Current through Register No. 12, March 21, 2024
(a) For
the purposes of this section, a "minor violation" means conduct, action, or
failure to act by any person, entity, applicant or licensee individual, or
entity that was not:
(1) Of a nature, quality,
or extent to effect or potentially effect the integrity of the charitable
game(s) being conducted;
(2) Of a
nature, quality or extent to cause or potentially cause harm to the interest of
the state or the charitable organization;
(3) A knowing, willful, or intentional
violation;
(4) A violation that is
chronic or part of a continuing pattern or practice of the licensee;
(5) An indication of a recalcitrant violator
or one that has engaged in a pattern of neglect or disregard with respect to
applicable regulatory requirements;
(6) An act that enabled the violator to
benefit economically from the noncompliance; or
(7) Intended to hinder the ability of the
commission to determine compliance with any other applicable local, state or
federal regulation, information request, order or other requirement.
(b) Minor violations shall
include, but not be limited to:
(1) Failing to
wear a properly issued identification badge, as required by
Pari
1207.01(d);
(2) Failing to prominently display documents,
as required by Pari
1207.02(a);
(3) Failing to post a diagram at each table
where the games of change are going played indicating the type of game being
played, the bet amount, the buy-in amount, and the re-buy amounts, as
applicable; or
(4) Failing to
publicly displaying the name of the licensed charitable organization sponsoring
the event.
(c) The
commission shall impose a fine of no less than $25, and no more than $500 per
minor violation committed by any person, entity, applicant or
licensee.
(d) For the purposes of
this section, a "moderate violation" means conduct, action, or failure to act
by any person, entity, applicant, or licensee that exceeds the strict
definition of a minor violation, as define in (a) above, but do not meet the
level of severity of a major violation, as defined in (g) below.
(e) Moderate violations shall include, but
not be limited to:
(1) Failing to submit any
reports by the due date. Each different type of report or record requested but
not provided shall constitute a separate violation subject to a separate
fine;
(2) Operating a game not
specifically listed on the game schedule, or on a different date than indicated
on the license without approval of the commission;
(3) Operating games in a manner that differs
from the house rules approved by the commission;
(4) A charitable organization member's
failure to be present and on site at least once per day during the operation of
the games of chance, as required by
RSA
287-D:14, XI; or
(5) Committing 3 or more minor violations
within 2 years.
(f) The
commission shall impose a fine of no less than $250, and no more than $1,500
per moderate violation committed by any person, entity, applicant or
licensee.
(g) A "major violation"
means conduct, action or failure to act by any person, entity, applicant, or
licensee that is:
(1) Of a nature, quality, or
extent to effect or potentially effect the integrity of the charitable game(s)
being conducted;
(2) Of a nature,
quality or extent to cause or potentially cause harm to the interest of the
state or the charitable organization;
(3) A knowing, willful or intentional
violation;
(4) A violation that is
chronic or part of a continuing pattern or practice of the licensee;
(5) An indication of a recalcitrant violator
or one that has engaged in a pattern of neglect or disregard with respect to
applicable regulatory requirements;
(6) An act that enabled the violator to
benefit economically from the noncompliance; or
(7) Intended to hinder the ability of the
commission to determine compliance with any other applicable local, state or
federal regulation, information request, order or other requirement.
(h) Major violations shall
include, but not be limited to:
(1)
Establishing, maintaining, operating, or otherwise offering games of chance
without a license, or with a suspended license;
(2) Sponsoring a game of chance with a game
operator who is not licensed;
(3)
Falsifying a games of chance license;
(4) Knowingly operating a game of chance
without a representative for the charitable organization present as required by
RSA
287-D:14, XI;
(5) Operating a game in a manner that tends
to deceive the public or affect the chances of winning or losing, including the
use of equipment that has been altered or tampered with;
(6) Failing to make available any records
required by the commission for investigation, monitoring or licensing purposes,
as required by Pari
1208.01(c);
(7) Furnishing or making false or misleading
statements or reports to the commission, or directing, requiring or knowingly
allowing another member or personnel of the organization or entity to furnish
or make false or misleading statements or report to the commission;
(8) Failing to cooperate during any visit
authorized under RSA 287-E or this chapter; or
(9) Committing 5 or more minor violations or
3 or more moderate violations within 2 years.
(i) The commission shall impose a fine of no
less than $1,000, and no more than $5,000 per violation of each major violation
committed by any person, entity, applicant or licensee.
(j) In determining the actual amount of a
fine, the commission shall consider:
(1) The
degree of non-compliance;
(2) Prior
history of violations of the same or similar nature;
(3) The consequences of the violation,
including the economic impact to the state and other affected
parties;
(4) The nature and
persistence of the violation;
(5)
The extent of any remedial or corrective action taken;
(6) The good or bad faith exhibited by the
cited individual(s);
(7) Evidence
that the violation was willful;
(8)
The extent to which the individual cooperated with the board's
investigation;
(9) The cost of any
investigation or hearing conducted by the commission;
(10) The licensee's ability to pay a fine
assessed by the commission; and
(11) Any other mitigating or aggravating
factors.
(k) Except as
otherwise noted, the penalties prescribed in (a)-(j) above shall be imposed for
each day that the person, entity, applicant, or licensee is not in compliance,
beginning with the date that the notification under
Pari
1210.01(a) above is issued and
continuing for each day of non-compliance, or until the date of
compliance.
(l) Payment of any
imposed administrative fine to the commission shall meet the following
requirements:
(1) If the recipient of a notice
described in Pari 1210.01(a)
above waives or is deemed to have waived his or her right to an adjudicative
hearing, the respondent shall pay the fine by the date specified in the notice,
which shall not be less than 25 days from the date of the notice of the
proposed fine;
(2) If an
adjudicative hearing is conducted and the commission's decision to assess a
fine is upheld, the fine shall be due and payable within 10 calendar days of
the date of the decision, or such longer time period as is specified in the
decision;
(3) Payment shall be made
in the form of personal check or money order which is made payable to
"Treasurer, State of New Hampshire," or cash in the exact amount due;
(4) Any payment submitted to the treasury
department in the form of a check or money order and returned to the state for
any reason shall be processed in accordance with
RSA
6:11-a; and
(5) Cash, money order, or certified check
shall be required when any past payment to the commission by personal check has
been returned for insufficient funds.
(m) Nonpayment of a fine by a licensee or
respondent in contravention of an order, agreement or promise to pay, shall be
a separate ground for discipline by the commission, a basis for denying a
subsequent license or renewal application, and a basis for judicial action
seeking to collect the fine.
(n) If
a licensee or respondent fails to pay a fine in accordance with (l) above, the
fine shall be $100, plus an additional fine of $50.00 per day for each day for
which the commission does not receive payment in full.
(o) If a licensee corrects and then
subsequently repeats a violation for which a fine was previously issued in
accordance with (a)-(n) above, the fine shall be doubled from that of the
previous fine such that, for example, an original fine of $100 shall become
$200 for the first time the offense is repeated, $300 for the second time the
offense is repeated, $400 for the third time the offense is repeated, and so
on.
