(A) In determining whether to grant or maintain the privilege of a casino operator, management company, holding company, key employee, casino gaming employee, or gaming-related vendor license, the Ohio casino control commission shall, except as provided in division (D) of this section, consider all of the following, as applicable:

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Terms Used In Ohio Code 3772.10

  • Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
  • Applicant: means any person who applies to the commission for a license under this chapter. See Ohio Code 3772.01
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Bond: includes an undertaking. See Ohio Code 1.02
  • 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 gaming employee: means any employee of a casino operator or management company, but not a key employee, and as further defined in section 3772. 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
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Credit bureau: An agency that collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financing companies. (Also commonly referred to as consumer-reporting agency or credit-reporting agency.) Source: OCC
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • 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
  • 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

  • in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Institutional investor: means any of the following entities owning five per cent or more, but less than twenty-five per cent, of an ownership interest in a casino facility, casino operator, management company, or holding company: a corporation, bank, insurance company, pension fund or pension fund trust, retirement fund, including funds administered by a public agency, employees' profit-sharing fund or employees' profit-sharing trust, any association engaged, as a substantial part of its business or operations, in purchasing or holding securities, including a hedge fund, mutual fund, or private equity fund, or any trust in respect of which a bank is trustee or cotrustee, investment company registered under the "Investment Company Act of 1940" 15 U. See Ohio Code 3772.01
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • 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

  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • 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

(1) The reputation, experience, and financial integrity of the applicant, its holding company, if applicable, and any other person that directly or indirectly controls the applicant;

(2) The financial ability of the applicant to purchase and maintain adequate liability and casualty insurance and to provide an adequate surety bond;

(3) The past and present compliance of the applicant and its affiliates or affiliated companies with casino-related licensing requirements in this state or any other jurisdiction, including whether the applicant has a history of noncompliance with the casino licensing requirements of any jurisdiction;

(4) If the applicant has been indicted, convicted, pleaded guilty or no contest, or forfeited bail concerning any criminal offense under the laws of any jurisdiction, either felony or misdemeanor, not including traffic violations;

(5) If the applicant has filed, or had filed against it a proceeding for bankruptcy or has ever been involved in any formal process to adjust, defer, suspend, or otherwise work out the payment of any debt;

(6) If the applicant has been served with a complaint or other notice filed with any public body regarding a payment of any tax required under federal, state, or local law that has been delinquent for one or more years;

(7) If the applicant is or has been a defendant in litigation involving its business practices;

(8) If awarding a license would undermine the public’s confidence in the casino gaming industry in this state;

(9) If the applicant meets other standards for the issuance of a license that the commission adopts by rule, which shall not be arbitrary, capricious, or contradictory to the expressed provisions of this chapter.

(B) All applicants for a license under this chapter shall establish their suitability for a license by clear and convincing evidence. If the commission determines that a person is eligible under this chapter to be issued a license as a casino operator, management company, holding company, key employee, casino gaming employee, or gaming-related vendor, the commission shall issue such license for not more than three years, as determined by commission rule, if all other requirements of this chapter have been satisfied.

(C) The commission shall not, except as provided in division (D) of this section, issue a casino operator, management company, holding company, key employee, casino gaming employee, or gaming-related vendor license under this chapter to an applicant if:

(1) The applicant has been convicted of a disqualifying offense, as defined in section 3772.07 of the Revised Code.

(2) The applicant has submitted an application for license under this chapter that contains false information.

(3) The applicant is a commission member.

(4) The applicant owns an ownership interest that is unlawful under this chapter, unless waived by the commission.

(5) The applicant violates specific rules adopted by the commission related to denial of licensure.

(6) The applicant is a member of or employed by a gaming regulatory body of a governmental unit in this state, another state, or the federal government, or is an employee of a governmental unit of this state and in that capacity has significant influence or control, as determined by the commission, over the ability of a casino operator, management company, holding company, institutional investor, or gaming-related vendor to conduct business in this state. This division does not prohibit a casino operator or management company from hiring special duty law enforcement officers if the officers are not specifically involved in gaming-related regulatory functions.

(7) The commission otherwise determines the applicant is ineligible for the license.

(D) The commission shall not refuse to issue a license to an applicant because the applicant was convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense unless the refusal is in accordance with section 9.79 of the Revised Code.

(E)(1) The commission shall investigate the qualifications of each applicant under this chapter before any license is issued and before any finding with regard to acts or transactions for which commission approval is required is made. The commission shall continue to observe the conduct of all licensees and all other persons having a material involvement directly or indirectly with a casino operator, management company, or holding company to ensure that licenses are not issued to or held by, or that there is not any material involvement with a casino operator, management company, or holding company by, an unqualified, disqualified, or unsuitable person or a person whose operations are conducted in an unsuitable manner or in unsuitable or prohibited places or locations.

(2) The executive director may recommend to the commission that it deny any application, or limit, condition, or restrict, or suspend or revoke, any license or finding, or impose any fine upon any licensee or other person according to this chapter and the rules adopted thereunder.

(3) A license issued under this chapter is a revocable privilege. No licensee has a vested right in or under any license issued under this chapter. The initial determination of the commission to deny, or to limit, condition, or restrict, a license may be appealed under section 2505.03 of the Revised Code.

(F)(1) An institutional investor may be found to be suitable or qualified by the commission under this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter. An institutional investor shall be presumed suitable or qualified upon submitting documentation sufficient to establish qualifications as an institutional investor and upon certifying all of the following:

(a) The institutional investor owns, holds, or controls securities issued by a licensee or holding, intermediate, or parent company of a licensee or in the ordinary course of business for investment purposes only.

(b) The institutional investor does not exercise influence over the affairs of the issuer of such securities nor over any licensed subsidiary of the issuer of such securities.

(c) The institutional investor does not intend to exercise influence over the affairs of the issuer of such securities, nor over any licensed subsidiary of the issuer of such securities, in the future, and that it agrees to notify the commission in writing within thirty days if such intent changes.

(2) The exercise of voting privileges with regard to securities shall not be deemed to constitute the exercise of influence over the affairs of a licensee.

(3) The commission shall rescind the presumption of suitability for an institutional investor at any time if the institutional investor exercises or intends to exercise influence or control over the affairs of the licensee.

(4) This division shall not be construed to preclude the commission from requesting information from or investigating the suitability or qualifications of an institutional investor if:

(a) The commission becomes aware of facts or information that may result in the institutional investor being found unsuitable or disqualified; or

(b) The commission has any other reason to seek information from the investor to determine whether it qualifies as an institutional investor.

(5) If the commission finds an institutional investor to be unsuitable or unqualified, the commission shall so notify the investor and the casino operator, holding company, management company, or gaming-related vendor licensee in which the investor invested. The commission shall allow the investor and the licensee a reasonable amount of time, as specified by the commission on a case-by-case basis, to cure the conditions that caused the commission to find the investor unsuitable or unqualified. If during the specified period of time the investor or the licensee does not or cannot cure the conditions that caused the commission to find the investor unsuitable or unqualified, the commission may allow the investor or licensee more time to cure the conditions or the commission may begin proceedings to deny, suspend, or revoke the license of the casino operator, holding company, management company, or gaming-related vendor in which the investor invested or to deny any of the same the renewal of any such license.

(6) A private licensee or holding company shall provide the same information to the commission as a public company would provide in a form 13d or form 13g filing to the securities and exchange commission.

(G) Information provided on the application shall be used as a basis for a thorough background investigation of each applicant. A false or incomplete application is cause for denial of a license by the commission. All applicants and licensees shall consent to inspections, searches, and seizures and to the disclosure to the commission and its agents of confidential records, including tax records, held by any federal, state, or local agency, credit bureau, or financial institution and to provide handwriting exemplars, photographs, fingerprints, and information as authorized in this chapter and in rules adopted by the commission.

(H) The commission shall provide a written statement to each applicant for a license under this chapter who is denied the license that describes the reason or reasons for which the applicant was denied the license.

(I) Not later than January 31 in each calendar year, the commission shall provide to the general assembly and the governor a report that, for each type of license issued under this chapter, specifies the number of applications made in the preceding calendar year for each type of such license, the number of applications denied in the preceding calendar year for each type of such license, and the reasons for those denials. The information regarding the reasons for the denials shall specify each reason that resulted in, or that was a factor resulting in, denial for each type of license issued under this chapter and, for each of those reasons, the total number of denials for each such type that involved that reason.

Last updated October 9, 2021 at 5:15 AM

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