General Assembly Raised Bill No. 102
February Session, 2014 LCO No. 1042
*01042_______PS_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 102
February Session, 2014
LCO No. 1042
*01042_______PS_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)
AN ACT PROHIBITING INTERNET SWEEPSTAKES CAFES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2014) As used in this section and section 2 of this act:
(1) "Entry" means the act or process by which a person becomes eligible to receive any prize offered in a sweepstakes.
(2) "Prize" means any gift, award, gratuity, good, service, credit or anything else of value, which may be transferred to a person, whether possession of the prize is actually transferred, or placed on an account or other record as evidence of the intent to transfer the prize.
(3) "Simulated gambling device" means a mechanically, electrically or electronically operated machine, network, system or device that is intended to be used by an entrant to a sweepstakes and is capable of displaying a simulated gambling display on a screen or other mechanism, and may include a device that (A) selects prizes from a predetermined finite pool of entries, (B) utilizes a mechanism that reveals the content of a predetermined sweepstakes entry, (C) predetermines the prize results and stores those results for delivery at the time the sweepstakes entry results are revealed, (D) requires deposit of any money, coin or token, or the use of any credit card, debit card, prepaid card, prepaid long distance or cellular telephone service or telephone calling time, or any other method of payment for activation, or (E) requires purchase of a related product.
(4) "Simulated gambling display" means visual or aural information capable of being perceived by the sweepstakes entrant that takes the form of actual or simulated gambling or gaming play, including, but not limited to, a video poker game or any other kind of video playing card game, a video bingo game, a video craps game, a video keno game, a video lotto game, eight liner, pot-of-gold or a video game based on or involving the random or chance matching of different pictures, words, numbers or symbols not dependent on the skill or dexterity of the sweepstakes entrant.
(5) "Sweepstakes" means any game, advertising scheme or plan, or other promotion, that, with or without the payment of any consideration, a person may enter to win or become eligible to receive any prize, the determination of which may or may not be based upon chance.
(6) "Tribe" means any federally recognized Indian tribe that is subject to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, P.L. 100-497, 25 USC 2701 et seq.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2014) (a) No person shall operate or place into operation a simulated gambling device to (1) conduct a sweepstakes, including the entry or the revealing of a prize, or (2) promote a sweepstakes that is conducted through the use of a simulated gambling display, including the entry or the revealing of a prize.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall be construed to prohibit the operation of, participation in, or advertisement of, a state lottery, pari-mutuel betting at race tracks licensed by the state, off-track betting conducted by the state or a licensee authorized to operate the off-track betting system, activity legal under the provisions of sections 7-169 to 7-186, inclusive, of the general statutes, activity legal under the provisions of sections 42-295 to 42-300, inclusive, of the general statutes or a commercial enterprise owned or operated by a tribe.
(c) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2014 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2014 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2014
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2014
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To prohibit a person to operate or place into operation a simulated gaming device to conduct or promote a sweepstakes.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]