Gaming: licenses.

The Gambling Control Act provides for the licensure of certain individuals and establishments involved in various gambling activities, and for the regulation of those activities, by the California Gambling Control Commission. The act makes any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of the act for which a penalty is not expressly provided guilty of a misdemeanor. The act requires every person who is required to hold a state license to obtain the license prior to engaging in the activity or occupying the position with respect to which the license is required, except as specified. Existing law requires every person who, by order of the commission, is required to apply for a gambling license or a finding of suitability to file an application within 30 calendar days after receipt of the order. This bill would instead require the application described above to be filed within 45 calendar days after receipt of an order of the commission. The act also provides that, if the owner of a gambling enterprise is not a person, the owner is not eligible for a gambling license unless specified persons involved in the enterprise obtain a gambling license. Existing law authorizes the commission to exempt specified limited partners in limited partnerships from the licensing requirements described above solely for the purpose of the licensure of a card club located on the grounds of a racetrack that is owned by a limited partnership that also owns the racetrack. This bill would instead authorize the commission to exempt specified limited partners in limited partnerships from the licensing requirements described above solely for the purpose of the licensure of a card club located on any portion of, or contiguous to, the grounds upon which a racetrack is or had been previously located and horse race meetings were authorized to be conducted by the California Horse Racing Board on or before January 1, 2012, that is owned by a limited partnership that also owns or owned the racetrack. Existing law provides that a person is deemed unsuitable to hold a state gambling license to own a gambling establishment if the person, or any partner, officer, director, or shareholder of the person, has any financial interest in any business or organization that is engaged in a prohibited form of gambling, whether within or without this state, except as specified. This bill would exempt from these provisions a person who is licensed or had an application to be licensed on file with the commission on or before February 1, 2013, has a financial interest in a business or organization engaged in gambling prohibited by state law that was closed and was not engaged in prohibited gambling at the time the person was either licensed or had filed an application to be licensed with the commission, and has a financial interest in a gambling establishment that is located on any portion of, or contiguous to, the grounds on which a racetrack is or had been previously located and horse race meetings were authorized to be conducted by the California Horse Racing Board on or before January 1, 2012, that is directly or indirectly owned by a racetrack limited partnership owner, as defined. The bill would require an exempted person described above, within 3 years of the date the closed business or organization reopens and becomes engaged in any form of prohibited gambling, as specified, to either divest that person's interest in the business or organization, or divest that person's interest in the gambling enterprise or gambling establishment for which the person is licensed or had applied to be licensed by the commission. The bill would also require an exempted person to inform the commission within 30 days of the date on which a business or organization in which the person has a financial interest begins to engage in any form of prohibited gambling, as specified. The bill would also make it unlawful, during the 3-year divestment period, for any cross-promotion or marketing, as defined, to occur between the business or organization that is engaged in any form of prohibited gambling, as specified, and a gambling enterprise or gambling establishment, as described. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would prohibit, during that 3-year divestment period, any funds used in connection with the capital improvement of the gambling enterprise or gambling establishment from being provided from the gaming revenues of either the business or organization engaged in prohibited forms of gaming. The bill would also provide that if, at the end of the 3-year divestment period, a person has not divested his or her interest in either the gambling enterprise or gambling establishment or the business or organization that is engaged in the form of prohibited gaming, the exemption would not apply to that person and that person shall be deemed to be unsuitable to hold a state gambling license to own a gambling establishment if the person, or any partner, officer, director, or shareholder of the person, has any financial interest in any business or organization that is engaged in any form of prohibited gaming, whether within or without this state, as specified. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.