Bill Text: CT SB00276 | 2018 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Off-track Betting Facilities.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-19 - Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate [SB00276 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2018-SB00276-Comm_Sub.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 276
February Session, 2018		LCO No. 1853
		*_____SB00276JUD___041818____*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)

AN ACT CONCERNING OFF-TRACK BETTING FACILITIES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 12-571 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):

(a) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall enter into negotiations with a person or business organization for the award of a contract of sale of the off-track betting system including, but not limited to, the assets and liabilities of the system and the right to operate the system. Such contract of sale shall authorize the purchaser of the system to establish and conduct a system of off-track betting on races held within or without the state pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. All proceeds derived from such sale shall be deposited as provided in section 39 of public act 93-332. Until the effective date of transfer of ownership of the off-track betting system, the commissioner shall establish and conduct systems of off-track betting on races held within or without the state pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. It is hereby declared that off-track betting on races conducted under the administration or regulatory authority of the department in the manner and subject to the conditions of this chapter shall be lawful notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, general, special or municipal, including any law prohibiting or restricting lotteries, bookmaking or any other kind of gambling, it being the purpose of this chapter to derive from such betting, as authorized by this chapter, a reasonable revenue for the support of state government and to prevent and curb unlawful bookmaking and illegal betting on races.

(b) Until the effective date of transfer of ownership of the off-track betting system, the commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations, consistent with this chapter, establishing and governing the permitted method or methods of operation of the system of off-track betting.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the effective date of transfer of ownership of the off-track betting system was June 30, 1993.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2018) (a) For the purposes of this section, "advance deposit wagers" means off-track betting wagers on racing events by means of telephone or other electronic means.

(b) No person or business organization, other than the authorized operator of the off-track betting system, shall conduct off-track betting in the state or accept off-track betting wagers or advance deposit wagers originating or placed from within the boundaries of the state. Any person or business organization that violates the provisions of this subsection shall be subject to the penalty for professional gambling, as provided in subsection (b) of section 53-278b of the general statutes, and for transmission of gambling information, as provided in subsection (a) of section 53-278d of the general statutes.

(c) No person shall place off-track betting wagers or advance deposit wagers from within the boundaries of the state with any person or business organization other than with the authorized operator of the off-track betting system. Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be subject to the penalty for gambling, as provided in subsection (a) of section 53-278b of the general statutes, and for transmission of gambling information, as provided in subsection (a) of section 53-278d of the general statutes.

Sec. 3. Section 53-278f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):

(a) Any person who has been convicted of a violation of subsection (b) of section 53-278b, subsection (d) of section 53-278c, subsection (a) of section 53-278d, [or] subsection (d) of section 53-278e, subsection (b) of section 2 of this act or any statute predecessor thereto may, upon any subsequent violation of said subsections, be prosecuted as a persistent offender and on conviction may be subjected to the penalty of the next most serious classification of offense, provided it shall be an affirmative defense to the charge of being a persistent offender under this section if the defendant was pardoned on the ground of innocence with respect to the prior conviction on which the state is relying.

(b) Any person who knowingly continues to participate in conduct constituting an alleged violation of subsection (b) of section 53-278b, subsection (d) of section 53-278c, subsection (a) of section 53-278d, subsection (d) of section 53-278e or subsection (b) of section 2 of this act, after receiving an instruction or order from a state official to cease and desist from such conduct, may be prosecuted as a persistent offender and may be subjected to the penalty of the next most serious classification of offense.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	July 1, 2018	12-571
Sec. 2	October 1, 2018	New section
Sec. 3	October 1, 2018	53-278f

PS	Joint Favorable
JUD	Joint Favorable