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H0635......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
SLOT MACHINES - Amends existing law relating to gambling to define the term
"slot machine."
02/10 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13 Rpt prt - to St Aff
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 635
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO GAMBLING; AMENDING SECTION 18-3801, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE A REF-
3 ERENCE TO SLOT MACHINES, TO DEFINE THE TERM "SLOT MACHINE" AND TO MAKE A
4 TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 18-3801, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 18-3801. GAMBLING DEFINED. (1) "Gambling" means risking any money,
9 credit, deposit or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in
10 part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device or slot machine or
11 the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, the opera-
12 tion of casino gambling including, but not limited to, blackjack, craps, rou-
13 lette, poker, bacarrat baccarat or keno, but does not include:
14 (1a) Bona fide contests of skill, speed, strength or endurance in which
15 awards are made only to entrants or the owners of entrants; or
16 (2b) Bona fide business transactions which are valid under the law of
17 contracts; or
18 (3c) Games that award only additional play; or
19 (4d) Merchant promotional contests and drawings conducted incidentally to
20 bona fide nongaming business operations, if prizes are awarded without
21 consideration being charged to participants; or
22 (5e) Other acts or transactions now or hereafter expressly authorized by
23 law.
24 (2) As used in this section, "slot machine" means any electrical or elec-
25 tromechanical mechanism or device:
26 (a) Through which a right to money, credits, deposits or other things of
27 value may be created in return for a consideration as the result of the
28 operation of an element of chance including, but not limited to, a typical
29 slot machine, video pull-tab, video poker, or other electronic game of
30 chance, whether or not the machine is in working order or whether some act
31 of manipulation, repair, adjustment or modification is required to render
32 it operational; or
33 (b) Which:
34 (i) Awards credits or contains a functioning circuit, meter or
35 switch capable of removing or recording the removal of credits earned
36 by a player other than removal during the course of continuous play;
37 and
38 (ii) Contains a random number generator.
39 (c) A device is a slot machine even if, apart from its use or adaptabil-
40 ity as such, it may also sell or deliver something of value on a basis
41 other than chance.
42 (d) "Slot machine" does not include:
43 (i) Any device commonly known as a personal computer, including any
2
1 device designed and marketed solely for home entertainment when used
2 privately, not in a place open to the public, not for a fee, and not
3 to facilitate any form of gambling;
4 (ii) Any device operated under the authority of the Idaho state lot-
5 tery;
6 (iii) Any device authorized under section 67-429B, Idaho Code;
7 (iv) Any device authorized by the Idaho state lottery commission for
8 training and testing purposes by an authorized agency.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 15350C1
Idaho gaming statutes, Title 18, Chapter 38, Idaho Code, make the
possession of a "slot machine" unlawful unless it was
manufactured prior to 1950. The law does not, however, provide a
definition of a slot machine, which has made enforcement of this
provision difficult. This legislation would provide such a
definition.
FISCAL NOTE
None.
Contact
Name: Amber French
Agency: Lottery Commission
Phone: 208-334-2600
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 635