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Public Act 094-0667
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| HB1919 Enrolled |
LRB094 02934 LRD 32935 b |
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AN ACT concerning gaming.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Riverboat Gambling Act is amended by |
changing Section 7 as follows:
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(230 ILCS 10/7) (from Ch. 120, par. 2407)
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Sec. 7. Owners Licenses.
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(a) The Board shall issue owners licenses to persons, firms |
or
corporations which apply for such licenses upon payment to |
the Board of the
non-refundable license fee set by the Board, |
upon payment of a $25,000
license fee for the first year of |
operation and a $5,000 license fee for
each succeeding year and |
upon a determination by the Board that the
applicant is |
eligible for an owners license pursuant to this Act and the
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rules of the Board. A person, firm or corporation is ineligible |
to receive
an owners license if:
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(1) the person has been convicted of a felony under the |
laws of this
State, any other state, or the United States;
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(2) the person has been convicted of any violation of |
Article 28 of the
Criminal Code of 1961, or substantially |
similar laws of any other jurisdiction;
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(3) the person has submitted an application for a |
license under this
Act which contains false information;
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(4) the person is
a member of the Board;
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(5) a person defined in (1), (2), (3) or (4) is an |
officer, director or
managerial employee of the firm or |
corporation;
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(6) the firm or corporation employs a person defined in |
(1), (2), (3) or
(4) who participates in the management or |
operation of gambling operations
authorized under this |
Act;
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(7) (blank); or
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(8) a license of the person, firm or corporation issued |
under
this Act, or a license to own or operate gambling |
facilities
in any other jurisdiction, has been revoked.
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(b) In determining whether to grant an owners license to an |
applicant, the
Board shall consider:
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(1) the character, reputation, experience and |
financial integrity of the
applicants and of any other or |
separate person that either:
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(A) controls, directly or indirectly, such |
applicant, or
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(B) is controlled, directly or indirectly, by such |
applicant or by a
person which controls, directly or |
indirectly, such applicant;
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(2) the facilities or proposed facilities for the |
conduct of riverboat
gambling;
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(3) the highest prospective total revenue to be derived |
by the State
from the conduct of riverboat gambling;
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(4) the extent to which the ownership of the applicant |
reflects the
diversity of the State by including minority |
persons and females
and the good faith affirmative action |
plan of
each applicant to recruit, train and upgrade |
minority persons and females in all employment |
classifications;
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(5) the financial ability of the applicant to purchase |
and maintain
adequate liability and casualty insurance;
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(6) whether the applicant has adequate capitalization |
to provide and
maintain, for the duration of a license, a |
riverboat;
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(7) the extent to which the applicant exceeds or meets |
other standards
for the issuance of an owners license which |
the Board may adopt by rule;
and
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(8) The amount of the applicant's license bid.
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(c) Each owners license shall specify the place where |
riverboats shall
operate and dock.
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(d) Each applicant shall submit with his application, on |
forms
provided by the Board, 2 sets of his fingerprints.
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(e) The Board may issue up to 10 licenses authorizing the |
holders of such
licenses to own riverboats. In the application |
for an owners license, the
applicant shall state the dock at |
which the riverboat is based and the water
on which the |
riverboat will be located. The Board shall issue 5 licenses to
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become effective not earlier than January 1, 1991. Three of |
such licenses
shall authorize riverboat gambling on the |
Mississippi River, or, with approval
by the municipality in |
which the
riverboat was
is docked on August 7, 2003 and with |
Board approval, be authorized to relocate to a new location
the |
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
Assembly,
in |
a
municipality that (1) borders on the Mississippi River or is |
within 5
miles of the city limits of a municipality that |
borders on the Mississippi
River and (2), on August 7, 2003, |
had
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd |
General
Assembly, has a riverboat conducting riverboat |
gambling operations pursuant to
a license issued under this |
Act;, one of which shall authorize riverboat
gambling from a |
home dock in the city of East St. Louis. One other license
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shall
authorize riverboat gambling on
the Illinois River south |
of Marshall County. The Board shall issue one
additional |
license to become effective not earlier than March 1, 1992, |
which
shall authorize riverboat gambling on the Des Plaines |
River in Will County.
The Board may issue 4 additional licenses |
to become effective not
earlier than
March 1, 1992. In |
determining the water upon which riverboats will operate,
the |
Board shall consider the economic benefit which riverboat |
gambling confers
on the State, and shall seek to assure that |
all regions of the State share
in the economic benefits of |
riverboat gambling.
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In granting all licenses, the Board may give favorable |
consideration to
economically depressed areas of the State, to |
applicants presenting plans
which provide for significant |
economic development over a large geographic
area, and to |
applicants who currently operate non-gambling riverboats in
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Illinois.
The Board shall review all applications for owners |
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licenses,
and shall inform each applicant of the Board's |
decision.
The Board may grant an owners license to an
applicant |
that has not submitted the highest license bid, but if it does |
not
select the highest bidder, the Board shall issue a written |
decision explaining
why another
applicant was selected and |
identifying the factors set forth in this Section
that favored |
the winning bidder.
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In addition to any other revocation powers granted to the |
Board under this
Act,
the Board may revoke the owners license |
of a licensee which fails
to begin conducting gambling within |
15 months
of receipt of the
Board's approval of the application |
if the Board determines that license
revocation is in the best |
interests of the State.
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(f) The first 10 owners licenses issued under this Act |
shall permit the
holder to own up to 2 riverboats and equipment |
thereon
for a period of 3 years after the effective date of the |
license. Holders of
the first 10 owners licenses must pay the |
annual license fee for each of
the 3
years during which they |
are authorized to own riverboats.
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(g) Upon the termination, expiration, or revocation of each |
of the first
10 licenses, which shall be issued for a 3 year |
period, all licenses are
renewable annually upon payment of the |
fee and a determination by the Board
that the licensee |
continues to meet all of the requirements of this Act and the
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Board's rules.
However, for licenses renewed on or after May 1, |
1998, renewal shall be
for a period of 4 years, unless the |
Board sets a shorter period.
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(h) An owners license shall entitle the licensee to own up |
to 2
riverboats. A licensee shall limit the number of gambling |
participants to
1,200 for any such owners license.
A licensee |
may operate both of its riverboats concurrently, provided that |
the
total number of gambling participants on both riverboats |
does not exceed
1,200. Riverboats licensed to operate on the
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Mississippi River and the Illinois River south of Marshall |
County shall
have an authorized capacity of at least 500 |
persons. Any other riverboat
licensed under this Act shall have |
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an authorized capacity of at least 400
persons.
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(i) A licensed owner is authorized to apply to the Board |
for and, if
approved therefor, to receive all licenses from the |
Board necessary for the
operation of a riverboat, including a |
liquor license, a license
to prepare and serve food for human |
consumption, and other necessary
licenses. All use, occupation |
and excise taxes which apply to the sale of
food and beverages |
in this State and all taxes imposed on the sale or use
of |
tangible personal property apply to such sales aboard the |
riverboat.
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(j) The Board may issue or re-issue a license authorizing a |
riverboat to
dock
in a municipality or approve a relocation |
under Section 11.2 only if, prior
to the issuance or |
re-issuance of
the license or approval, the governing body of |
the municipality in which
the riverboat will dock has by a |
majority vote approved the docking of
riverboats in the |
municipality. The Board may issue or re-issue a license
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authorizing a
riverboat to dock in areas of a county outside |
any municipality or approve a
relocation under Section 11.2 |
only if, prior to the issuance or re-issuance
of the license
or |
approval, the
governing body of the county has by a majority |
vote approved of the docking of
riverboats within such areas.
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(Source: P.A. 92-600, eff. 6-28-02; 93-28, eff. 6-20-03; |
93-453, eff. 8-7-03;
revised 1-27-04.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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