W. Va. Code R. § 178-5-3

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 48, November 27, 2024
Section 178-5-3 - Pari-Mutuel Wagering
3.1. General.
3.1.a. Each association shall conduct wagering in accordance with applicable laws and this rule. The wagering shall employ a pari-mutuel system approved by the Racing Commission. The totalisator shall be tested prior to and during the meeting as required by the Racing Commission.
3.2. Records.
3.2.a. The association shall maintain records of all wagering so the Racing Commission may review the records for any contest including the opening line, subsequent odds fluctuation, the amount and at which window wagers were placed on any betting interest and such other information as may be required. The wagering records shall be retained by each association and safeguarded for a period of one year. The Racing Commission may require that certain of these records be made available to the wagering public at the completion of each contest.
3.2.b. The association shall provide the Racing Commission with a list of the licensed individuals afforded access to pari-mutuel records and equipment at the wagering facility.
3.3. Pari-Mutuel Tickets.
3.3.a. A pari-mutuel ticket is evidence of a contribution to the pari-mutuel pool operated by the association and is evidence of the obligation of the association to pay to the holder of the ticket such portion of the distributable amount of the pari-mutuel pool as is represented by the valid pari-mutuel ticket. The association shall cash all valid winning tickets when they are presented for payment during the course of the meeting where sold, and for a specified period after the last day of the meeting.
3.3.b. To be considered a valid pari-mutuel ticket, the ticket shall have been issued by a pari-mutuel ticket machine operated by the association and recorded as a ticket entitled to a share of the pari-mutuel pool, and contain imprinted information setting forth:
3.3.b.1. the name of the association operating the meeting;
3.3.b.2. a unique identifying number or code;
3.3.b.3. identification of the terminal at which the ticket was issued;
3.3.b.4. a designation of the performance for which the wagering transaction was issued;
3.3.b.5. the contest number for which the pool is conducted;
3.3.b.6. the type or types of wagers represented;
3.3.b.7. the number or numbers representing the betting interests for which the wager is recorded; and
3.3.b.8. the amount or amounts of the contributions to the pari-mutuel pool or pools for which the ticket is evidence.
3.3.c. No pari-mutuel ticket recorded or reported as previously paid, canceled, or non-existent shall be considered a valid pari-mutuel ticket by the association. The association may withhold payment and refuse to cash any pari-mutuel ticket considered not valid, except as provided in subdivision 3.4.e. of this section.
3.4. Pari-Mutuel Ticket Sales.
3.4.a. Pari-mutuel tickets shall not be sold by anyone other than an association licensed to conduct pari-mutuel wagering.
3.4.b. No pari-mutuel ticket may be sold on a contest for which wagering has already been closed and no association is responsible for ticket sales entered into but not completed by issuance of a ticket before the totalisator is closed for wagering on the contest.
3.4.c. A bettor shall make a claim pertaining to a mistake on an issued ticket at the point of sale or prior to leaving the seller's window. Cancellation or exchange of tickets issued shall not be permitted after a patron has left a seller's window except in accordance with paragraph 4.1.h.2. of section 4 of this rule.
3.4.d. Payment on winning pari-mutuel wagers shall be made on the basis of the order of finish as purposely posted and declared "official". Any subsequent change in the order of finish or award of purse money as may result from a subsequent ruling by the stewards, judges, or Racing Commission shall in no way affect the pari-mutuel payout. If an error in the posted order of finish or payout figures is discovered, the official order of finish or payout prices may be corrected and an announcement concerning the change shall be made to the public.
3.4.e. The association shall not satisfy claims on lost, mutilated, or altered pari-mutuel tickets without authorization of the Racing Commission.
3.4.f. The association has no obligation to enter a wager into a betting pool if unable to do so due to equipment failure.
3.5. Claims for Payment from Pari-Mutuel Pool.
3.5.a. At a designated location, a written, verified claim for payment from a pari-mutuel pool shall be accepted by the association in any case where the association has withheld payment or has refused to cash a pari-mutuel wager. The claim shall be made on a form approved by the Racing Commission, and the claimant shall make the claim under penalty of perjury. The original of the claim shall be forwarded to the Racing Commission within forty-eight (48) hours.
3.5.a.1. In the case of a claim made for payment of a mutilated pari-mutuel ticket, which does not contain the total imprinted elements required in subdivision 3.3.b. of this section, the association shall make a recommendation to accompany the claim forwarded to the Racing Commission as to whether or not the mutilated ticket has sufficient elements to be positively identified as a winning ticket.
3.5.a.2. In the case of a claim made for payment on a pari-mutuel wager, the Racing Commission shall adjudicate the claim and may order payment on the claim from the pari-mutuel pool or by the association, or may deny the claim, or may make such other order as it may consider proper.
3.6. Payment for Errors.
3.6.a. If an error occurs in the payment amounts for pari-mutuel wagers which are cashed or entitled to be cashed; and as a result of the error the pari-mutuel pool involved in the error is not correctly distributed among winning ticket holders, the following applies:
3.6.a.1. Verification is required to show that the amount of the commission, the amount in breakage, and the amount in payouts is equal to the total gross pool. If the amount of the pool is more than the amount used to calculate the payout, the underpayment shall be added to the corresponding pool of the next contest. If underpayments are discovered after the close of the meeting, the underpayment shall be held in an interest-bearing account approved by the Racing Commission until being added, together with accrued interest, to the corresponding pool of the next meet.
3.6.b. Any claim not filed with the association within thirty (30) days, inclusive of the date on which the underpayment was publicly announced, shall be considered waived; and the association has no further liability for the claim.
3.6.c. In the event the error results in an overpayment to winning wagers, the association is responsible for the payment.
3.7. Betting Explanation.
3.7.a. A summary explanation of pari-mutuel wagering and each type of betting pool offered shall be published in the program for every wagering performance. The rules of racing relative to each type of pari-mutuel pool offered shall be prominently displayed on association grounds and available upon request through association representatives.
3.8. Display of Betting Information.
3.8.a. Approximate odds for Win pool betting shall be posted on display devices within view of the wagering public and updated at intervals of not more than ninety (90) seconds.
3.8.b. The probable payout or amounts wagered, in total and on each betting interest, for other pools may be displayed to the wagering public at intervals and in a manner approved by the Racing Commission.
3.8.c. Official results and payouts shall be displayed upon each contest being declared official.
3.9. Canceled Contests.
3.9.a. If a contest is canceled or declared "no contest", refunds shall be granted on valid wagers in accordance with this rule.
3.10. Refunds.
3.10.a. Notwithstanding other provisions of this rule, refunds of the entire pool shall be made on:
3.10.a.1. Win pools, Exacta pools, and first-half Double pools offered in contests in which the number of betting interests has been reduced to fewer than two (2);
3.10.a.2. Place pools, Quinella pools, Trifecta pools, first-half Quinella Double pools, first-half Twin Quinella pools, first-half Twin Trifecta pools, and first-half Tri-Superfecta pools offered in contests in which the number of betting interests has been reduced to fewer than three (3); and
3.10.a.3. Show pools, Superfecta pools, and first-half Twin Superfecta pools offered in contests in which the number of betting interests has been reduced to less than four (4). Authorized refunds shall be paid upon presentation and surrender of the affected pari-mutuel ticket.
3.11. Coupled Entries and Mutuel Fields.
3.11.a. Contestants coupled in wagering as a coupled entry or mutuel field shall be considered part of a single betting interest for the purpose of price calculations and distribution of pools. If any contestant in a coupled entry or mutuel field is officially withdrawn or scratched, the remaining contestants in that coupled entry or mutuel field remain valid betting interests and no refunds may be granted. If all contestants within a coupled entry or mutuel field are scratched, then tickets on the betting interests shall be refunded, notwithstanding other provisions of this rule.
3.11.b. For the purpose of price calculations only, coupled entries and mutuel fields shall be calculated as a single finisher, using the finishing position of the leading contestant in that coupled entry or mutuel field to determine order of placing. This rule applies to all circumstances, including situations involving a dead heat, except as otherwise provided by this rule.
3.12. Pools Dependent upon Betting Interests.
3.12.a. Unless the Racing Commission otherwise provides, at the time the pools are opened for wagering, the association:
3.12.a.1. may offer win wagering on all contests with two (2) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.2. may offer place wagering on any contest with four (4) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.3. may offer show wagering on any contest with five (5) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.4. may offer Quinella wagering on any contest with three (3) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.5. may offer Quinella Double wagering on any contest with three (3) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.6. may offer Exacta wagering on any contest with three (3) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.7. may offer Trifecta wagering on any contest with four (4) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.8. may offer Superfecta wagering on any contest with four (4) or more betting interests;
3.12.a.9. may offer Twin Quinella wagering on any contest with three (3) or more betting interests; and
3.12.a.10. shall not offer Twin Trifecta or Tri-Superfecta wagering on any contest with six (6) or fewer betting interests.
3.13. Prior Approval Required For Betting Pools.
3.13.a. An association that desires to offer new forms of wagering shall apply in writing to the Racing Commission and receive written approval prior to implementing the new betting pool.
3.13.b. The association may suspend previously approved forms of wagering with the prior approval of the Racing Commission. Any carryover shall be held until the suspended form of wagering is reinstated. An association may request approval of a form of wagering or separate wagering pool for specific performances.
3.14. Closing of Wagering in a Contest.
3.14.a. A Racing Commission representative shall close wagering for each contest after which time no pari-mutuel tickets shall be sold for that contest.
3.14.b. The association shall maintain, in good order, a system approved by the Racing Commission for closing wagering.
3.15. Complaints Pertaining to Pari-Mutuel Operations.
3.15.a. When a patron makes a complaint regarding the pari-mutuel department to an association, the association shall immediately issue a complaint report, setting out:
3.15.a.1. the name of the complainant;
3.15.a.2. the nature of the complaint;
3.15.a.3. the name of the persons, if any, against whom the complaint was made;
3.15.a.4. the date of the complaint; and
3.15.a.5. the action taken or proposed to be taken, if any, by the association.
3.15.b. The association shall submit every complaint report to the Racing Commission within forty-eight (48) hours after the complaint was made.
3.16. Licensed Employees.
3.16.a. All licensees shall report any known irregularities or wrongdoings by any person involving pari-mutuel wagering immediately to the Racing Commission and cooperate in subsequent investigations.
3.17. Unrestricted Access.
3.17.a. The association shall permit the Racing Commission unrestricted access at all times to its facilities and equipment and to all books, ledgers, accounts, documents and records of the association that relate to pari-mutuel wagering.
3.18. Emergency Situations.
3.18.a. In the event of an emergency in connection with the pari-mutuel department not covered in this rule, the pari-mutuel manager representing the association shall report the problem to the stewards and the association and the stewards shall render a full report to the Racing Commission within forty-eight (48) hours.

W. Va. Code R. § 178-5-3