee;
(2) Holds an ownership interest of five per cent or more, as determined by the commission, in a casino operator, management company, or gaming-related vendor license applicant or licensee;
(3) Holds voting rights with the power to vote five per cent or more of the outstanding voting rights of a casino operator, management company, or gaming-related vendor applicant or licensee. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Key employee: means any executive, employee, agent, or other individual who has the power to exercise significant influence over decisions concerning any part of the operation of a person that has applied for or holds a casino operator, management company, or gaming-related vendor license or the operation of a holding company of a person that has applied for or holds a casino operator, management company, or gaming-related vendor license, including:
(1) An officer, director, trustee, partner, or an equivalent fiduciary;
(2) An individual who holds a direct or indirect ownership interest of five per cent or more;
(3) An individual who performs the function of a principal executive officer, principal operating officer, principal accounting officer, or an equivalent officer;
(4) Any other individual the commission determines to have the power to exercise significant influence over decisions concerning any part of the operation. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Management company: means an organization retained by a casino operator to manage a casino facility and provide services such as accounting, general administration, maintenance, recruitment, and other operational services. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Person: includes , but is not limited to, an individual or a combination of individuals; a sole proprietorship, a firm, a company, a joint venture, a partnership of any type, a joint-stock company, a corporation of any type, a corporate subsidiary of any type, a limited liability company, a business trust, or any other business entity or organization; an assignee; a receiver; a trustee in bankruptcy; an unincorporated association, club, society, or other unincorporated entity or organization; entities that are disregarded for federal income tax purposes; and any other nongovernmental, artificial, legal entity that is capable of engaging in business. See Ohio Code 3772.01
- Rule: includes regulation. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B) If a licensed casino operator, management company, holding company, gaming-related vendor, or key employee violates this chapter or engages in a fraudulent act, the commission may suspend or revoke the license and may do either or both of the following:
(1) Suspend, revoke, or restrict the casino gaming operations of a casino operator;
(2) Require the removal of a management company, key employee, or discontinuance of services from a gaming-related vendor.
(C) The commission shall impose civil penalties against a person who violates this chapter under the penalties adopted by commission rule.
(D) A person who purposely or knowingly does any of the following commits a misdemeanor of the first degree on the first offense and a felony of the fifth degree for a subsequent offense:
(1) Makes a false statement on an application submitted under this chapter;
(2) Permits a person less than twenty-one years of age to make a wager at a casino facility;
(3) Aids, induces, or causes a person less than twenty-one years of age who is not an employee of the casino gaming operation to enter or attempt to enter a casino facility;
(4) Enters or attempts to enter a casino facility while under twenty-one years of age, unless the person enters a designated area as described in section 3772.24 of the Revised Code;
(5) Is a casino operator or employee and participates in casino gaming at the casino facility at which the casino operator or employee has an interest or is employed or at an affiliated casino facility in this state other than as part of operation or employment.
(E) A person who purposely or knowingly does any of the following commits a felony of the fifth degree on a first offense and a felony of the fourth degree for a subsequent offense. If the person is a licensee under this chapter, the commission shall revoke the person’s license after the first offense.
(1) Uses or possesses with the intent to use a device to assist in projecting the outcome of the casino game, keeping track of the cards played, analyzing the probability of the occurrence of an event relating to the casino game, or analyzing the strategy for playing or betting to be used in the casino game, except as permitted by the commission;
(2) Cheats at a casino game;
(3) Manufactures, sells, or distributes any cards, chips, dice, game, or device that is intended to be used to violate this chapter;
(4) Alters or misrepresents the outcome of a casino game on which wagers have been made after the outcome is made sure but before the outcome is revealed to the players;
(5) Places, increases, or decreases a wager on the outcome of a casino game after acquiring knowledge that is not available to all players and concerns the outcome of the casino game that is the subject of the wager;
(6) Aids a person in acquiring the knowledge described in division (E)(5) of this section for the purpose of placing, increasing, or decreasing a wager contingent on the outcome of a casino game;
(7) Claims, collects, takes, or attempts to claim, collect, or take money or anything of value in or from a casino game with the intent to defraud or without having made a wager contingent on winning a casino game;
(8) Claims, collects, or takes an amount of money or thing of value of greater value than the amount won in a casino game;
(9) Uses or possesses counterfeit chips, tokens, or cashless wagering instruments in or for use in a casino game;
(10) Possesses a key or device designed for opening, entering, or affecting the operation of a casino game, drop box, or an electronic or a mechanical device connected with the casino game or removing coins, tokens, chips, or other contents of a casino game. This division does not apply to a casino operator, management company, or gaming-related vendor or their agents and employees in the course of agency or employment.
(11) Possesses materials used to manufacture a device intended to be used in a manner that violates this chapter;
(12) Operates a casino gaming operation in which wagering is conducted or is to be conducted in a manner other than the manner required under this chapter or a skill-based amusement machine operation in a manner other than the manner required under Chapter 2915 of the Revised Code.
(F) The possession of more than one of the devices described in division (E)(9), (10), or (11) of this section creates a rebuttable presumption that the possessor intended to use the devices for cheating.
(G) A person who purposely or knowingly does any of the following commits a felony of the third degree. If the person is a licensee under this chapter, the commission shall revoke the person’s license after the first offense. A public servant or party official who is convicted under this division is forever disqualified from holding any public office, employment, or position of trust in this state.
(1) Offers, promises, or gives anything of value or benefit to a person who is connected with the casino operator, management company, holding company, or gaming-related vendor, including their officers and employees, under an agreement to influence or with the intent to influence the actions of the person to whom the offer, promise, or gift was made in order to affect or attempt to affect the outcome of a casino game or an official action of a commission member, agent, or employee;
(2) Solicits, accepts, or receives a promise of anything of value or benefit while the person is connected with a casino, including an officer or employee of a casino operator, management company, or gaming-related vendor, under an agreement to influence or with the intent to influence the actions of the person to affect or attempt to affect the outcome of a casino game or an official action of a commission member, agent, or employee;
(H) A person who knowingly or intentionally does any of the following while participating in casino gaming or otherwise transacting with a casino facility as permitted by Chapter 3772 of the Revised Code commits a felony of the fifth degree on a first offense and a felony of the fourth degree for a subsequent offense:
(1) Causes or attempts to cause a casino facility to fail to file a report required under 31 U.S.C. § 5313(a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed thereunder or section 1315.53 of the Revised Code, or to fail to file a report or maintain a record required by an order issued under section 21 of the “Federal Deposit Insurance Act” or section 123 of Pub. L. No. 91-508;
(2) Causes or attempts to cause a casino facility to file a report required under 31 U.S.C. § 5313(a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed thereunder or section 1315.53 of the Revised Code, to file a report or to maintain a record required by any order issued under 31 U.S.C. § 5326, or to maintain a record required under any regulation prescribed under section 21 of the “Federal Deposit Insurance Act” or section 123 of Pub. L. No. 91-508 that contains a material omission or misstatement of fact;
(3) With one or more casino facilities, structures a transaction, is complicit in structuring a transaction, attempts to structure a transaction, or is complicit in an attempt to structure a transaction.
(I) A person who is convicted of a felony described in this chapter may be barred for life from entering a casino facility by the commission.
(J) As used in division (H) of this section:
(1) To be “complicit” means to engage in any conduct of a type described in divisions (A)(1) to (4) of section 2923.03 of the Revised Code.
(2) “Structure a transaction” has the same meaning as in section 1315.51 of the Revised Code.
(K) Premises used or occupied in violation of division (E)(12) of this section constitute a nuisance subject to abatement under Chapter 3767 of the Revised Code.
The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated in R.C. 1.52(B) that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.