W. Va. Code R. § 179-4-57

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 36, September 6, 2024

Section 179-4-57 - License Required to Provide Management Services; Standards and Criteria; Commission Action; Denied License; Reapplication; Renewal

57.1. When a person that is not a natural person will provide the limited gaming facility licensee with substantial management services, such as managing the day-to-day operation of authorized games of chance or all casino games, the person shall hold a management services provider license.

57.2. To qualify for a license, the applicant shall meet the requirements of this rule. Each controlling natural person of an applicant shall be of good moral character and reputation, and shall have the necessary experience and financial ability to successfully carry out the functions of a management services provider.

57.3. A person applying for a management service provider's license and a person required to be qualified as part of the application shall complete and submit the application and disclosure forms in the manner and form prescribed by the Commission. The application and disclosure forms shall be made under oath on prescribed forms provided by the Commission.

57.4. The application procedures for a management services provider's license are as follows:

57.4.a. Upon application, an applicant shall assume and accept, in writing, under oath, all risk of adverse publicity, notoriety, embarrassment, criticism, financial loss, or other unfavorable or harmful consequences that may occur in connection with the application process or the public disclosure of information submitted with the application;

57.4.b. Upon application, an applicant shall also expressly waive and give up, in writing, under oath, all claims for damages that may result from the application and licensing process;

57.4.c. Upon application, an applicant shall also consent, in writing, under oath, to being subject to inspections, investigations, audits, searches, and seizures for the duration of the management service provider's license for which application is made, if the license is issued;

57.4.d. Upon application, an applicant shall also authorize and consent, in writing, under oath, to release and disclose to the Commission and its authorized representatives and agents all otherwise confidential records of the applicant that the Commission requests from the applicant or from third parties, including, without limitation, tax records and financial records held by a federal, state, or local governmental agency, a credit bureau, or a financial institution while applying for, or while holding, a management services provider's license under the Act and this rule;

57.4.e. The Commission shall use the information provided in the prescribed application and disclosure form as a basis for an appropriate background investigation for evaluating and determining the eligibility, qualifications, and suitability of the applicant to receive the license for which application is made. The Commission shall make the evaluation and determination under the licensing standards and criteria provided in the Act and rules of the Commission. A misrepresentation or omission in the application is cause for denial, suspension, restriction, or revocation of a license by the Commission;

57.4.f. A person applying for a management services provider's license shall provide the name, address, and telephone number of a representative to act as a liaison to the Commission's background investigators, and shall facilitate, assist, and cooperate with the Commission in its conduct of background investigations under the Act and this rule;

57.4.g. The Commission shall not issue a management services provider's license or renewal license unless the person applying for the license, and each person required to be qualified as part of the application for issuance or renewal of the license, has completed and filed with the Commission all required applications, license renewal reports and disclosure forms in the manner and form prescribed by the Commission, has provided all information, documentation, assurances, waivers, and releases, and has paid the fees required by the Act and this rule;

57.4.h. An applicant shall file all required application forms before the expiration of deadlines established and published by the Commission;

57.4.i. An applicant is under a continuing duty to disclose any material changes in the information or documentation provided in or with the application, renewal, and disclosure forms submitted to the Commission;

57.4.j. A person applying for a management services provider's license shall request amendment of its application when it knows, or should have known, that there has been a change in any of the following:

57.4.j.1. The applicant's key persons or the key persons of any holding company or affiliate that has control of the applicant;

57.4.j.2. The type of business organization or entity;

57.4.j.3. A holding company or affiliate;

57.4.j.4. The investors or debt holders, or both; or

57.4.j.5. A source of funds.

57.4.k. A publicly traded corporation shall be considered to have complied with this rule if it has complied with the reporting requirements provided by section twelve of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ( 15 U.S.C. §78 );

57.4.l. A management services provider's license application may be withdrawn upon written notice to the Commission before Commission action on the application if all background investigation costs of the Commission have been paid in full by the person applying for a management services provider's license; and

57.4.m. The Commission may allow information, documents, or other materials submitted by an applicant in a withdrawn application to be incorporated by reference into a subsequent application;

57.5. A management services provider's license application shall require that the person applying for the license and a person required to qualify as part of the application submit all of the following information and documentation on forms prescribed by the Commission:

57.5.a. The name of the person applying for a management services provider's license and any holding company or affiliate that has control of the applicant and the person's, company's, or affiliate's respective business address, phone number, federal identification number, and West Virginia taxpayer identification number;

57.5.b. To the extent known and identified by the applicant, the identity and home and business addresses and phone numbers of the key persons of the person applying for a management services provider's license, of a holding company or affiliate that has control of the applicant, and of any other person required to be qualified as part of the applicant's application under the Act and this rule; and

57.5.c. Applications and disclosure forms completed by the person applying for a management services provider's license and by the key persons of the applicant, a holding company or affiliate that has control of the applicant, and any other identified person required to be qualified as part of that applicant's application. The applications and disclosure forms shall contain all information and documentation that the Commission requires to determine the eligibility, qualifications, and suitability of each person under section thirty-three of the Act, specifically including photographs and fingerprints of each individual person required to be qualified as part of the application. The photographs and fingerprints shall be taken at a time and place designated by the Director. Photos that have been taken within ninety days of submitting an application may be sent with the applicable disclosure form to fulfill the photo requirement. Each applicant shall submit the following kinds of information:

57.5.c.1. All of the following information for each natural person required to be qualified as part of the application:

57.5.c.1.A. Name;

57.5.c.1.B. Aliases and nicknames;

57.5.c.1.C. Date of birth;

57.5.c.1.D. Physical description;

57.5.c.1.E. Citizenship;

57.5.c.1.F. Marital history and family data; and

57.5.c.1.G. Home and business addresses and phone numbers;

57.5.c.2. Personal, business, and financial information relevant to the moral character, reputation, integrity, business probity, experience and ability, and financial experience, stability, and responsibility of the person applying for a management services provider's license and each person required to be qualified as part of the application;

57.5.c.3. A listing of the jurisdictions in which the person applying for a management services provider's license and each person required to be qualified as part of that application holds or has held a management services provider's license or other gaming-related license;

57.5.c.4. Information regarding any previous civil litigation that involves the business practices of, or criminal arrests, charges, or dispositions involving, the person applying for a management services provider's license and each person required to be qualified as part of the application;

57.5.c.5. Information regarding the incorporation, partnership, or other business structure and organization of the person applying for the management services provider's license and the applicant's key persons and any holding company or affiliate that has control of the applicant;

57.5.c.6. Information regarding the services that the person applying for a management services provider's license will provide to the limited gaming facility licensee, including, without limitation, information regarding the knowledge, skill, education, training, and experience of the applicant and the managerial employees who will represent the applicant and conduct its business in West Virginia;

57.5.c.7. Information regarding any previous bankruptcy proceedings filed by or against the person applying for a management services provider's license or any other person required to be qualified as part of the application;

57.5.c.8. Information regarding any previous formal legal proceedings to adjust, deter, suspend, or otherwise work out payment of any debt owed by the person applying for a management services provider's license or any other person required to be qualified as part of the application;

57.5.c.9. Information regarding any previous violation of, or noncompliance with, management services provider licensing or regulatory requirements in West Virginia or any other jurisdiction by the person applying for a management services provider's license or any other person required to be qualified as part of the application;

57.5.c.10. Information regarding any previous violation of, or noncompliance with, any other licensing and regulatory requirements involving other regulated gaming in West Virginia or any other jurisdiction by the person applying for a management services provider's license or any other person required to be qualified as part of the application;

57.5.c.11. Information regarding whether the person applying for a management services provider's license or any other person required to be qualified as part of the application has ever held a management services provider's license or other gaming-related license that was restricted, suspended, or revoked in West Virginia or any other jurisdiction; and

57.5.c.12. Other information which is required by the Commission regarding the person applying for a management services provider's license and any other person required to be qualified as part of the application and which is considered necessary by the Commission to protect the public and enhance the credibility and integrity of gaming in West Virginia and to properly evaluate the applicant's eligibility, qualifications, and suitability to be licensed as a management services provider under the Act and this rule.

57.6. A person that is required to be licensed as a management services provider under the Act and this rule shall, before issuance of a management services provider's license, produce information, documentation, and assurances in its application to establish all of the following by clear and convincing evidence:

57.6.a. The applicant and all other persons required to be qualified as part of the application are eligible, qualified, and suitable for licensure under the licensing standards, criteria, and requirements set forth in section thirty-three of the Act and this rule;

57.6.b. The financial stability and responsibility of the applicant;

57.6.c. The applicant and all other persons required to be qualified as part of the application demonstrate a level of skill, experience, knowledge, and ability necessary to supply management services that the applicant seeks permission to provide to the casino licensee in compliance with the Act and this rule;

57.6.d. The applicant and all other persons required to be qualified as part of the application have not been convicted of any disqualifying crime listed in section sixteen of the Act; and

57.6.e. The applicant and all other persons required to be qualified as part of the application do not appear on the exclusion list of any jurisdiction.

57.7. The Commission shall take the following action on an application for a management services provider license:

57.7.a. After the completion of the background investigation, the Director shall report to the Commission, in writing, regarding the staff's background investigation of the applicant. Upon receipt of the Director's report, the Commission shall grant or deny the application;

57.7.b. If the Commission grants the application, it shall direct the Director to issue a management services provider's license;

57.7.c. If the Commission denies the application, then it shall instruct the Director to issue the applicant a notice of denial by certified mail; and

57.7.d. If the applicant fails to request a hearing by certified mail within ten days of the applicant's receipt of the notice of denial to contest the denial, the notice of denial becomes the final order of the Commission.

57.8. A person whose application for a management services provider license has been denied may not reapply for a management services provider license for a period of one year from the date on which the Commission voted to deny the application unless the Commission allows reapplication at an earlier date.

57.9. A person whose application for a management services provider license was denied may seek leave of the Commission to reapply by addressing the request to the Commission. The Commission may require the applicant to present oral or written argument outlining why an exception should be made.

57.10. Each year, a management service provider licensee shall pay to the Commission an annual license renewal fee of one hundred dollars in order to maintain its license. Additionally, prior to annual renewal, the management service provider licensee shall file a written report with the Commission containing the following information:

57.10.a. If the licensee is a publicly traded corporation regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a current list, to the extent known by the licensee at the time of submitting the report, of all key persons, affiliates and affiliated companies, the key persons of any person that has control of the licensee, and the identity of all other persons required to be qualified as part of the licensee's request for renewal of the license under the Act and this rule;

57.10.b. If the licensee is not a publicly traded corporation regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a current list, to the extent known by the licensee at the time of submitting the report, of all key persons, affiliates and affiliated companies of the licensee, the key persons of any persons that have control of the licensee, and all other persons, other than publicly traded corporations and their 5% or less shareholders, that have more than a 1% direct, indirect, or attributed pecuniary or equity interest in the licensee;

57.10.c. To the extent that information has changed or has not been previously reported to the Commission, updated personal, business, and financial information, as the Commission may require, related to the eligibility, suitability, and general fitness of the licensee under the Act and this rule to continue to hold the license for which renewal is requested. The information shall include, without limitation, changes regarding the identification, integrity, moral character, reputation, and relevant business experience, ability and probity, and financial experience, ability, and responsibility of the licensee and each of the persons required to be qualified for renewal of the license under the Act and this rule;

57.10.d. A statement under oath by the licensee's managing officer or director that the information provided in the licensee's annual renewal report is current, complete, true, and accurate, and that the licensee has fulfilled its obligation under the Act and this rule to notify the Commission of any change in information provided in its original license application and subsequent annual license renewal reports previously filed with the Commission;

57.10.e. Financial statements and reports regarding the current capital structure and financial condition of the licensee, prepared by the licensee in the manner and form prescribed by the Commission, indicating the licensee's current financial ability to conduct and maintain its management services provider business in a financially responsible manner, in accordance with the requirements of the Act and this rule, and satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with financing agreements and other contractual obligations; and

57.10.f. Other information and documentation that the Commission may require to determine the licensee's eligibility, suitability, and qualification to have its license renewed under the licensing standards of the Act and this rule.

57.11. A management service provider license shall be renewed by the Commission if all of the following requirements are met:

57.11.a. The licensee continues to be in good standing with the Commission; and

57.11.b. The licensee submits the $100.00 annual license renewal fee, in the manner and form required by the Commission, not less than ten days before expiration of the license.

57.12. The Commission may refuse to renew a management service provider license and issue a notice of non-renewal if the licensee fails to file its annual renewal report in a timely manner, or if the Director reports in writing to the Commission, after reviewing the licensee's annual renewal report, that the license should not be renewed because the licensee's annual renewal report does not provide the information and documentation prescribed and required by the Commission to establish and determine that the licensee is eligible, qualified, or suitable to continue to be licensed and that the licensee is prepared, ready, and able to continue providing goods and services to the limited gaming facility in compliance with the Act and this rule.

57.13. A management service provider licensee who is served with a notice of non-renewal under this rule may request a hearing under this rule.

57.13.a. The notice of non-renewal does not constitute a finding by the Commission that the management service provider licensee is ineligible, unqualified, or unsuitable for licensure or is otherwise in violation of the licensing requirements of the Act or rules of the Commission, unless the licensee fails to request a hearing under this rule within ten calendar days.

57.13.b. If the licensee does not request a hearing in a timely manner, then the notice of non-renewal becomes the final order of the Commission.

W. Va. Code R. § 179-4-57