N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69D-1.18A

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 12, June 17, 2024

Section 13:69D-1.18A - Presentation of recognized credit card or debit card in exchange for gaming chips or plaques

(a) A casino licensee may, in accordance with the provisions of this section, provide gaming chips or plaques to a patron at a gaming table in exchange for a valid charge or cash advance in the amount of gaming chips or plaques provided to the patron against a recognized credit card account or recognized debit card account maintained by the patron, thereby establishing a valid and enforceable debt owed by the patron. Each such exchange shall be known, respectively, as a "credit card chip transaction" or a "debit card chip transaction." Each casino licensee shall display in a conspicuous manner in its casino and, if applicable, casino simulcasting facility the name or registered credit or debit card logo of each recognized credit card or recognized debit card that may be accepted by the casino licensee as part of a credit or debit card chip transaction.

(b) Each credit or debit card chip transaction shall be initiated by a patron presenting a recognized credit card or recognized debit card at a gaming table and requesting the purchase of gaming chips or plaques from the dealer or boxperson. The dealer or boxperson shall notify the casino clerk of the request and present the recognized credit or debit card to the casino clerk for processing.

(c) The casino clerk shall perform the procedures and prepare the documents or computer records that are required by the internal controls of the casino licensee to evidence a credit or debit card chip transaction. At a minimum, these procedures and documents or computer records shall enable a casino licensee to:

1. Create a record of the removal of gaming chips or plaques from the table inventory by requiring the deposit in the drop box of a document that identifies the value of the gaming chips or plaques being exchanged and the reason for their exchange;

2. Maintain an accounting log of each credit or debit card chip transaction by gaming table and by shift;

3. Establish the identity of its employees who participate in the transaction;

4. Provide a receipt to the patron indicating the amount being charged against the patron's recognized credit or debit card account; and

5. Obtain a valid exemplar of the signature of the patron presenting the recognized credit or debit card.

(d) Prior to the issuance of gaming chips or plaques to the patron by the dealer or boxperson, the casino clerk shall:

1. Verify the validity of the patron's recognized credit or debit card by:

i. For a credit card chip transaction, contacting, either directly or through the use of a registered electronic funds transfer company, the issuer of the recognized credit card;

ii. For a debit card chip transaction, contacting, either directly the issuer of the recognized debit card or through the use of a registered debit card verification agency which either:

(1) Performs the validation directly based on information supplied to it by the financial institution where the patron maintains the account that is being accessed with the debit card; or

(2) Relays the verification request to the financial institution where the patron maintains the account being accessed with the debit card, which financial institution then validates the card based on its own records;

2. Obtain, using the same methods identified in (d)1 above, the approval of the issuer of the recognized credit or debit card for a charge or cash advance against the account of the patron in an amount that is equal to the value of the gaming chips or plaques requested by the patron;

3. Examine the recognized credit or debit card to ensure that a signature appears on the card in the space provided for the signature of the authorized user; and

4. Confirm the identity of the presenting patron as the authorized user of the recognized credit or debit card by:

i. Performing any identification procedures that the issuer of the recognized credit or debit card or, if applicable, the registered electronic funds transfer company or registered debit card verification agency, requires a merchant to follow upon presentation of the card by the cardholder; or

ii. If the issuer of the recognized credit or debit card or, if applicable, the registered electronic funds transfer company or debit card verification agency does not require a merchant to perform any identification procedures upon presentation of the card by a cardholder, either:

(1) Comparing the signature on the credit or debit card with the signature affixed by the patron on at least one of the documents used by the casino licensee to evidence the credit or debit card chip transaction; or

(2) Obtaining the written and signed attestation of a casino supervisor as to the identity of the patron on a form on which the casino supervisor's name and license number is recorded.

(e) Each casino licensee that uses a registered electronic funds transfer company to comply with the requirements of (d)1 and 2 above may, in lieu of establishing a direct charge or cash advance against the credit card account of the patron, permit the registered electronic funds transfer company to establish such direct charge or cash advance and accept the check or draft of the registered electronic funds transfer company as being the source of payment for the gaming chips or plaques to be exchanged with the patron. Any check or draft accepted by a casino licensee from a registered electronic funds transfer company pursuant to this subsection shall be:

1. Processed by the casino licensee in accordance with the requirements of (d) above;

2. Drawn incident to, and as a direct result of, a patron requesting a charge or cash advance against his or her recognized credit card account in order to obtain gaming chips or plaques as part of a credit card chip transaction;

3. Made payable to the casino licensee or to the patron requesting the transaction and dated with the date of the transaction; and

4. Printed on a machine that is connected telephonically to the registered electronic funds transfer company and located, at the option of the casino licensee, in the pit where the credit card is presented or in the cashiers' cage; provided that, for checks printed in the cashiers' cage, the casino licensee shall transport the check or draft from the cashiers' cage to the appropriate pit by a secure method as described in its internal controls.

(f) After the casino clerk completes all documents or computer records required for the processing of the credit or debit card chip transaction and obtains the endorsement, if required, or signature of the patron presenting the recognized credit or debit card, the casino clerk shall deliver the document to be deposited into the drop box to the dealer or boxperson, who shall process the document as if it were cash.

(g) Unless the procedures of the issuer of the recognized credit or debit card or, as applicable, the registered electronic funds transfer company or registered debit card verification agency, require the confiscation of the recognized credit or debit card presented by the patron, the casino clerk shall return the recognized credit or debit card to the patron at the conclusion of the credit or debit card chip transaction.

(h) Each casino licensee that accepts a recognized credit or debit card in a credit or debit card chip transaction shall indicate in its internal controls the method by which it will notify a patron of the fees, if any, that the casino licensee or, as applicable, registered electronic funds transfer company or registered debit card verification agency, will charge the patron for processing a credit or debit card chip transaction.

(i) Any credit or debit card presented by a patron as part of a credit or debit card chip transaction that has not been signed in the space provided for the signature of the authorized user prior to its presentation at the table (an "unsigned card") or that does not require and has no space for the authorized user to sign the card, shall not qualify as a recognized credit or debit card for purposes of this section; provided, however, that an unsigned card that qualifies as a recognized credit or debit card but for the absence of the signature of the authorized user may be accepted in a credit or debit card chip transaction if:

1. The issuer of the credit card or debit card and, if applicable, the registered electronic funds transfer company or registered debit card verification agency, permits any merchant to which the card is presented to accept the card without the authorized user signing the card before it is presented, and the casino licensee follows the procedures established by the issuer of the recognized credit or debit card and, if applicable, the registered electronic funds transfer company or registered debit card verification agency, for accepting the credit or debit card in such circumstances; and

2. Either of the following two conditions is satisfied:

i. The casino licensee performs additional steps to verify, in accordance with its internal controls, that the patron presenting the unsigned card is the authorized user of the card, which steps shall be recorded in a log to be maintained by the casino licensee; or

ii. The unsigned card is designed to and does include a clear photograph of the face of the authorized user as a permanent part of the card and the casino licensee reasonably concludes that the presenting patron is the person whose photograph is on the card.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69D-1.18A