Delaware General Assembly

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIFIC OFFENSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

"Subpart F. Offenses involving Video Lottery Machines.

§ 1470. Definitions.

(a) 'Video Lottery Machine' shall mean any machine in which bills, coins, or tokens are deposited in order to play in a game of chance in which the results, including options to the player, are randomly and immediately determined by the machine. A machine may use spinning reels or video displays or both, and may or may not dispense coins or tokens directly to winning players. A machine shall be considered a video lottery machine not withstanding the use of an electronic credit system making the deposit of bills, coins or tokens unnecessary.

(b) 'Cheat' means to alter the element of chance, method of selection or criteria which determines:

1. the result of the game;

2. the amount or frequency of payment in a game, including intentionally taking advantage of a malfunctioning machine;

3. the value of a wagering instrument; or

4. the value of a wagering credit.

(c) 'Paraphernalia for the manufacturing of cheating devices' means the equipment, products or materials that are intended for use or designed for use in manufacturing, producing, fabricating, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, storing or concealing a counterfeit facsimile of the chips, tokens, debit instruments or other wagering devices approved by the State Lottery Office or lawful coin or currency of the United States of America. This term includes, but is not limited to, lead or lead alloy molds, forms or similar equipment capable of producing a likeness of a gaming token or United States coin or currency; melting pots or other receptacles; torches; tongs, trimming tools or other similar equipment and equipment that can be used to manufacture facsimiles of debit instruments or wagering instruments approved by the State Lottery Office.

(d) 'Cheating Device' means any physical device used in such a manner as to cheat, deceive or defraud a video lottery machine. This includes, but is not limited to, slugs, plastic, tape, string, or dental floss which is placed inside a coin or bill acceptor or any other opening in a video lottery machine in a manner to simulate coin or currency acceptance, and thereafter the coin or currency inserted is withdrawn, or the use of forged or stolen keys to gain access to a machine to remove its contents.

§ 1471. Prohibited Acts.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to use a cheating device in a video lottery machine, or to have possession of such a device in a video lottery facility, including its parking areas and/or adjacent facilities.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess, use or have paraphernalia for manufacturing cheating devices.

(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to cheat in order to collect or take, or attempt to cheat in order to collect or take money or anything of value in or from a video lottery machine in a video lottery facility, including its parking areas and/or adjacent facilities.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to manipulate, with the intent to cheat, any component of a video lottery machine contrary to the designed and normal operational purpose for the component, including, but not limited to, varying the pull of the of the handle of the video lottery machine, knowing that the manipulation can or could affect the outcome of the game.

(e) It shall be unlawful for any person to use or possess counterfeit slugs, counterfeit tokens or any other counterfeit device resembling tokens approved by the State Lottery Office in a video lottery machine, in a video lottery facility, including its parking areas and/or adjacent facilities.

§ 1472. Penalties, Class A Misdemeanor, Class G Felony.

Any person convicted of conduct constituting a violation of a provision of this subchapter shall be guilty of a Class A Misdemeanor for a first offense, and a Class G Felony for a second or subsequent conviction in this State or a state with a comparable criminal code section within three years of a first offense. Any devices, slugs or related materials used by the person shall be forfeited to the Delaware State Police, including vehicles used to store such devices or paraphernalia. The Courts of the Justices of the Peace shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Common Pleas for misdemeanor offenses under this subchapter and the Superior Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction for Felony offenses under this subchapter.

§ 1473. Preclusions.

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as to prohibit the prosecution for an offense in this subchapter and any other provision of Delaware Law.”.

Approved February 01, 2002