Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 179-7-3 - Interpretation of terms and words found in the Racetrack Video Lottery Act3.1. As used in W.Va. Code § 29-22A-8(1), the word "voids" in the sentence that says, The sale of more than five percent of a license or permit holder's voting stock, or more than five percent of the voting stock of a corporation which controls the license or permit holder or the sale of a license or permit holder's assets, other than those bought and sold in the ordinary course of business, or any interest therein, to any person not already determined to have met the qualifications of section seven of this article voids the license unless the sale has been approved in advance by the commission, means that the license is void after due process has been afforded to the licensee or permit holder and a final order has been entered. In that same sentence, the word "person" does not include acquisition of common stock of a licensee or permit holder by a state or federally licensed banking institution, nor does it include acquisition of licensee or permit holder's stock by an institutional investor such as a pension fund or a mutual fund registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as a registered investment company, a registered investment advisor, a collective trust fund or a qualified insurance company as those entities are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, that is holding the stock only as an investment and not for purposes of control of the licensee or permit holder.3.2. W.Va. Code § 29-22A-6(c)(3) now reads in part as follows: (c)Each video lottery terminal shall meet the following maximum and minimum theoretical percentage payout during the expected lifetime of said terminal: ...(3)Each terminal shall have a probability greater than one in seventeen million of obtaining the maximum payout for each play.The Commission's interpretation of W.Va. Code § 29-22A-6(c)(3) is that the word "play" means the initial time a video lottery terminal's play button is pushed, or its play lever is pulled, or the initial spin of its reels after the video lottery terminals receive a base wager. When there are several "plays" within a game as the term "game" is defined by W.Va. Code § 29-22A-3(y), only the initial play is used to determine the 1-in-17 million odds calculation. Odds for subsequent optional selections such as bonus features are not used in determining compliance with W.Va. Code § 29-22A-6(c)(3). In addition, where the game being played is an interstate or international lottery game authorized under W.Va. Code § 29-22-5(a)(5), the odds of the interstate or international game shall be set by the participating government lotteries by contract or agreement.