205 Mass. Reg. 138.33

Current through Register 1523, June 7, 2024

Section 138.33 - Removal of Slot Drop Containers; Unsecured Funds; Recording of Meter Readings for Slot Machine Drop

A system of internal controls submitted by a gaming licensee in accordance with 205 CMR 138.02 shall include procedures and protocols relative to the removal of slot drop containers, unsecured currency, and the recording of meter readings for slot machine drop that, at a minimum, incorporates the following requirements:

(1) A gaming licensee shall file with the IEB a drop schedule setting forth the specific times at which the slot drop containers will be brought to or removed from the slot machines and the routes to be utilized. The schedule shall include the number of slot drop containers to be removed each day by zone or other designation. At a minimum, the schedule shall provide for removal at least once per week.

(2) All slot drop containers which are not actively in use shall be stored in the count room or other secure area outside the count room as approved by the IEB to prevent unauthorized access. In addition, slot drop containers in use shall be stored in an enclosed storage cabinet or trolley, secured by a key. The key must have restricted access and may be maintained and controlled by either the security department or by means of an electronic key control system which documents the date, time, and electronic signature of any person signing out/in the aforementioned keys. Such electronic key control system also must have the ability to restrict access and ensure keys are released only when the properly authorized individual(s) are present. An electronic signature shall include a unique employee PIN and key card swipe, or PIN and employee biometric identification.

(3) Slot drop containers shall be removed from a slot machine by at least three employees, two of whom shall be members of the security department and one of whom shall be a member of the accounting department (the drop team). At least one member of the drop team shall be licensed as a key gaming employee in accordance with 205 CMR 134.00: Licensing and Registration of Employees, Vendors, Junket Enterprises and Representatives, and Labor Organizations. Other than the security department members, all employees participating in the removal of slot drop containers shall wear as outer garments only a full-length, one-piece pocketless garment with openings only for the hands, feet and neck.

(4) A drop team member shall notify the surveillance department at the commencement of the slot drop process. Surveillance shall make a continuous video recording, with the time and date inserted thereon, of the entire slot drop process.

(5) All slot drop containers removed from the slot machines shall be transported directly to, and secured in, the count room by a security department member and a member of the accounting department. The process shall be documented in writing ensuring that the number of slot drop containers brought into the gaming area and the number of slot drop containers removed from the gaming area are reconciled with a drop box verification form.

(6) Emergency drop procedures to remove a full or inoperable slot drop container or for removal for other legitimate reasons, as approved by the IEB, outside of the slot drop schedule shall require at least three employees (two of whom shall have no incompatible functions, and one of whom shall be licensed as a key gaming employee in accordance with 205 CMR 134.00: Licensing and Registration of Employees, Vendors, Junket Enterprises and Representatives, and Labor Organizations), be replaced with an empty emergency slot drop container of the same type if the slot machine is to remain available for play by patrons, and include at a minimum established procedures as follows:

(a) A security department member shall notify the surveillance department which shall monitor and record the transaction. If more than one slot drop container is being removed, such notification shall include the sequence in which the containers will be removed and replaced;

(b) The security department member shall complete an emergency box form documenting the replacement of the slot drop container. The form shall include at a minimum:

1. The date and time;

2. The asset and location number;

3. The reason for the removal; and

4. The signatures of all employees participating in the process.

(c) The emergency box form shall be distributed by a member of the emergency drop team as follows:

1. The original affixed to the emergency slot drop container;

2. The duplicate placed in a locked accounting box; and

3. The triplicate delivered to the cage to be routed within 24 hours of preparation to the IEB's on-site office.

(d) A slot department member, in the presence of the other members of the emergency drop team, shall remove the slot drop container from the slot machine and replace it with the empty emergency slot drop container if the slot machine is to remain available for play by patrons;

(e) The slot drop container removed from the slot machine shall be transported by a minimum of two members of the emergency drop team to the count room where it must be secured in an emergency drop box cabinet or trolley; and

(f) For each slot drop container removed, an emergency drop team participant shall record on an emergency box log, to be maintained with the emergency drop box cabinet or trolley, the following:

1. The date and time the slot drop container was secured in the cabinet or trolley,

2. The slot drop container location and asset number; and

3. The signatures of at least two members of the emergency drop team participating in the emergency slot drop container process.

(7) Whenever currency, a gaming voucher, or a coupon is found inside a slot machine but outside of the slot drop box during the collection of slot drop boxes, it shall be deemed "unsecured funds." When unsecured funds are located, a count team member and a member of the security department shall complete and sign an unsecured funds form which includes the asset number in which the unsecured funds were found, the date the unsecured funds were found, and the total value of the unsecured funds. The unsecured funds and the original unsecured funds form shall be transported to the cashier's cage. A determination shall be made as to whether the unsecured funds registered on the coin-in meter of the slot machine from which they were retrieved. If the unsecured funds registered on the coin-in meter of the slot machine, the funds shall be recorded as part of the gross gaming revenue for the slot machine and recorded with the contents removed from the corresponding slot drop box. If it is determined that the unsecured funds did not register on the coin-in meter of the slot machine, the funds shall be processed as unclaimed cash in accordance with 205 CMR 138.68(l)(b).

The duplicate of the unsecured funds form shall be placed in a locked accounting box. Upon completion of the count, the original unsecured funds form, relative to funds that registered on the coin-in meter, shall be placed in a locked accounting box located in the count room. The accounting department shall retrieve the original form and reconcile it to the duplicate. A copy of the form shall be provided to the IEB.

(8) Whenever unsecured funds are found inside a slot machine but outside of the slot drop box at times other than the collection of slot drop boxes, a slot department member shall notify the surveillance department and complete and sign the unsecured funds form referenced in 205 CMR 138.33(7). The unsecured funds and the original form shall be transported by the slot department member, escorted by a security department member, to the cashiers' cage where a cashier shall sign the form acknowledging receipt. The unsecured funds and original form shall be handled in accordance with the process described in 205 CMR 138.33(7).

(9) Upon receipt of an unsecured gaming voucher or coupon, the cage cashier in the presence of the slot department member shall deface or otherwise deactivate the gaming voucher or coupon, to the extent necessary, so as to prevent subsequent redemption.

(10) At the end of the gaming day, at a minimum, the original unsecured funds forms and as applicable, gaming vouchers and coupons, shall be forwarded to the accounting department. The accounting department shall reconcile the original and duplicate forms and record the appropriate amount on the Slot Win Report or unclaimed cash report, as applicable. Reconciliation of unsecured funds shall be completed by the end of the gaming day on which the count of the slot machine drop for the machine in which the unsecured funds were located is performed.

(11) In conjunction with the removal of any slot drop box, a gaming licensee shall manually read, or cause an approved slot monitoring system to record, the slot machine's accounting meters that are used to calculate gross gaming revenue, as described by GLI-11, 5.4.1 Electronic Accounting and Occurrence Meters, including the in-meter, drop meter, out-meter, attendant paid jackpots meter, attendant paid cancelled credits meter, bill meters and handle pull meter. In addition, the following meters shall be read and recorded:

(a) If the slot machine accepts gaming vouchers, the numerical and value cashable gaming voucher meters, and the numerical and value non-cashable gaming voucher meters;

(b) If the slot machine accepts coupons enrolled in the gaming voucher system, the numerical and value cashable coupon meters and numerical and value non-cashable coupon meters;

(c) If the slot machine accepts promotional credits, the electronic cashable credit meter and the electronic non-cashable credit meter; and

(d) If the slot machine accepts funds from an account based wagering system, the wagering account transfer-in meter and the wagering account transfer-out meter.

(12) The slot monitoring system shall provide a report to the accounting department for a comparison of the meter readings to the count room reports and the calculation of each slot machine's payout percentage. In the event it is determined after a count that a shortage exists between the total registered on a slot machine's accounting meters that are used to calculate gross gaming revenue, as described by GLI-11, 5.4.1 Electronic Accounting and Occurrence Meters, the licensee shall investigate to determine the cause and record the findings. Only members of the accounting department shall have the authority to adjust meter readings subsequent to the count, provided that notification is provided to the IEB and the commission's finance office if the shortage was caused by a technical malfunction. The IEB and/or finance office may take any action necessary to ensure the integrity of the adjustment prior to the month end reconciliation and public reporting of gross gaming revenue.

(13) Nothing in 205 CMR 138.00 or a gaming licensee's internal controls shall preclude the IEB from requiring a gaming licensee to read a slot machine meter manually as a remedial measure in the event of a malfunction or as it may otherwise deem necessary to ensure the integrity of gaming and the accurate reporting of gross revenue.