BILL ANALYSIS
  


   
  
  
  
                                                         {u AB 621  
                                                         u} Page  1  
  
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING  
AB 621 (Floyd)  
As Introduced February 19, 1999  
2/3 vote   
  
{u GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION       11-1                              
u}   
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|Ayes:|Wesson, Granlund,         |     |                          |  
|     |Ackerman, Briggs,         |     |                          |  
|     |Hertzberg, Lempert,       |     |                          |  
|     |Longville, Machado,       |     |                          |  
|     |Margett, Vincent, Wiggins |     |                          |  
|     |                          |     |                          |  
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|  
|Nays:|Frusetta                  |     |                          |  
|     |                          |     |                          |  
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{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 (Lottery) tickets are excluded
  from this definition.  
  
2)Finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the
  California State Lottery Act of 1984 (Lottery Act) by
  clarifying and defining the term "casino" as used in the
  Lottery Act.   
  
{u EXISTING LAW u} :  
  
1)Establishes the Lottery under the California Constitution, as
  amended by the Lottery Act, and prohibits "casinos of the type
  currently operating in Nevada and New Jersey."  
  
2)Provides that none of the Lottery Act 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
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
                                                         {u AB 621  
                                                         u} Page  2  
  
  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)Provides under the Gambling Control Act that controlled
  gambling may only occur at licensed gambling establishments
  (i.e., 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 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} :  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.   
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
                                                         {u AB 621  
                                                         u} Page  3  
  
While the terms "banking 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
(i.e., such as table fees).     
  
  
{u Analysis Prepared by u} :    George Wiley / G. O. / (916) 319-2531   
  
  
  
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