Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 205 CMR - MASSACHUSETTS GAMING COMMISSION › Title 205 CMR 143.00 - Gaming Devices And Electronic Gaming Equipment › Section 143.02 - Progressive Gaming Devices

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) A gaming
			 licensee and gaming device vendor shall comply with, and the Commission adopts
			 and incorporates by reference,
Gaming Laboratories International, LLC
			 Standard GLI-12: Progressive Gaming Devices in Casinos,
version 2.1,
			 released September 6, 2011, subject to the following amendments:
(a) Delete section 1.1.
(b) Delete section 1.2.
(c) Delete section 1.3.2.
(d) Delete section 1.4.
(e) Add the following after 2.4.2(a): "(b) No
			 progressive meter(s) shall be turned back to a lesser amount, unless:
1. The amount indicated has been paid to a
			 winning patron;
2. The progressive
			 jackpot amount won by the patron has been recorded in accordance with a gaming
			 licensee's system of internal controls;
3. The change is necessitated by a slot
			 machine or meter(s) malfunction, in which case for wide area progressive
			 jackpots, an explanation shall be entered on the Progressive Summary report
			 described in GLI-12, section 3.2.9(a) and the Commission shall be informed;
			 and
4. The patron has opted to risk
			 the progressive award as permitted by the rules of the slot machine game or
			 table game; or
5. The jackpot has
			 been removed or transferred in a manner consistent with Commission rules and
			 205 CMR 143.02(f)."
(f)
			 Delete the last sentence of section 2.5.91 and
			 replace with: "Such access shall be detailed in the gaming licensee's approved
			 system of internal controls in accordance with
			 205 CMR
			 138.53:
Progressive Slot
			 Machines
and
			 205
			 CMR 138.62:
Payment of Table Game
			 Progressive Payout Wagers; Supplemental Wagers Not Paid from the Table
			 Inventory: (Reserved)
and shall, at a minimum, incorporate the
			 following requirements. A progressive controller will be considered to be
			 housed in a secure environment if it is either:
(1) integrated into the gaming device's
			 software; or
(2) in an area that is
			 dual key controlled with one key being maintained and controlled by the casino
			 security department and the other by the slot department. Alternative measures
			 that achieve the same level of security may be substituted for dual key
			 controlled access if described in the applicable internal control submission
			 and approved in accordance with
			 205 CMR
			 138.02:
Licensee's System of Internal
			 Controls.
No controller may be accessed until written notice is
			 provided to the Commission. Whenever the progressive controller and/or bank
			 controller has been accessed, written notification shall be provided to the
			 Commission."
(g) Delete
			 in section 2.5.14 the words "local Internal Control procedures" and add the
			 following: "following requirements: A gaming licensee may transfer a
			 progressive jackpot amount on a stand-alone slot machine, stand-alone table
			 game, or a local area progressive with a common progressive meter from the
			 gaming area, provided the gaming licensee receives written approval from the
			 IEB prior to the transfer, and the accrued amount minus the seed amount of the
			 progressive jackpot is:
1. Transferred in its
			 entirety; and
a. The progressive meter for a
			 slot machine or table game with the same or similar probability of winning the
			 progressive jackpot, the same or lower wager requirements to be eligible to win
			 the progressive jackpot, and the same type of progressive jackpot (cash,
			 annuity, annuity/cash option or a combination/alternate jackpot) as the slot
			 machine or table game from which the jackpot is being transferred; or
b. The progressive meters of two or more slot
			 machines or table games, provided that each slot machine or table game to which
			 the jackpot is transferred individually, satisfies the requirements of 205 CMR
			 143.02(1)(e)2.a.
Further, notice of intent to transfer the progressive jackpot,
				which shall be subject to approval by the IEB, shall be conspicuously displayed
				on the front of each applicable slot machine or table game for at least ten
				days in advance of the transfer."
2. Transferred to one of the following:
(h) Add the following
			 after section 3.1.1: "Gaming licensees may operate multi-site progressive
			 gaming devices, also known as wide area progressives (WAP). WAPs shall consist
			 of networks of linked gaming devices within Massachusetts and/or between
			 Massachusetts and other casinos licensed in other states of the United States.
			 This section shall apply to WAPs used at both slot machines and table games.
1. Each WAP shall be operated and
			 administered: By the participating gaming establishments in accordance with the
			 terms of a written slot system agreement that has been executed by each
			 participant and filed and approved by the Commission; or
2. The person designated in a slot system
			 agreement responsible for the operation and administration of a WAP shall be
			 referred to as a slot system operator and shall be licensed under
			 205 CMR 143.00 as a gaming
			 vendor primary.
a. More than one slot system
			 operator may be involved in the operation and administration of a WAP. A slot
			 system operator may be involved in the operation and administration of more
			 than one WAP.
b. An agreement
			 between a slot system manufacturer and a casino licensee pursuant to which the
			 slot system manufacturer agrees to sell, lease, or service, but not operate or
			 administer WAP components, shall not be considered a slot system agreement. A
			 separate agreement maybe entered between the slot system manufacturer and each
			 casino licensee participating in the WAP.
3. Each slot system agreement shall
			 specifically identify and describe the role, authority, and responsibilities of
			 each participating casino and each slot system operator in the conduct of the
			 WAP. The agreement shall comply with GLI-12 or specifically identify where it
			 deviates from the GLI-12 standards. The agreement shall include the following:
a. A description of the WAP, including the
			 process by which significant decisions that affect the operation of the game
			 are approved and implemented by each casino or slot system operator;
b. If applicable, the casino or slot system
			 operator responsible for establishing and serving as trustee of a trust for a
			 WAP offering an annuity jackpot;
c.
			 The casino or slot system operator initially responsible for the funding and
			 payment of all jackpots, fees, and taxes associated with the operation of the
			 WAP; and
d. The casino or slot
			 system operator responsible for generating, maintaining and filing all records
			 and reports required by M.G.L. c. 23K and any applicable rules or regulations
			 of the Commission.
e. The method to
			 ensure the accurate accounting of all contributions;
f. The method to ensure that each
			 participating state's tax laws are adhered to; Said method to include a
			 description for determining the
pro rata
share of a system
			 payout for purposes of gross revenue deductibility and its method for
			 determining the proportionate share of gaming taxes and fees owed by the
			 operator to the casino. In calculating gross revenue, a casino may deduct its
pro rata
share of a payout from a game played in a WAP system.
			 The amount of the deduction must be determined based upon the written agreement
			 among the licensed gaming establishments participating in the WAP system and
			 the operator of the system. All cash prizes and the value of noncash prizes
			 awarded during a contest or tournament conducted in conjunction with a WAP
			 system are also deductible on
apro rata
basis, to the extent
			 of the compensation received for the right to participate in that contest or
			 tournament. The deductions may be taken only by those participating licensed
			 gaming establishments that held an active gaming license at any time during the
			 month in which the payout was awarded.
g. Procedures to address dispute
			 resolution;
h. Procedures to accept
			 additional participants once the link is established in casinos of more than
			 one state;
i. Procedures to ensure
			 the multistate progressive system operator is credentialed in all participating
			 states;
j. The method for
			 withdrawal from the WAP, including the specific method in which progressive
			 values are transferred when removing or replacing machines. At the minimum,
			 said method should account for the transfer of jackpots, less the reset value,
			 to other progressive slot machine jackpots of similar progressive wager and
			 probability at the same facility within 30 days from the removal date. In the
			 event that a similar progressive jackpot at the same facility is unavailable,
			 other transfers shall be allowed. A Commission representative shall be notified
			 in writing prior to a removal or transfer.
k. Multistate progressive system parameter
			 requirements including:
i. Maximum odds for
			 obtaining the multistate jackpot;
ii. The base amount of the multistate jackpot
			 award;
iii. The reset amount of the
			 multistate jackpot award;
iv. The
			 rate of increment of the multistate jackpot award;
v. The hidden rate, which means the increment
			 rate for one or more reserve pools used to fund the next reset amount when
			 applicable;
vi. The minimum wager
			 required to qualify for the progressive jackpot; and
vii. Any other parameter as may be required
			 in order to ensure the proper accounting and auditing of the multistate
			 progressive system.
l.
			 Procedures for the independent reconciliation of the multistate jackpot amount
			 when won.
m. Each gaming licensee
			 or slot system operator seeking approval to participate in a WAP shall confirm
			 to the Commission that they have in place a system of accounting and internal
			 controls that satisfy the requirements of M.G.L. c. 23K and any applicable
			 rules or regulations concerning the operation of slot machines and WAPs. The
			 internal controls shall include a list of each employee serving in a slot
			 system operator position title.
n.
			 Each WAP shall be controlled and operated from a computer monitoring room
			 subject to inspection by the Commission. The computer monitoring room for a WAP
			 shall:
i. Be under the sole possession and
			 control of, and maintained and operated by, employees of the slot system
			 operator designated in the slot system agreement for that slot
			 system;
ii. Have continuous
			 surveillance coverage of the operation of the slot system and its equipment in
			 a manner approved by the Commission. Said surveillance coverage shall include
			 the secure retention of recordings for a period of no less than 30 days or for
			 such longer period if requested by the Commission if particular recordings are
			 determined to hold evidentiary value;
iii. Have a Computer Monitoring Room Entry
			 Log, which the Log shall be:
(i) Kept in the
			 computer monitoring room;
(ii)
			 Maintained in a book with bound numbered pages that cannot be readily removed
			 or in an electronic format as approved by the Commission; and
(iii) Signed by each person whose presence is
			 not expressly authorized and identified in the internal controls of the
			 computer monitoring room slot system operator, with each Log entry containing,
			 at a minimum, the following information:
- The date and time entering the computer monitoring
				room;
- The entering person's name, his or her department or employer
				and, if applicable, his or her employee license number;
- The reason for entering the computer monitoring room;
- The name of the person authorizing the person's entry into
				the computer monitoring room; and
- The date and time of exiting the computer monitoring
				room;
- Be readily accessible to Commission personnel 24 hours a
				day;
- Be housed in a facility approved by the Commission that is
				owned or leased by a slot system operator; and
- Be designed in a manner that assures that the multi-casino
				progressive slot system shall not be disrupted."
(i) Add the
			 following after "Initial laboratory testing" in section 3.1.2(a) and "set up
			 are tested" in section 3.1.2 (b): "in accordance with
			 205
			 CMR 144.04"
(j) From section 3.4.1, delete "the gaming
			 regulator shall adopt procedures for" and replace it with "each player shall be
			 entitled to."