Current through March 14, 2024
(a) Prior to
engaging in internet gaming, a patron shall establish an internet gaming
account. A patron shall have only one internet gaming account for each online
gaming operator for use in the State of Connecticut, except if the online
gaming operator is operating multiple types of internet games on separate
electronic wagering platforms, the patron may have one internet gaming account
for each electronic wagering platform operated by such online gaming
operator.
(b) The electronic
wagering platform shall display a message prior to an internet gaming account
being established informing the patron that certain individuals are prohibited
from engaging in certain types of gaming. The message shall include a link to a
location that provides additional information on the categories of persons
prohibited from gaming. The electronic wagering platform will require the
patron to affirm that the patron will not place a wager on an internet game
from which the patron is prohibited.
(c) In order to establish an internet gaming
account, the online gaming operator shall:
(1) Create an electronic patron file, which
shall include at a minimum:
(A) Patron's
legal name;
(B) Patron's date of
birth;
(C) Entire or last four
digits of the patron's Social Security number or equivalent for a foreign
patron such as a passport number or taxpayer identification number;
(D) Patron's internet gaming account
number;
(E) Patron's
address;
(F) Patron's electronic
mail address;
(G) Patron's
telephone number;
(H) Any other
information collected from the patron used to verify the patron's identity;
(I) The method used to verify the
patron's identity; and (J) Date of verification.
(2) Encrypt all confidential information
contained in an electronic patron file.
(3) Verify the patron's identity in
accordance with section 12-865-12 of the Regulations of Connecticut State
Agencies or other methodology for remote multi-sourced authentication, which
may include third-party and governmental databases, that may be approved by the
department.
(4) Follow NIST Special
Publication 800-63-3 "Digital Identity Guidelines" or other technical standards
established pursuant to section 12-865-3(n) of the Regulations of Connecticut
State Agencies for password and access security including required multi-factor
identification.
(5) Verify that the
patron meets the minimum legal age requirement and is not on the self-exclusion
list, or otherwise prohibited from participation in gaming;
(6) Record the patron's acceptance of the
gaming entity licensee's terms and conditions to participate in internet
gaming;
(7) Record the patron's
certification that the information provided to the online gaming operator by
the individual who registered is accurate;
(8) Record the patron's acknowledgement that
the patron meets the minimum legal age requirement and acknowledgement that the
patron is prohibited from allowing any other person to access or use the
patron's internet gaming account; and
(9) Notify the patron of the establishment of
the internet gaming account via electronic mail.
(d) Online gaming operators shall implement
methods for securely issuing, modifying, and resetting a patron's internet
gaming account password, personal identification number, or other approved
security feature, if applicable. Any method shall include notification to the
patron following any modification via electronic or regular mail, text message,
or other manner approved by the department. Such methods shall include, at a
minimum, one of the following:
(1) The
correct response to two or more challenge questions; or
(2) Strong authentication.
(e) Each internet gaming account
shall be:
(1) Non-transferable;
(2) Unique to the patron who establishes the
account; and
(3) Distinct in
account number from any other account that the patron may have established with
the online gaming operator in another state, territory, or on a
reservation.
(f) A
patron's internet gaming account may be funded through the use of:
(1) An electronic fund transfer from patron's
account, not a trust or business entity account, with a bank or other financial
institution provided that the gaming entity licensee verifies the validity of
the account with the financial institution;
(2) One credit card held in the name of the
patron, not through a payment gateway, payment aggregator or other third-party
payment processor that does not require the use of a merchant account, or one
debit card, held in the name of the patron, through direct payment. A patron
may only link one credit card or one debit card to the patron's internet gaming
account at any point in time. A patron may change the patron's credit card or
debit card at any point in time as long as the patron deletes the card actively
linked to the internet gaming account and subsequently activates and links a
different credit or debit card;
(3)
Complimentaries;
(4) Winnings or
prizes;
(5) Travelers
checks;
(6) Certified
checks;
(7) Wire
transfer;
(8) Adjustments made by
the online gaming operator with documented notification to the patron;
or
(9) Any other means approved by
the department.
(g)
Funds may be withdrawn from a patron's internet gaming account by the following
methods:
(1) Adjustments made by the online
gaming operator with documented notification to the patron;
(2) A cash-out transfer to the debit card or
credit card that was used to fund patron's internet gaming account;
(3) Cash-out transfers directly to the
patron's individual, not a trust or business entity account, account with a
bank or other financial institution provided that the licensee verifies the
validity of the account with the financial institution; or
(4) Any other means approved by the
department.
(h) An
online gaming operator shall not permit a patron to transfer funds to another
patron.
(i) All adjustments to
internet gaming accounts for amounts of $500.00 or less shall be periodically
reviewed by supervisory personnel as set forth in the online gaming operator's
internal controls. All other adjustments shall be authorized by supervisory
personnel prior to being entered.
(j) Electronic wagering platforms shall
provide an account statement with account details to a patron immediately on
demand, which shall include detailed account activity for at least the twelve
months preceding the request unless the patron requests a shorter period. In
addition, an electronic wagering platform shall, upon request, be capable of
providing a summary statement of all patron activity since the internet gaming
account was established. Information to be provided on the summary statement
shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) Deposits to the internet gaming
account;
(2) Withdrawals from the
internet gaming account;
(3) Win or
loss statistics, including monetary amount won or lost;
(4) Beginning and ending account balances;
and
(5) Self-imposed responsible
gaming limit history, if applicable.
(k) The online gaming operator shall maintain
a reserve in the amount necessary to ensure the security of funds held by the
online gaming operator on behalf of patrons in internet gaming accounts. The
reserve shall be in the form of:
(1) Cash or
cash equivalents maintained in a U.S. bank account segregated from the online
gaming operator's operational funds;
(2) An irrevocable letter of
credit;
(3) A bond;
(4) Any other form acceptable to the
department; or
(5) Any combination
of the allowable forms set forth in subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of this
subsection.
(l) The
reserve shall be not less than the sum of the following:
(1) The daily ending cashable balance of all
patrons' internet gaming accounts;
(2) Pending withdrawals; and
(3) The sum of all pending internet wagers,
funds transferred to an internet game not yet wagered, and pending
wins.
(m) Funds held in
internet gaming accounts shall not be automatically transferred by the online
gaming operator. The online gaming operator shall not require a patron to
transfer funds from the patron's internet gaming account in order to circumvent
the provisions of subsection (l) of this section.
(n) Amounts available to patrons for wagering
that are not redeemable for cash may be excluded from the reserve
computation.
(o) Upon request, the
department may allow the online gaming operator to combine the reserve for all
of its Connecticut internet wagering.
(p) The online gaming operator shall have
access to all internet gaming account and transaction data to ensure the amount
of its reserve is sufficient. Unless otherwise directed by the department, the
online gaming operator shall file a monthly attestation with the department, in
the form and manner prescribed by the department, that the reserve is
adequately funded pursuant to this section.
(q) At least annually, the online gaming
operator shall, at the operator's own expense, submit to an independent audit
of such licensee's reserve accounts. A copy of the audit shall be provided to
the department within ten days of receipt by the online gaming operator.
Additionally, the department may audit an online gaming operator's reserve
accounts at any time.
(r) Based on
the results of any such audits, the department may direct an online gaming
operator to take any action necessary to ensure the purposes of subsections (k)
to (q), inclusive, of this section are achieved, including but not limited to
requiring the online gaming operator to modify the form of its reserve or
increase the amount of its reserve.
(s) Patron protection information shall be
readily accessible to the patron. The patron protection information shall
contain at a minimum:
(1) Information about
potential risks associated with excessive participation in gaming, and where to
get help related to responsible gaming education and compulsive gaming
support;
(2) Self-imposed
limitations invoked by the patron;
(3) A list of the available patron protection
measures that can be invoked by the patron, such as self-imposed limits and
self-exclusion, and information on how to invoke those measures; and
(4) Mechanisms available to the patron to
detect unauthorized use of the patron's account, such as reviewing credit card
statements against known deposits and for unknown charges.
(t) Patrons shall be provided an easy and
obvious method to impose limitations for gaming parameters including, but not
limited to, deposit caps, individual and cumulative wager maximums, and
time-based limitations. Online gaming operators that offer fantasy contests may
request a hardship exemption to the requirement to impose time-based
limitations for fantasy contest activity, and the commissioner may waive this
requirement, if the online gaming operator can demonstrate that such waiver
will not detrimentally impact problem gambling or consumer protections. The
self-imposed limitation method shall provide the following functionality:
(1) Upon receiving any self-imposed
limitation order, the online gaming operator shall ensure that all specified
limits are correctly implemented immediately or at the point in time that was
clearly indicated by the patron;
(2) The self-imposed limitations set by a
patron shall not override more restrictive operator imposed limitations. The
more restrictive limitations shall take priority; and
(3) Once established by a patron and
implemented by the online gaming operator, it shall only be possible to reduce
the severity of self-imposed limitations upon twenty-four hours' notice, or as
required by the department.
(u) The electronic wagering platform shall
either clearly display the amount of time, or provide a periodic pop-up message
at least once every thirty minutes if a patron has not logged out of the
patron's account during such thirty minute period, that states the amount of
time a patron has spent on the electronic wagering platform during that patron
session.
(v) The electronic
wagering platform shall clearly display to the patron the amount of funds
available in the patron's internet gaming account.
(w) An electronic wagering platform shall
employ a mechanism that places an internet gaming account in a suspended mode
under any of the following conditions:
(1)
When requested by the patron for a specified period of time, if time-based
limitations are required pursuant to subsection (t) of this section, which
period shall be no less than seventy-two hours;
(2) When required by the
department;
(3) Upon a
determination that, based on the specific type of gaming a patron is engaged
in, that such patron is a prohibited patron; and
(4) When initiated by an online gaming
operator that has evidence that indicates any of the following:
(A) Illegal activity;
(B) A negative internet gaming account
balance; or
(C) A violation of the
internet gaming account terms and conditions.
(x) When an internet gaming account is in a
suspended mode, the electronic wagering platform shall do all of the following:
(1) Prevent the patron from internet
gaming;
(2) Prevent the patron from
depositing funds unless the internet gaming account is suspended due to having
a negative balance but only to the extent the internet gaming account balance
is brought back to zero dollars;
(3) Prevent the patron from withdrawing funds
from the patron's suspended account, unless the suspended mode was initiated by
the patron or the withdrawal request is from the patron in the absence of any
suspected fraud or misconduct;
(4)
Prevent the patron from making changes to the patron's internet gaming
account;
(5) Prevent the deletion
of the internet gaming account from the electronic wagering platform;
and
(6) Prominently display to the
patron that the internet gaming account is in a suspended mode, the
restrictions placed on the internet gaming account, and any further course of
action needed to remove the suspended mode.
(y) The online gaming operator shall notify a
patron immediately via electronic mail and text message, unless the patron has
selected either electronic mail or text message solely for fantasy contest
internet gaming accounts, or other method approved by the department, whenever
the patron's internet gaming account has been closed or placed in a suspended
mode. Such notification shall include the restrictions placed on the internet
gaming account and any further course of action needed to remove the
restriction.
(z) A suspended
account may be restored for any of the following reasons:
(1) Upon expiration of the time period
established by the patron;
(2) If
authorized by the department;
(3)
When the patron is no longer a prohibited patron; and
(4) When the online gaming operator has
lifted the suspended status after concluding that the basis for the suspension
no longer applies to the account or patron.
