BILL NUMBER: SB 190 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wright
FEBRUARY 7, 2013
An act to add Chapter 4.7 (commencing with Section 19750) to
Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, and to amend
Sections 336.9 and 337a of the Penal Code, relating to gambling, and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 190, as introduced, Wright. Gambling: sports wagering.
(1) The California Constitution prohibits various gaming
activities within the state, including casino-style gaming, but
authorizes the Governor, subject to ratification by the Legislature,
to negotiate and conclude compacts for the operation of slot machines
and the conduct of lottery games and banking and percentage card
games by federally recognized Indian tribes on Indian lands in
California in accordance with federal law. The California
Constitution also authorizes the Legislature to provide for the
regulation of horse racing, charitable bingo games, the California
State Lottery, and charitable raffles.
Existing law prohibits a person, whether or not for gain, hire, or
reward, from making a betting pool or placing a bet or wager on the
result of any contest or event, including a sporting event, as
specified.
The Gambling Control Act provides for the licensure of certain
individuals and establishments that conduct controlled games, as
defined, and for the regulation of these gambling activities by the
California Gambling Control Commission. Existing law provides for the
enforcement of those regulations by the Department of Justice. Any
violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor, as
specified.
The Horse Racing Law provides for the licensure of every person
who participates in, or has anything to do with, the racing of
horses, and every employee of a parimutuel department by the
California Horse Racing Board. The board is responsible for adopting
rules and regulations for the protection of the public, the control
of horse racing, and parimutuel wagering, as well as enforcing all
laws, rules, and regulations dealing with horse racing and parimutuel
wagering. The law permits the board to authorize an association
licensed to conduct a racing meeting to also operate a satellite
wagering facility at its racetrack inclosure, and for fairs to locate
a satellite wagering facility at their fairgrounds, under specified
conditions. Any violation of these provisions is punishable as a
misdemeanor.
This bill would authorize the owner or operator of a gambling
establishment, or the owner or operator of a horse racing track,
including a horse racing association, or of a satellite wagering
facility, with a current license, to conduct wagering on professional
and collegiate sports or athletic events, other than on collegiate
sports or athletic events that take place in California or in which
any California college team participates, by applying to the
California Gambling Control Commission or the California Horse Racing
Board, as specified, for authorization to conduct sports wagering,
and by paying an annual fee for deposit in the Gambling Addiction
Program Fund. The bill would require each licensed entity to remit to
the treasurer on a monthly basis for deposit in the general fund, an
amount equal to 7.5% of its gross revenues. The bill would require
the commission, the board, and the department to adopt regulations to
implement these provisions, including authority to adopt regulations
establishing fees in a reasonable amount to recover costs incurred
performing their duties pursuant to these provisions.
The bill would require the department, among other things, to
investigate any request made by the board or the commission in
connection with an application for authorization, and to investigate
suspected violations of the above provisions. The bill would
authorize the board, commission, and department to regulate sports
wagering to the same extent these entities currently regulate other
legal gambling in this state, including the ability to audit the
books and records of a licensed entity. The bill would also prohibit
a licensed entity from, among other things, accepting a wager from
any person who is under 21 years of age or whose name appears on a
self-exclusion list. Any violation of these provisions would be
punishable as a crime. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of
1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state
gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of
gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution
authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude compacts, subject
to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a
number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments of
tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and
specified Indian tribes.
This bill would authorize a federally recognized Indian tribe that
is not a gambling establishment or a horse racing track to conduct
sports wagering consistent with the requirements of the federal
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, and under terms no more
stringent than those applicable to any other owner or operator in the
state.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
(4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4.7 (commencing with Section 19750) is added to
Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4.7. SPORTS WAGERING
19750. The following entities may conduct wagering on sports
events as authorized pursuant to this chapter:
(a) The owner or operator of a gambling establishment with a
current license issued by the California Gambling Control Commission
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 19800).
(b) The owner or operator of a horse racing track, including a
horse racing association, or of a satellite wagering facility, with a
current license issued by the California Horse Racing Board pursuant
to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 19400). A licensed horse
racing track is authorized to conduct sports wagering pursuant to
this subdivision if it has an agreement in place with the
organization recognized by the board that is responsible for
negotiating purse agreements, satellite wagering agreements, and all
other business agreements on behalf of the horsemen and horsewomen
participating in a racing meeting.
(c) A federally recognized Indian tribe that is not authorized
pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) may conduct sports wagering as
authorized by the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (18
U.S.C. Secs. 1166 to 1168, incl., and 25 U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq.),
and under terms no more stringent than those applicable to any other
owner or operator of a gambling establishment in the state.
19752. As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Board" means the California Horse Racing Board.
(b) "Commission" means the California Gambling Control Commission.
(c) "Department" means the Department of Justice.
(d) "Licensed operator" means any of the entities listed in
Section 19750 that is authorized pursuant to this chapter to conduct
sports wagering.
(e) "Prohibited sports event" means any collegiate sport or
athletic event that takes place in California, or a sports event in
which any California college team participates, regardless of the
location at which the event takes place.
(f) "Sports event" shall include any professional sports or
athletic event, and any collegiate sports or athletic event, except a
prohibited sports event.
(g) "Sports wagering" means the business of accepting wagers on a
sports event by any legal system or method of wagering, including,
but not limited to, exchange wagering, parlays, over and under, money
line, and straight bets.
19754. (a) (1) An owner or operator of a gambling establishment
seeking to conduct sports wagering shall apply to the commission for
authorization to conduct sports wagering.
(2) An owner or operator of a horse racing track or satellite
wagering facility seeking to conduct sports wagering shall apply to
the board for authorization to conduct sports wagering.
(b) The board or the commission, as the case may be, shall hear
and decide promptly, and in reasonable order, all applications to
conduct sports wagering from owners and operators of licensed
gambling establishments, licensed horse racing tracks, and satellite
wagering facilities. Authorization to conduct sports wagering shall
not be unreasonably withheld for any applicant that is in good
standing and has a current license issued pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 19400) or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
19800).
(c) An owner or operator of a gambling establishment and an owner
or operator of a horse racing track or satellite wagering facility
that conducts sports wagering shall pay an annual fee of three
thousand dollars ($3,000) to the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs for deposit in the Gambling Addiction Program Fund.
(d) Each licensed operator shall remit to the treasurer on a
monthly basis for deposit in the general fund an amount equal to 7.5
percent of its gross revenues. Each monthly payment shall be due on
the 10th day of the following month. For the purposes of determining
gross revenues, the licensed operator and the treasurer shall use
generally accepted accounting principles.
19756. (a) Application for authorization to conduct sports
wagering shall be made on forms furnished by the board and the
commission.
(b) The application for authorization to conduct sports wagering
shall include all of the following:
(1) The name of the licensee.
(2) The name and location of the gambling establishment, horse
racing track, or satellite wagering facility.
(3) The names of all persons directly or indirectly interested in
the business and the nature of the interest.
(4) A description of the proposed sports wagering operation.
(5) Any other information and details the board or the commission
may require in order to discharge its duty properly.
19758. The board and the commission shall adopt regulations for
the administration of this chapter, and may adopt regulations
establishing fees in a reasonable amount necessary to recover costs
incurred by the board or the commission relating to the
administration of this chapter. The board and the commission shall
consult with each other in the adoption of regulations pursuant to
this section, and may adopt joint regulations.
19760. The regulations adopted by the board and the commission
shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide for the approval of wagering rules and equipment by
the department to ensure fairness to the public and compliance with
state law, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Acceptance of wagers on a series of sports events.
(2) Types of wagering tickets that may be used.
(3) The method of issuing tickets.
(b) Govern all of the following:
(1) The extension of credit.
(2) The cashing, deposit, and redemption of checks or other
negotiable instruments.
(3) The amount of cash reserves to be maintained by licensed
operators to cover winning wagers.
(4) The provision of reliable records, accounts, and reports of
transactions, operations, and events, the method of accounting to be
used by licensed operators, and the types of records required to be
maintained.
19762. The sports wagering authorized pursuant to this chapter
may be conducted only at the gambling establishment, horse racing
track, or satellite wagering facility of the licensed operator, or on
Indian lands consistent with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act of 1988 (18 U.S.C. Secs. 1166 to 1168, incl., and 25 U.S.C. Sec.
2701 et seq.).
19764. A licensed operator shall not do any of the following:
(a) Accept a wager on a sports event from any person who is not
physically present at the facility where the sports wagering is
conducted.
(b) Accept a wager from a person using any form of credit to place
the wager.
(c) Accept a wager from a person who is under 21 years of age.
(d) Admit into the sports wagering facility, or accept wagers
from, any person whose name appears on any self-exclusion list.
19766. A licensed operator shall establish the odds it will pay
on wagers placed on sports events.
19768. (a) A licensed operator shall not conduct any sports
wagering in violation of any provision of this chapter, any
regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, or any governing local
ordinance.
(b) Any person who willfully violates any provision of this
chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.
19770. (a) The department shall have all of the following
responsibilities:
(1) To investigate any request made by the board or the commission
in connection with an application for authorization pursuant to this
chapter. The department may recommend the denial or the limitation,
conditioning, or restriction of any authorization.
(2) To monitor the conduct of all licensed operators and other
persons having a material involvement, directly or indirectly, with a
sports wagering operation.
(3) To investigate suspected violations of this chapter.
(4) To investigate complaints that are lodged against licensed
operators, or other persons associated with a sports wagering
operation, by members of the public.
(5) To initiate, when appropriate, disciplinary actions. In
connection with any disciplinary action, the department may seek
restriction, limitation, suspension, or revocation of any license,
permit, authorization, or approval pursuant to this chapter, Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 19400), or Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 19800), or the imposition of any fine upon any person
licensed, permitted, authorized, or approved pursuant to those
chapters.
(6) To adopt regulations reasonably related to its functions and
duties as specified in this chapter.
(7) To adopt regulations establishing fees in the reasonable
amount necessary to recover costs incurred by the department relating
to the enforcement of this chapter.
(b) The department has all powers necessary and proper to enable
it to carry out fully and effectually its duties and responsibilities
specified in this chapter.
19772. (a) The department shall make appropriate investigations
as follows:
(1) To determine whether there has been any violation of this
chapter or any regulations adopted under this chapter.
(2) To determine any facts, conditions, practices, or matters that
it may deem necessary or proper to aid in the enforcement of this
chapter or any regulation adopted under this chapter.
(3) To aid in adopting regulations.
(b) If, after any investigation, the department is satisfied that
a license, permit, authorization, or approval pursuant to this
chapter, Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 19400), or Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 19800) should be suspended or revoked, it
shall file an accusation in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.
(c) In addition to any action that the board or commission may
take against a license, permit, finding of suitability, or approval,
the board or commission may also require the payment of fines or
penalties. However, any fine imposed shall not exceed twenty thousand
dollars ($20,000) for each separate violation of any provision of
this chapter or any regulation adopted under this chapter.
19773. The board, commission, and department shall have the
authority to regulate sports wagering to the same extent that these
entities regulate other legal gambling in this state, including the
ability to audit the books and records of a licensed operator.
SEC. 2. Section 336.9 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
336.9. (a) Notwithstanding Section 337a, and except as provided
in subdivision (b), any person who, not for gain, hire, or reward
other than that at stake under conditions available to every
participant, knowingly participates in any of the ways specified in
paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of subdivision (a) of Section
337a in any bet, bets, wager, wagers, or betting pool or pools made
between the person and any other person or group of persons who are
not acting for gain, hire, or reward, other than that at stake under
conditions available to every participant, upon the result of any
lawful trial, or purported trial, or contest, or purported contest,
of skill, speed, or power of endurance of person or animal, or
between persons, animals, or mechanical apparatus, is guilty of an
infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty
dollars ($250).
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to either
any of the following situations:
(1) Any bet, bets, wager, wagers, or betting pool or pools made
online via the Internet .
(2) Betting pools with more than two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500) at stake.
(3) Any sports wagering authorized pursuant to Chapter 4.7
(commencing with Section 19750) of Division 8 of the Business and
Professions Code.
SEC. 3. Section 337a of the Penal Code is amended to read:
337a. (a) Except as provided in Section 336.9, and as
authorized pursuant to Chapter 4.7 (commencing with Section 19750) of
Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, every person
who engages in one of the following offenses ,
shall be punished for a first offense by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period of not more than one year or in the state prison,
or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both
imprisonment and fine:
(1) Pool selling or bookmaking, with or without writing, at any
time or place.
(2) Whether for gain, hire, reward, or gratuitously, or otherwise,
keeps or occupies, for any period of time whatsoever, any room,
shed, tenement, tent, booth, building, float, vessel, place, stand
, or enclosure, of any kind, or any part thereof, with a
book or books, paper or papers, apparatus, device , or
paraphernalia, for the purpose of recording or registering any bet or
bets, any purported bet or bets, wager or wagers, any purported
wager or wagers, selling pools, or purported pools, upon the result,
or purported result, of any trial, purported trial, contest, or
purported contest, of skill, speed , or power of endurance
of person or animal, or between persons, animals, or mechanical
apparatus, or upon the result, or purported result, of any lot,
chance, casualty, or unknown or contingent event
whatsoever.
(3) Whether for gain, hire, reward, or gratuitously, or otherwise,
receives, holds, or forwards, or purports or pretends to receive,
hold, or forward, in any manner whatsoever, any money, thing ,
or consideration of value, or the equivalent or memorandum
thereof, staked, pledged, bet , or wagered, or to be
staked, pledged, bet , or wagered, or offered for the
purpose of being staked, pledged, bet , or wagered, upon
the result, or purported result, of any trial, or purported trial, or
contest, or purported contest, of skill, speed , or power
of endurance of person or animal, or between persons, animals, or
mechanical apparatus, or upon the result, or purported result, of any
lot, chance, casualty, or unknown or contingent event
whatsoever.
(4) Whether for gain, hire, reward, or gratuitously, or otherwise,
at any time or place, records, or registers any bet or bets, wager
or wagers, upon the result, or purported result, of any trial, or
purported trial, or contest, or purported contest, of skill, speed
, or power of endurance of person or animal, or between
persons, animals, or mechanical apparatus, or upon the result, or
purported result, of any lot, chance, casualty, or unknown
or contingent event whatsoever.
(5) Being the owner, lessee , or occupant of any room,
shed, tenement, tent, booth, building, float, vessel, place, stand,
enclosure , or grounds, or any part thereof, whether for
gain, hire, reward, or gratuitously, or otherwise, permits that space
to be used or occupied for any purpose, or in any manner prohibited
by paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4).
(6) Lays, makes, offers , or accepts any bet or bets,
or wager or wagers, upon the result, or purported result, of any
trial, or purported trial, or contest, or purported contest, of
skill, speed , or power of endurance of person or animal,
or between persons, animals, or mechanical apparatus.
(b) In any accusatory pleading charging a violation of this
section, if the defendant has been once previously convicted of a
violation of any subdivision of this section, the previous conviction
shall be charged in the accusatory pleading, and, if the previous
conviction is found to be true by the jury, upon a jury trial, or by
the court, upon a court trial, or is admitted by the defendant, the
defendant shall, if he or she is not imprisoned in the state prison,
be imprisoned in the a county jail for
a period of not more than one year and pay a fine of not less than
one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not to exceed ten thousand dollars
($10,000). Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a court from
placing a person subject to this subdivision on probation. However,
that person shall be required to pay a fine of not less than one
thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars
($10,000) or be imprisoned in the a
county jail for a period of not more than one year, as a condition
thereof. In no event does the court have the power to absolve a
person convicted pursuant to this subdivision from either being
imprisoned or from paying a fine of not less than one thousand
dollars ($1,000) and not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(c) In any accusatory pleading charging a violation of this
section, if the defendant has been previously convicted two or more
times of a violation of any subdivision of this section, each
previous conviction shall be charged in the accusatory pleadings. If
two or more of the previous convictions are found to be true by the
jury, upon a jury trial, or by the court, upon a court trial, or are
admitted by the defendant, the defendant shall, if he or she is not
imprisoned in the a state prison, be
imprisoned in the a county jail for a
period of not more than one year or pay a fine of not less than one
thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than fifteen thousand dollars
($15,000), or be punished by both imprisonment and fine. Nothing in
this paragraph shall prohibit a court from placing a person subject
to this subdivision on probation. However, that person shall be
required to pay a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000)
nor more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), or be imprisoned
in the a county jail for a period of not
more than one year as a condition thereof. In no event does the
court have the power to absolve a person convicted and subject to
this subdivision from either being imprisoned or from paying a fine
of not more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
(d) Except where the existence of a previous conviction of any
subdivision of this section was not admitted or not found to be true
pursuant to this section, or the court finds that a prior conviction
was invalid, the court shall not strike or dismiss any prior
convictions alleged in the information or indictment.
(e) This section applies not only to persons who commit any of the
acts designated in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision
(a), as a business or occupation, but also applies to every person
who in a single instance engages in any one of the acts specified in
paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (a).
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to protect the liberty interests of Californians, to
ensure that the state realizes significant revenues from this
popular, pervasive, and legitimate activity, and to ensure that
suitable and qualified persons operate sports betting venues, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.