West Virginia Code 19-23-26 – Offenses and penalties
(a) Any person holding or conducting, or assisting, aiding or abetting in the holding or conducting, of any horse or dog race meeting at which horse or dog racing and the pari-mutuel system of wagering on the same is permitted or conducted, without a license issued by the Racing Commission, which license remains unexpired, unsuspended and unrevoked, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 for each day of such unauthorized horse or dog race meeting, or by imprisonment in jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court: Provided, That no conviction shall be had or punishment imposed upon any licensee, whose license has been suspended or revoked, for holding or conducting a horse or dog race meeting while execution of the order of suspension or revocation is stayed or suspended as provided in this article.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 19-23-26
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Dog racing: means any type of dog racing, including, but not limited to, greyhound racing. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
- License: means the license required by the provisions of section one of this article. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
- Licensee: means any racing association holding a license required by the provisions of section one of this article and issued under the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
- Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Pari-mutuel: means a mutuel or collective pool that can be divided among those who have contributed their wagers to one central agency, the odds to be reckoned in accordance to the collective amounts wagered upon each contestant running in a horse or dog race upon which the pool is made, but the total to be divided among the first three contestants on the basis of the number of wagers on these. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
- person: means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation or other entity or organization of whatever character or description. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
- Racing commission: means the West Virginia Racing Commission. See West Virginia Code 19-23-3
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(b) Any person violating any provision of section four or section five of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, or by imprisonment in jail for not less than six months nor more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. The venue of any such offense shall be in the county, or any one of the counties, wherein the person violating said section four or section five carries out any duties of, or performs any work for, the Racing Commission, which constitute the basis of the charge or complaint.
(c) Any person violating any provision of subsection (b), section two of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, or by imprisonment in jail for not less than one month nor more than two months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. The venue of any such offense shall be in the county, or any one of the counties, wherein the person violating said subsection (b) carries out any duties of, or performs any work for, the Racing Commission, which constitute the basis of the charge or complaint.
(d) False swearing before the Racing Commission on the part of any witness shall be deemed perjury and shall be punished as such.