BILL
ANALYSIS
  


   
  
  
  
                                                         {u AB 621  
                                                         u} Page  1  
  
Date of Hearing:   April 26, 1999  
  
        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION   
                       Herb Wesson, Chair  
        AB 621 (Floyd) - As Introduced:  February 19, 1999  
{u   
SUBJECT u} :   Casino definition  
  
{u SUMMARY u} :   Defines "casino" to mean a place where gambling or
wagering is conducted and the players wager against the house,
with the house collecting losing bets and paying winning bets.
Specifically, {u this bill u} :    
  
1)Defines "casino," as used in the California Constitution, as a
  place where gambling or wagering is conducted and the players
  wager or gamble against the house, with the house collecting
  losing bets and paying winning bets.  Places that sell or
  redeem California State Lottery tickets are excluded from this
  definition.  
  
2)Finds and declares that the bill furthers the purposes of the
  California State Lottery Act by clarifying and defining the
  term "casino" as used in the Act.   
  
{u EXISTING LAW u} :  
  
1)The California Constitution, as amended by the California
  State Lottery Act of 1984, establishes the California State
  Lottery and prohibits "casinos of the type currently operating
  in Nevada and New Jersey."  
  
2)The California State Lottery Act of 1984, provides that none
  of its provisions may be changed except to further its purpose
  by a bill passed by a 2/3 vote of the Legislature and signed
  by the Governor.  The purpose of the Lottery is to provide
  additional monies to benefit education without the imposition
  of additional or increased taxes, and that these monies should
  supplement, rather than supplant, the total amount of money
  allocated for public education in California.    
  
3)The Gambling Control Act, provides that controlled gambling
  may only occur at licensed gambling establishments (card
  clubs).  Controlled gambling includes any controlled game of
  chance, including any gambling device, played for currency or
  any other thing of value that is not prohibited and made
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
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  unlawful by statute or local ordinance.  
  
4)Specifies that any person who conducts, plays, or bets on any
  of a number of named gambling games, including twenty-one or
  roulette, or any banking or percentage game played with cards,
  dice, or any device, is guilty of a misdemeanor.   
  
{u FISCAL EFFECT u} :   None  
  
{u   
  
  
  
  
COMMENTS u} :     
  
1.  {u Background. u}  The state constitutional prohibition against
"casinos of the type currently operating in Nevada and New
Jersey" is not defined by the Lottery Act, nor is the term
"casino" defined by the Lottery Act or by any other provision of
state law.   In prior opinions, Legislative Counsel suggested
that it might be possible to derive a functional interpretation
of the casino prohibition from both the laws and practices of
Nevada and New Jersey in effect at the time the Lottery Act was
approved.  Counsel further notes that the Lottery Act itself
contained a clause that provided that the adoption of the
Lottery Act cannot "be construed to repeal or modify existing
state law with respect to the prohibition of casino gambling,
slot machines, dog racing, video gambling or blackjack machines
paying prizes, or any other form of gambling."   
  
Counsel suggests that a definition of casino incorporating the
common attributes of casino gambling permitted in Nevada and New
Jersey would essentially describe premises where banking or
percentage games involving cards, dice, or gambling devices are
played for money or any representative value. This bill's
definition of what constitutes a "casino" is consistent with
this analysis with respect to the definition of banking games,
but the bill is silent on the prohibition of percentage games
which, according to the supporters, is more difficult to define.
The author may wish to explore whether a definition of what
constitutes a "percentage" game may be developed in relation to
this bill.  
  
2.  {u "Banking" and "Percentage" Games u} .  While the terms "banking
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
                                                         {u AB 621  
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games" and "percentage games" do not appear in the state
constitutional prohibition against casinos, the Penal Code
prohibits any such games.   "Banking games" have come to mean a
game in which the "house" or "bank" is a participant in the
game, taking on all comers, paying all winners, and collecting
from all losers.   "Percentage games" have been defined by
California courts to include any game of chance from which the
house collects a percentage of amounts wagered in a game,
exclusive of charges or fees for the use of space or facilities
(such as table fees).     
  
{u REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION u} :     
  
{u Support u}   
  
California Commerce Club  
California Peace Officers' Association  
California Police Chiefs' Association  
Hawaiian Gardens Card Club  
  
{u Opposition u}   
  
None registered  
{u   
Analysis Prepared by u} :    George Wiley / G. O. / (916) 319-2531