Virginia Casino Gaming Regulations

Aristocrat Technologies Comments

VAC 5-90-40. Licenses and permits generally. (E)

Bonds.

We respectfully request no bond be required for service permit holders and no more than $10,000 for supplier permit holders, consistent with practices in all other major jurisdictions.

VAC 5-90-50. Investigations (L)(1-b)

“L. Personal and background information.

1. Except as otherwise provided by the department, application documents shall include the information under subdivision 2 of this subsection, for an individual who is:…

b. A director, officer, or key management individual employed by the applicant;”

Please clarify if “key management” should be “key managers” otherwise a defined term is needed

VAC 5-90-50. Investigations. AA. Approval of institutional investors. (b).

“Providing the department with the statement of ownership percentage it reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission:”

In addition to reference to the SEC, please add “or the foreign equivalent thereof i.e. ASX”

VAC 5-90-70 F. Applications for and issuance of supplier permits. (1) and 5-90-40 F (2-b)

“F. A person is ineligible to receive a supplier's permit if:

1. The person has been convicted of a felony under the laws of the Commonwealth or any other state or of the United States;”

In F.7., Should this be “supplier permit” instead of “service permit”?

“Conviction of a felony” should mirror the language in the statute Virginia Code Section 58.1-4120 which narrows the type of felony that would be a disqualifier:

“Has been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony involving unlawful conduct of wagering, fraudulent use of a gaming credential, unlawful transmission of information, touting, bribery, embezzlement, distribution or possession of drugs, or any crime considered by the Department to be detrimental to the honesty and integrity of casino gaming in the Commonwealth.”

11 VAC 5-90-80 Application for and issuance of service permits.

B, and C.--Are vendor-major and vendor-minor service permits required for employees of manufacturers of gaming devices?

D. and E.—Can these applications be submitted in advance of an employee of a manufacturer of gaming devices coming to VA to work on an installation or otherwise?

F.3. f.—We suggest that this language match the language in the previous comment above with respect to supplier comments.  See Sec. 58.1-4120 B.6.

VAC 5-90-70. Applications for and issuance of supplier permits. (B)

“There are four categories of suppliers:”

Please clarify that a supplier may apply for more than one of the four categories and/or only one $5,000 application and fee for multiple categories.

VAC 5-90-70. Applications for and issuance of supplier permits. (I) and 5-90-80. Application for and issuance of service permits (I).

“Portability”

Portability – can a supplier or service permit applicant in its initial application request approval to engage in supplying of product to all licensed facilities? Or is notice required before each and every time of installation and/or service to be conducted at each facility?

VAC 5-90-140. Transportation and testing of casino gaming machines and equipment. (B) (1.)

“B. Transportation.

1. Unless otherwise directed by the director, a person shall submit written notice to the department prior to transporting a slot machine, mechanical casino gaming device, or table game equipment.”

Written notice is required “prior to transporting” …  is providing notice to the department on the day of shipment enough “prior” notice?

Is notice required for shipment into the state to a manufacturer’s central warehouse?   Or just for shipment to its final casino destination?  May software be downloaded into a slot machine prior to shipment (“plug and play”)?

B.5.—What is the time limit for “promptly” providing notice to VL?  Does this also apply for delivery to the manufacturer’s central warehouse?

B.E.—How much notice to VL is required prior to removal of a gaming device?  How will approval be obtained/documented?

11 VAC 5-90-10 Definitions

“Gaming ticket” means an instrument that upon insertion into a bill validator entitles the player inserting the gaming ticket to credits on a gaming machine corresponding to the amount printed on the gaming ticket.

The definition of “Gaming ticket” on page 5 seems to rule out use of tickets at table games. Can this be clarified?

11 VAC 5-90-10 Definitions

“Jackpot” means any cash, annuity, or merchandise to be paid to a player as a result of a specific combination of characters on a casino gaming machine.

The definition of “Jackpot” probably shouldn’t include the ‘specific combination of characters’ language.  This could mean ambiguity on bonuses, especially mystery style bonuses.

11 VAC 5-90-10 Definitions

“Multi-source authentication” means a strong procedure that requires more than one method to verify a player’s identity through a combination of two or more independent credentials such as information known only to the player, such as a password, pattern or answers to challenge questions and a player’s personal biometric data, such as fingerprints, facial or voice recognition, to the extent it does not violate any privacy laws.

Could “Multi-source authentication” be referred to as “multi-factor authentication” as a more recognizable term?

11 VAC 5-90-10 Definitions

Slot machine

1. “Slot machine” means any machine or other device that:

a. On insertion of a token, voucher, gaming ticket, coupon, or similar item, or on payment of any consideration is available to play or simulate the play of any game of chance in which the results, including the options available to the player, are randomly determined by the machine or other device; and

b. By the element of chance, may deliver or entitle the player who operates the machine or device to receive cash, premiums, merchandise, tokens, or anything of value, whether the payout is made automatically from the device or in any other manner.

2. “Slot machine” includes a machine or device that:

a. Does not directly dispense money, tokens, or anything of value to winning players; and

b. Uses an electronic credit system making the deposit of bills, coins, or tokens unnecessary.

3. Slot machine” means each single position or seat available for use by a player.

Please clarify the definitions of a slot machine. Is section 3 meant for electronic table games where there are multiple spots?  What does this mean regarding double wide seat available at certain machines.

Please confirm cash is excluded by the internal controls section (S-90-110, Y) and by 5-90-100.G.8. 

11 VAC 5-90-20 Unclaimed Jackpots

Is this intended to mean that balances in a cashless wagering system account would go to the problem gambling fund if there was no activity in 180 days?

11 VAC 5-90-100 General Facility Operator Requirements

G. Conduct of casino gaming; prohibited acts

8. Casino gaming wagers shall be conducted only with tokens, chips, or electronic cards purchased from the facility operator.

Does this rule out tickets - as the internal controls section contains ticket requirements? Also, the next part 9 seems to state the player can’t redeem tokens, chips, or electronic cards for cash and can only wager with them or donate them.  Can these sections be clarified?

11 VAC 5-90-110: Casino Gaming Facility Minimum Internal Control Standards

Y. Prohibition on the use of cash, credit cards and debit cards

Does this rule out transfers to and from an EGM from a wagering account and ticket in/ticket out? Part AA is about requirements for gaming tickets so there is inconsistency.

11 VAC 5-90-110: Casino Gaming Facility Minimum Internal Control Standards

Z. Player tracking system

Does Z-4 rule out self-service tax products that provide win/loss statements?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

D. Submission of a slot machine for testing and certification

E. Abbreviated testing and certification

Would the cashless requirements be part of the abbreviated testing?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

H. Notice of known or suspected defect

1. A manufacturer shall immediately notify the department of any known or suspected defect or malfunction in equipment, system, or software required to be tested, certified, and approved by the department under subdivision B 5.

Can the regulation clarify ‘Immediately Notify’ - and who would need to get this information?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

K. Average payout percentage

2. A slot machine shall have an average payout percentage that:

a. Is 89 percent or more; and

b. Does not exceed 94 percent.

4. A facility may not make available for play a slot machine with an average payout percentage that exceeds 95 percent without the written approval of the department.

The regulation talks about an average payout, which we see as different from an RTP limit. What does average mean for a specific game? Does average include non-configurable pay tables/ variations or is this based upon a weighted average?

Please clarify the average percentage maximum.  The maximum percentages in K-2 and 4 differ. Should these percentages match?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

K. Average payout percentage

9. A slot machine:

b. Shall be designed to ensure that all possible combinations in the game cycle are independent of each other.

What does this section mean for persistence features?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

M. Slot machine lock-up

3. A slot machine may be configured to permit the transfer, upon lock-up, of a jackpot amount to the credit meter.

Please clarify this section.

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

N. Random number generator

2. A slot machine shall determine the occurrence of a specific card, number, symbol, or stop by

utilizing:

a. One random number generator; or

b. Two or more random number generators working collectively.

We would like to suggest a cryptographically strong RNG into the regulatory requirements.

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

O. Rules of play

6. A manufacturer or facility operator may not attach a sticker or other removable device that concerns rules of play to the face, glass, or screen of a slot machine without the prior written approval of the department.

Please clarify on what is considered the “face”? What is the intent for mechanical games?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

P. Slot machine meters

P.  Clarify the numbering in this section. Under Section b. (7) the order starts from c.

Please clarify the intent of the following:

The individual occurrence and value meters for cashable tickets in and out, noncashable ticket in and out, and cashable promotional in and out are referenced.  GLI does not require individual occurrence meters for each type of ticket in and out.  They only require an occurrence for total number of coupons/tickets in and total number of coupons/tickets out. 

GLI only has two sets of ticket meters.  One set for cashable tickets in and out and another set for promotional tickets in and out.  Virginia has 3 sets: cashable, noncashable promo, and cashable promo.

The downloadable in and out meters also require quantities.  Those are not required by GLI-11. 

A cashable promotional credit wagered meter is not required. GLI requires this meter.

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

R. Slot machine tower lights and error conditions

10. The following error conditions may be cleared automatically by the slot machine upon completion of a new play sequence:

a. Power reset;

b. Door open; and

c. Door just closed.

Can this regulation be clarified? Please confirm a new play sequence is not intended to clear lock/tilt condition.

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

R. Slot machine tower lights and error conditions

11. The following error conditions shall result in placement of the slot machine in disabled

mode, shall prevent play and shall only be cleared by a manufacturer:

a. Low RAM battery;

Can it be clarified if a Low RAM battery error should disable the machine? This is non-standard operation. Typically, a low RAM battery results in a non-tilting error message and not a full disable.

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

S. Last game recall

4. A slot machine shall be capable of recalling and displaying a complete transaction history for

the last 35 transactions with an electronic funds transfer system.

Transaction history is required for the last 35 transactions for an electronic funds transfer system, but there is no definition of an electronic funds transfer system.  Can a definition be provided?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

V. Minimum design standards applicable to equipment, a system, or software

Does this section apply to slot machine software or back-end systems? Can this section title be clarified?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines

BB. Progressive slot machines

6. A progressive controller shall be:

c. Capable of:

(5) If the progressive offers multiple jackpot levels, maintaining and displaying for each

progressive level the:

(a) Number of progressive jackpots won;

(b) Cumulative amount paid;

(c) Maximum progressive payout;

Please clarify the definition of Maximum Progressive Payout.  Is this related to Jackpot Capping? Is this information intended to be viewable in the attendant menu or in the help screens?

If related to Jackpot Capping - is a sticker allowed for those games that do not have the software ability to display in the help screens? If yes - will this need to be presented at the time of submission with the permission listed in the approval letters? Can we get a blanket pre-approval for this sticker?

11 VAC 5-90-150 Slot Machines EE. Remote Access.

This seems to prohibit remote access to a slot data system without written approval.  We respectfully request no prior notice or approval required for service permit holders.

11 VAC 5-90-160 Mechanical Casino Games

H. Minimum and maximum bet.

2. A mechanical casino game may not accept a maximum bet on a single game event in excess of $50 without the written approval of the department.

Do stepper machines fall under the "mechanical casino games" or "slot machines" regulations?