2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 5 - Games of Chance (§§ 71 — 91) › § 78a - Sanctions

(a) Any person who conducts or facilitates the following:
(1) The introduction in a gambling casino, or the use or attempt to use in the same, an electronic, electric or mechanic gambling device, designed or built, or programmed specifically to obtain an advantage not contemplated by the law and regulations in effect on games of chance, when playing any game in a casino.
(2) Through a hand trick or movement, or fraud, or a fraudulent scheme, with cards, chips, dice or devices, be it for himself or for another, wins or tries to win money or property, or reduce a losing bet, increase a winning bet or attempts to increase a winning bet in connection with gambling in a casino.
(3) Through a hand trick or movement, or fraud, or a fraudulent scheme takes chips, money or tokens, credit in slot machines, or cards of the casino club belonging to a client or to the casino for him/herself.
(4) Through a hand trick or movement, or fraud, or a fraudulent scheme takes for him/herself bills, or coins, or tokens, or any other document representing a value to bearer from a client of the casino or of the casino, removed from the bill acceptor of slot machines, or money boxes from the gambling tables, chip-holding trays of slot machines or gambling tables, hoppers from slot machines, or buckets from slot machines, or bill boxes of gambling tables, chips, coins or tokens, belonging to a client or to the casino.
(5) Through a fraudulent scheme involving one or more persons tries to obtain, or obtains, an economic and/or personal benefit for him/herself or for another or for persons at gambling tables, slot machines or any other operating area of the casino.
(6) When opening a slot machine for the purpose of filling a hopper or for any other purpose, such as fixing a malfunctioning machine, pours the coins outside the same or of any other area inside the machine, with the intention of personally benefiting or benefiting some other person or persons.
(7) Under threat or bribery, aggression, or intimidation, obtains or tries to obtain economic or personal benefit, from an employee of a casino or government who works in the casino.
(8) Any person who, under an agreement, threat or bribe, aggression, intimidation, obtains or tries to obtain economic or personal benefit by making an employee of the casino or of the Government of Puerto Rico violate the provisions of law or of the regulations germane to the games of chance laws.
(9) Intentionally uses false or altered, chips or bills, or any other document representing a value to the bearer, when gambling or in a slot machine; or intentionally substitutes and uses, or both, in any game of cards, roulette, dice or any other gambling equipment and related devices, including, without limitation, equipment that has previously been altered or manipulated.
(10) Uses or possesses within the hotel or casino premises, a device with the intent to defraud or deceive, or to alter chance as established by the law and regulations.
(11) Uses illegal currency, not from the United States, or uses a currency of a denomination different from the one used by the slot machine, except those approved by the casino, the Chance Games Division and the Commissioner of Financial Institutions.
(12) Possesses or uses, within the premises of the hotel and its casino, any fraudulent device, including, but not limited to, tools, drills, coins or wire tied to a string, or wire, or electronic or magnetic devices to facilitate removal of money from a slot machine or from money boxes on tables, or their contents, except when an authorized casino employee, or an employee of the Games of Chance Division does so as part of his/her duties at the casino.
(13) Negotiates, conducts, operates or displays, for gambling any game or device that has been in any way altered, marked, or put in such conditions or operated in such a way that the result deceives the public or tends to alter the normal chance of gambling.
(14) Possesses marked cards, altered dice or altered machines or devices, knowing the conditions of the same.
(15) Possesses a device, equipment or material that he/she knows has been manufactured, distributed, sold or altered, or to cheat in casino gambling.
(16) Deliberately, or with another person, a casino employee includes false information on the rating cards with the purpose of defrauding the casino or of obtaining free offers or discounts for him/herself or for another person.
(17) Any person who intentionally alters, falsifies, hides or destroys official documents on the operation of the casino, with the intention of defrauding the casino or of hiding mismanagement.
(18) Intentionally takes economic advantage or personal benefit for him/herself or for another, of the malfunctioning of an electronic device or slot machine.
(19) Claims, picks up or takes or tries to claim, pick up or take money or any other thing of value, benefit or prize from or by means of a gambling table or slot machine with the intention of defrauding, without having placed the bet corresponding to said money or thing or value, benefit or prize.
(20) With the intention of defrauding, manipulates any component of gambling equipment so that it functions differently from the purpose of its normal operation and the component’s design, knowing that such manipulation affects the result of the game.
(21) Possesses in a gambling room with the intention of defrauding or obtaining a personal benefit, a device to calculate probabilities, project the game’s result, keep tabs on cards played (to count cards), to analyze probabilities that an event related to the game will happen, or to analyze the play or betting strategy to be used in the game, except those devices authorized by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company Games of Chance Division.
Any person who violates any of the provisions described in this section shall be guilty of a felony in the fourth degree.
(b) Any person who obstructs the filing of an accusation for any of the aforementioned crimes shall incur a misdemeanor.
(c) Any person who incurs a conduct which constitutes the crimes described above, or is convicted of any other felony or misdemeanor involving moral depravity, shall have his/her license revoked and shall not be eligible for a game of chance license.
History —May 15, 1948, No. 221, p. 750, added as § 9a on Jan. 8, 2004, No. 11, § 3; Sept. 15, 2004, No. 318, § 2.