Current through Register No. 12, March 21, 2024
(a) Pursuant to
RSA 287-D:14,
XVIII, no games of chance shall be played
unless all of the games of chance being offered have been approved by the
commission in accordance with Lot 7206.07 above, and identified on the game
schedule, as required by Lot 7206.02.
(b) In accordance with
RSA 287-D:14,
VI, no one under the age of 18 years shall be
admitted to the area where the games of chance are being conducted, except when
the games are being conducted at a carnival.
(c) Card games shall be conducted in
accordance with the following, in order of priority:
(1) The game procedures approved by the
commission;
(2) The house rules
approved by the commission; and
(3)
Rules explained in The New Complete Hoyle: The Authoritative Guide to the
Official Rules of All Popular Games of Skill and Chance, Revised Edition
(1991), Poker Tournament Directors Association's Recommended Procedures and
Illustration Addendum (version 3.0, October 24, 2017), available as noted in
Appendix B, or a similar authoritative guide on games of chance.
(d) For games with rake, the rake
shall be no less than one dollar and at least one dollar more than the amount
contributed per hand toward a player-funded promotion.
(e) For games or tournaments where chips have
no monetary face value:
(1) The licensee
shall post the location of the game or tournament in the public place prior to
commencing the game or tournament;
(2) The licensee shall not charge any
amounts, by whatever name, other than buy-ins and re-buys;
(3) Except as allowed by (4) below, the
charitable organization may offer any number of games per licensed event
provided each player is limited to spending up to $150 per game, including
add-ons, buy-ins, and re-buys;
(4)
The charitable organization may offer one game per authorized event where each
player may spend up to $250 for the game, including buy-ins and
re-buys;
(5) The prize shall either
be a set prize amount or a percentage of the prize pool;
(6) Prizes shall not be awarded to more than
50 percent of the players that have registered and bought into the game or
tournament;
(7) The total amount
awarded in prizes shall not exceed 80 percent of the total amount collected
from players; and
(8) At the end of
a game or tournament, any chips held by a player not receiving a prize shall:
a. Have no value for any purpose;
b. Not be traded, bartered, used or exchanged
for any purpose whatsoever; and
c.
Not be used for play in any other game or tournament.
(f) Except as allowed by (g)
below, no single wager by a player, on any game of chance, shall exceed the
amount of $10.
(g) In poker where
chips have monetary value, play may be conducted under table stakes rules, as
follows:
(1) The amount of blinds, antes, and
any other type of forced bet shall not exceed $10 per player, but the amount
wagered by a player during the play of a hand shall not be limited except by
the amount of chips the player has in his or her possession at the
table;
(2) Players entering a new
game shall not be allowed to possess more than $1,000 in chips;
(3) A player may purchase up to $1,000 in
chips at a time from the cashier area, also known as the cage;
(4) A player may purchase up to $150 in chips
per hand from the dealer at the table where he or she is playing provided that
the amount of chips being purchased will not raise the total value of chips in
the player's possession above $1,000, or less as otherwise specified in the
house rules:
(5) When management
moves a player to a new table of the same game and stakes, the player may bring
all of the chips in his or her possession to the new table, unless otherwise
prohibited by house rules;
(6) When
a player is moved to a new table of a different game or stake, the player shall
not be allowed to bring more than $1,000 in chips to the new game.
(7) Once chips are on the table, the player
shall not be permitted to remove chips from his or her stack, unless the player
is concluding play and leaving the table; and
(8) A game operator shall not require a
player to maintain the minimum amount of chips to continue to play.
(h) For the purposes of paragraph
(g) above, a hand begins when the dealer makes the first shuffle or presses the
activation button on the shuffle machine, and is complete once all wagers have
been concluded on the cards in play, the pot has been awarded, and all cards
have been collected and shuffled.
(i) In accordance with RSA 287-D:14VII,XV-X,
all tournaments shall comply with the following:
(1) A tournament shall be a single event in
which all players begin with the same number of chips and play until the posted
prizes are paid out;
(2) A
tournament may be held over multiple days to accommodate the number of players
as long as the event is operated as a single licensed event, hosted by the same
charitable organization;
(3) When a
player has lost all of his or her chips and is eliminated from the tournament,
the player may buy in again to continue playing until such time as the player
reaches the spending limits set by
RSA 287-D:14, XV and
XVI;
(4) Prize payouts shall not exceed 80% of the
total amount collected from players, and as such, a portion of the money
collected from players cannot be carried over to be awarded in a separate event
or tournament; and
(5) Funds shall
not be added to the prize pool to enhance the payout if doing so would exceed
the 80% restriction noted in (4) above, and as such, a game operator cannot
subsidize the pot in order to reach a guaranteed prize amount that cannot
otherwise be met using player money.
(j) All player-funded promotions shall comply
with the following:
(1) All funds contributed
by players into the pool shall be returned when won in accordance with posted
rules. No commission, or administrative fee shall be taken from the
pool;
(2) All payouts shall be in
cash, not cash equivalent;
(3) For
games with rake, the amount contributed per hand toward a player-funded
promotion shall be at least one dollar less than the rake;
(4) Information about the promotion shall be
prominently displayed in the game room, or made available in writing for patron
review, and include:
a. The conditions for
participating in the promotion;
b.
The written game procedures, as set forth in Lot 7206.07(c)(3); and
c. The current amount of the pool(s), which
shall be updated at least once a day;
(5) All contributions and payouts for each
pool being offered shall be documented to include the following information:
a. The name of the promotion;
b. The date corresponding to each
contribution or payout;
c. Total
contributions on each given day;
d.
The name of each patron that won the pool, the date won, the dollar amount of
the payout, and, when an individual payout is $600 or more, the signature of
the agent completing the transaction attesting to the disbursement of the
payout; and
e. Last running
balance, if applicable;
(6) Promotional pool contributions shall not
be placed in or near the rake circle, in the drop box, or commingle with other
gaming revenue;
(7) A separate bank
account shall be established for each promotional account, and at no time shall
bank fees be deducted from the balance;
(8) All money collected from players shall be
awarded in accordance with approved procedures prior to the termination of any
promotion; and
(9) The game
operator employer shall be liable for the promotional pool. Should the monies
be lost or stolen, the game operator employer shall be responsible for
replacing it.
(k)
Promotions of any kind shall not be financed by non-member players, or result
in a reduction in the payments otherwise due to the charitable organization or
the commission in accordance with
RSA 287-D:19,
II(a) and
RSA 287-D:20,
II.
(l) Wagers shall only be placed in the form
of chips, or the like, or, when electronic gaming tables are used, in the form
of representations of credit.
(m)
No licensed charitable organization or game operator employer shall extend
credit to any patron at any time.
(n) The game operator shall collect and store
his or her tips in a tip box or in a clearly designated area of the gaming
table.
(o) Except as allowed by (j)
above, no licensee shall permit side bets between players or other such
activities that involve a participant wagering money or other items of value
against another, when the activity does not provide for some portion of the
proceeds to go to the licensed charitable organization and the state.
(p) The game operator shall establish and
comply with a minimum bankroll to ensure the gaming operation maintains cash or
cash equivalent in an amount sufficient to satisfy obligations to their
patrons, the hosting charitable organizations, and the commission as follows:
(1) The licensee shall determine the minimum
bankroll required by completing the "Minimum Bankroll Analysis" form
(6/2019);
(2) The licensee shall
conduct a minimum bankroll analysis prior to the initial opening of the game
room and every month thereafter to determine whether a cash deficiency
exists;
(3) The licensee shall
submit the results of a minimum bankroll analysis to the commission:
a. Prior to opening, each month for the first
3 months subsequent to opening and, if released from the monthly requirement by
the commission, quarterly thereafter until the first anniversary of the
opening;
b. Upon request by the
commission;
c. Upon changes to the
games being offered which materially affect the licensee's cash
requirements;
d. When the
licensee's cash position materially changes; and
e. Any time available cash or cash equivalent
are less than the amount required by the minimum bankroll analysis;
(4) At any time cash or cash
equivalents are less than the required amount, the licensee shall take
immediate steps to cure any deficiencies;
(5) The licensee shall maintain evidence of
the monthly computation and supporting documentation, and make such
documentation available for inspection by the commission for 2 years following
the applicable bankroll computation date; and
(6) Any licensee who makes payments of a
gaming award to a patron by check shall report to the commission any payment
returned for non-sufficient funds within 24 hours of receiving actual notice
that the check has not been honored.
(q) The game operator shall immediately
notify the commission in writing of any incidents that take place during a game
event that involve theft, cheating, or similar acts of deception by a player or
staff member, and cooperate with any subsequent investigations conducted by the
commission or local law enforcement.
