La. Admin. Code tit. 42 § III-4203

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section III-4203 - Minimum Standards for Electronic Gaming Devices

A. All EGDs submitted for approval:

1. shall be electronic in design and operation and shall be controlled by a microprocessor or micro-controller or the equivalent;

2. shall theoretically pay out a mathematically demonstrable percentage of all amounts wagered, which shall be at least 80 percent and less than 100 percent for each wager available for play on the device;

3. shall use a random selection process to determine the game outcome of each play of a game. The random selection process shall meet 99 percent confidence limits using a standard chi-squared test for goodness of fit and:

a. each possible permutation or combination of game elements which produce winning or losing game outcomes shall be available for random selection at the initiation of each play; and

b. the selection process shall not produce detectable patterns of game elements or detectable dependency upon any previous game outcome, the amount wagered, or upon the style or method of play;

4. shall display an accurate representation of the game outcome. After selection of the game outcome, the EGD shall not make a variable secondary decision which affects the result shown to the player;

5. shall display the rules of play and payoff schedule;

6. shall not automatically alter pay-tables or any function of the device based on internal computation of the hold percentage;

7. shall be compatible with on-line data monitoring;

8. shall have the control circuit board and the program storage media locked and secured within the device;

9. shall be able to continue a game with no data loss after a power failure;

10. shall have the ability to recall the data from the current and previous two games;

11. shall have a complete set of nonvolatile meters including coins-in, coins-out, coins dropped and total jackpots paid;

12. shall contain a surge protector on the line that feeds power to the device. The battery backup or an equivalent backup shall be kept within the locked logic board compartment and shall be capable of maintaining the accuracy of all required information for 180 days after power is discontinued from the device;

13. shall have an on/off switch that controls the electrical current used in the operation of the device which shall be located in an accessible place within its interior;

14. shall be designed so that it is not adversely affected by static discharge or other electromagnetic interference;

15. may have at least one electronic coin acceptor and may be equipped with an approved currency acceptor. Coin and currency acceptors shall be designed to accept designated coins and currency and reject others. The coin acceptor on a device shall be designed to prevent the use of cheating methods such as slugging, stringing, or spooning. All types of coin and currency acceptors are subject to the approval by the division. The control program shall be capable of handling rapidly fed coins so that occurrences of inappropriate "coin-ins" are prevented;

16. shall not contain any unsecured hardware switches that alter the pay-tables or payout percentages in its operation. Hardware switches may be installed to control graphic routines, speed of play, and sound;

17. shall have a non-removable identification plate on the exterior of the device displaying the manufacturer, serial number and model number;

18. shall have a communications data format from the EGD to the EGD monitoring system approved by the division;

19. shall be capable of continuing the current game with all current game features after a malfunction is cleared. This does not apply if a device is rendered totally inoperable. The current wager and all credits appearing on the screen prior to the malfunction shall be returned to the patron;

20. may have an attached locked compartment separate from any other compartment of the device for housing a drop bucket. The compartment shall be equipped with a switch or sensor that provides detection of the drop door opening and closing by signaling to the EGD monitoring system;

21. shall have a locked compartment for housing currency if equipped with a currency acceptor;

22. shall, at a minimum, be capable of detecting and displaying the following error conditions:

a. coin-in jam;

b. coin-out jam;

c. currency acceptor malfunction or jam;

d. hopper empty or time-out;

e. program error;

f. hopper runaway or extra coin paid out;

g. reverse coin-in;

h. reel error; and

i. door open;

23. shall use a communication protocol which ensures that erroneous data or signal will not adversely affect the operation of the device;

24. shall have a mechanical, electrical, or electronic device that automatically precludes a player from operating the device after a jackpot requiring a manual payout; and

25. shall be outfitted with any other equipment required by this Chapter or the Act.

B. Pursuant to R.S. 27:364, no electronic gaming device offered for play in the designated gaming area of a pari-mutuel eligible facility shall offer a game which resembles a game the play of which requires, or typically includes, the participation of another natural person.

La. Admin. Code tit. 42, § III-4203

Promulgated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Gaming Control Board, LR 38:1672 (July 2012).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 27:15 and 24.