HF 1208

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to horse racing; deleting certain 
  1.3             restrictions on conducting simulcasting and operating 
  1.4             a card club; requiring a study of taxation of card 
  1.5             clubs; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 
  1.6             240.13, subdivision 6; 240.30, subdivision 5. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 240.13, 
  1.9   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 6.  [SIMULCASTING.] (a) The commission may permit an 
  1.11  authorized licensee to conduct simulcasting at the licensee's 
  1.12  facility on any day authorized by the commission.  All 
  1.13  simulcasts must comply with the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 
  1.14  1978, United States Code, title 15, sections 3001 to 3007.  
  1.15     (b) The commission may not authorize any day for 
  1.16  simulcasting at a class A facility during the racing season, and 
  1.17  a licensee may not be allowed to transmit out-of-state telecasts 
  1.18  of races the licensee conducts, unless the licensee has obtained 
  1.19  the approval of the horsepersons' organization representing the 
  1.20  majority of the horsepersons racing the breed involved at the 
  1.21  licensed racetrack during the preceding 12 months.  In the case 
  1.22  of a class A facility at which the class A license has been in 
  1.23  effect for less than 12 months, the approval must be obtained 
  1.24  from the horsepersons' organization that represents the majority 
  1.25  of the horsepersons who are racing or who will race the breed at 
  1.26  the facility. 
  2.1      (c) The licensee may pay fees and costs to an entity 
  2.2   transmitting a telecast of a race to the licensee for purposes 
  2.3   of conducting pari-mutuel wagering on the race.  The licensee 
  2.4   may deduct fees and costs related to the receipt of televised 
  2.5   transmissions from a pari-mutuel pool on the televised race, 
  2.6   provided that one-half of any amount recouped in this manner 
  2.7   must be added to the amounts required to be set aside for purses.
  2.8      (d) With the approval of the commission and subject to the 
  2.9   provisions of this subdivision, a licensee may transmit 
  2.10  telecasts of races it conducts, for wagering purposes, to 
  2.11  locations outside the state, and the commission may allow this 
  2.12  to be done on a commingled pool basis.  
  2.13     (e) Except as otherwise provided in this section, 
  2.14  simulcasting may be conducted on a separate pool basis or, with 
  2.15  the approval of the commission, on a commingled pool basis.  All 
  2.16  provisions of law governing pari-mutuel betting apply to 
  2.17  simulcasting except as otherwise provided in this subdivision or 
  2.18  in the commission's rules.  If pools are commingled, wagering at 
  2.19  the licensed facility must be on equipment electronically linked 
  2.20  with the equipment at the licensee's class A facility or with 
  2.21  the sending racetrack via the totalizator computer at the 
  2.22  licensee's class A facility.  Subject to the approval of the 
  2.23  commission, the types of betting, takeout, and distribution of 
  2.24  winnings on commingled pari-mutuel pools are those in effect at 
  2.25  the sending racetrack.  Breakage for pari-mutuel pools on a 
  2.26  televised race must be calculated in accordance with the law or 
  2.27  rules governing the sending racetrack for these pools, and must 
  2.28  be distributed in a manner agreed to between the licensee and 
  2.29  the sending racetrack.  Notwithstanding subdivision 7 and 
  2.30  section 240.15, subdivision 5, the commission may approve 
  2.31  procedures governing the definition and disposition of unclaimed 
  2.32  tickets that are consistent with the law and rules governing 
  2.33  unclaimed tickets at the sending racetrack.  For the purposes of 
  2.34  this section, "sending racetrack" is either the racetrack 
  2.35  outside of this state where the horse race is conducted or, with 
  2.36  the consent of the racetrack, an alternative facility that 
  3.1   serves as the racetrack for the purpose of commingling pools.  
  3.2      (f) If there is more than one class B licensee conducting 
  3.3   racing within the seven-county metropolitan area, simulcasting 
  3.4   may be conducted only on races run by a breed that ran at the 
  3.5   licensee's class A facility within the 12 months preceding the 
  3.6   event.  
  3.7      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 240.30, 
  3.8   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  3.9      Subd. 5.  [LIMITATION.] Except in the case of a licensee 
  3.10  who has held a class B license for less than 12 months, the 
  3.11  commission shall not authorize a licensee to operate a card club 
  3.12  unless the licensee has conducted at least 50 days of live 
  3.13  racing at a class A facility within the past 12 months or during 
  3.14  the preceding calendar year.  In the case of a licensee who has 
  3.15  held a class B license for less than 12 months, the commission 
  3.16  shall not authorize the licensee to operate a card club unless 
  3.17  the licensee has been granted at least 50 racing days by the 
  3.18  commission in the year in which the card club begins operations. 
  3.19     Sec. 3.  [COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE; STUDY OF CARD CLUB 
  3.20  TAXATION.] 
  3.21     The commissioner of revenue shall study the taxation of 
  3.22  card clubs at Minnesota racetracks under Minnesota Statutes, 
  3.23  section 240.35.  In conducting the study the commissioner shall 
  3.24  consider: 
  3.25     (1) types of revenue received by card clubs and amounts 
  3.26  received for each type; 
  3.27     (2) current uses of such revenue; 
  3.28     (3) existing taxes paid by licensed racetracks in 
  3.29  Minnesota; 
  3.30     (4) taxation of card club and pari-mutuel wagering revenues 
  3.31  in other states; 
  3.32     (5) taxation of other forms of legal gambling in Minnesota; 
  3.33  and 
  3.34     (6) alternative methods of taxing card club revenues and 
  3.35  the effect of each alternative on state revenues, card club and 
  3.36  racetrack operations, and the racing and breeding industry in 
  4.1   Minnesota. 
  4.2      The commissioner shall report on the study to the chairs of 
  4.3   the legislative committees having jurisdiction over taxation and 
  4.4   gambling policy by January 15, 2005.  The report must contain 
  4.5   the commissioner's recommendations for a fair and equitable tax 
  4.6   system for card club revenues.