2013 Mississippi Code
Title 75 - REGULATION OF TRADE, COMMERCE AND INVESTMENTS
Chapter 76 - MISSISSIPPI GAMING CONTROL ACT
GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 75-76-5 - Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) "Applicant" means any person who has applied for or is about to apply for a state gaming license, registration or finding of suitability under the provisions of this chapter or approval of any act or transaction for which approval is required or permitted under the provisions of this chapter.

(b) "Application" means a request for the issuance of a state gaming license, registration or finding of suitability under the provisions of this chapter or for approval of any act or transaction for which approval is required or permitted under the provisions of this chapter but does not include any supplemental forms or information that may be required with the application.

(c) "Associated equipment" means any equipment or mechanical, electromechanical or electronic contrivance, component or machine used remotely or directly in connection with gaming or with any game, race book or sports pool that would not otherwise be classified as a gaming device, including dice, playing cards, links which connect to progressive slot machines, equipment which affects the proper reporting of gross revenue, computerized systems of betting at a race book or sports pool, computerized systems for monitoring slot machines, and devices for weighing or counting money.

(d) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Mississippi Gaming Commission except when used in the term "Chairman of the State Tax Commission." "Chairman of the State Tax Commission" or "commissioner" means the Commissioner of Revenue of the Department of Revenue.

(e) "Commission" or "Mississippi Gaming Commission" means the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

(f) "Commission member" means a member of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

(g) "Credit instrument" means a writing which evidences a gaming debt owed to a person who holds a license at the time the debt is created, and includes any writing taken in consolidation, redemption or payment of a prior credit instrument.

(h) "Enforcement division" means a particular division supervised by the executive director that provides enforcement functions.

(i) "Establishment" means any premises wherein or whereon any gaming is done.

(j) "Executive director" means the Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

(k) Except as otherwise provided by law, "game," or "gambling game" means any banking or percentage game played with cards, with dice or with any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, including, without limiting, the generality of the foregoing, faro, monte, roulette, keno, fan-tan, twenty-one, blackjack, seven-and-a-half, big injun, klondike, craps, poker, chuck-a-luck (dai shu), wheel of fortune, chemin de fer, baccarat, pai gow, beat the banker, panguingui, slot machine, or any other game or device approved by the commission. However, "game" or "gambling game" shall not include bingo games or raffles which are held pursuant to the provisions of Section 97-33-51.

The commission shall not be required to recognize any game hereunder with respect to which the commission determines it does not have sufficient experience or expertise.

(l) "Gaming" or "gambling" means to deal, operate, carry on, conduct, maintain or expose for play any game as defined in this chapter.

(m) "Gaming device" means any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic contrivance, component or machine used in connection with gaming or any game which affects the result of a wager by determining win or loss. The term includes a system for processing information which can alter the normal criteria of random selection, which affects the operation of any game, or which determines the outcome of a game. The term does not include a system or device which affects a game solely by stopping its operation so that the outcome remains undetermined, and does not include any antique coin machine as defined in Section 27-27-12.

(n) "Gaming employee" means any person connected directly with the operation of a gaming establishment licensed to conduct any game, including:

(i) Boxmen;

(ii) Cashiers;

(iii) Change personnel;

(iv) Counting room personnel;

(v) Dealers;

(vi) Floormen;

(vii) Hosts or other persons empowered to extend credit or complimentary services;

(viii) Keno runners;

(ix) Keno writers;

(x) Machine mechanics;

(xi) Security personnel;

(xii) Shift or pit bosses;

(xiii) Shills;

(xiv) Supervisors or managers; and

(xv) Ticket writers.

The term "gaming employee" also includes employees of manufacturers or distributors of gaming equipment within this state whose duties are directly involved with the manufacture, repair or distribution of gaming equipment.

"Gaming employee" does not include bartenders, cocktail waitresses or other persons engaged in preparing or serving food or beverages unless acting in some other capacity.

(o) "Gaming license" means any license issued by the state which authorizes the person named therein to engage in gaming.

(p) "Gross revenue" means the total of all of the following, less the total of all cash paid out as losses to patrons and those amounts paid to purchase annuities to fund losses paid to patrons over several years by independent financial institutions:

(i) Cash received as winnings;

(ii) Cash received in payment for credit extended by a licensee to a patron for purposes of gaming; and

(iii) Compensation received for conducting any game in which the licensee is not party to a wager.

For the purposes of this definition, cash or the value of noncash prizes awarded to patrons in a contest or tournament are not losses.

The term does not include:

(i) Counterfeit money or tokens;

(ii) Coins of other countries which are received in gaming devices;

(iii) Cash taken in fraudulent acts perpetrated against a licensee for which the licensee is not reimbursed; or

(iv) Cash received as entry fees for contests or tournaments in which the patrons compete for prizes.

(q) "Hearing examiner" means a member of the Mississippi Gaming Commission or other person authorized by the commission to conduct hearings.

(r) "Investigation division" means a particular division supervised by the executive director that provides investigative functions.

(s) "License" means a gaming license or a manufacturer's, seller's or distributor's license.

(t) "Licensee" means any person to whom a valid license has been issued.

(u) "License fees" means monies required by law to be paid to obtain or continue a gaming license or a manufacturer's, seller's or distributor's license.

(v) "Licensed gaming establishment" means any premises licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter wherein or whereon gaming is done.

(w) "Manufacturer's," "seller's" or "distributor's" license means a license issued pursuant to Section 75-76-79.

(x) "Navigable waters" shall have the meaning ascribed to such term under Section 27-109-1.

(y) "Operation" means the conduct of gaming.

(z) "Party" means the Mississippi Gaming Commission and any licensee or other person appearing of record in any proceeding before the commission; or the Mississippi Gaming Commission and any licensee or other person appearing of record in any proceeding for judicial review of any action, decision or order of the commission.

(aa) "Person" includes any association, corporation, firm, partnership, trust or other form of business association as well as a natural person.

(bb) "Premises" means land, together with all buildings, improvements and personal property located thereon, and includes all parts of any vessel or cruise vessel.

(cc) "Race book" means the business of accepting wagers upon the outcome of any event held at a track which uses the pari-mutuel system of wagering.

(dd) "Regulation" means a rule, standard, directive or statement of general applicability which effectuates law or policy or which describes the procedure or requirements for practicing before the commission. The term includes a proposed regulation and the amendment or repeal of a prior regulation but does not include:

(i) A statement concerning only the internal management of the commission and not affecting the rights or procedures available to any licensee or other person;

(ii) A declaratory ruling;

(iii) An interagency memorandum;

(iv) The commission's decision in a contested case or relating to an application for a license; or

(v) Any notice concerning the fees to be charged which are necessary for the administration of this chapter.

(ee) "Respondent" means any licensee or other person against whom a complaint has been filed with the commission.

(ff) "Slot machine" means any mechanical, electrical or other device, contrivance or machine which, upon insertion of a coin, token or similar object, or upon payment of any consideration, is available to play or operate, the play or operation of which, whether by reason of the skill of the operator or application of the element of chance, or both, may deliver or entitle the person playing or operating the machine to receive cash, premiums, merchandise, tokens or anything of value, whether the payoff is made automatically from the machine or in any other manner. The term does not include any antique coin machine as defined in Section 27-27-12.

(gg) "Sports pool" means the business of accepting wagers on sporting events, except for athletic events, by any system or method of wagering other than the system known as the "pari-mutuel method of wagering."

(hh) "State Tax Commission" or "department" means the Department of Revenue of the State of Mississippi.

(ii) "Temporary work permit" means a work permit which is valid only for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days from its date of issue and which is not renewable.

(jj) "Vessel" or "cruise vessel" shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms under Section 27-109-1.

(kk) "Work permit" means any card, certificate or permit issued by the commission, whether denominated as a work permit, registration card or otherwise, authorizing the employment of the holder as a gaming employee. A document issued by any governmental authority for any employment other than gaming is not a valid work permit for the purposes of this chapter.

(ll) "School or training institution" means any school or training institution which is licensed by the commission to teach or train gaming employees pursuant to Section 75-76-34.

(mm) "Cheat" means to alter the selection of criteria that determine:

(i) The rules of a game; or

(ii) The amount or frequency of payment in a game.

(nn) "Promotional activity" means an activity or event conducted or held for the purpose of promoting or marketing the individual licensed gaming establishment that is engaging in the promotional activity. The term includes, but is not limited to, a game of any kind other than as defined in paragraph (k) of this section, a tournament, a contest, a drawing, or a promotion of any kind.