15 U.S.C. § 3003 — Acceptance of interstate off-track wager

Page 1971 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 3006 § 3003. Acceptance of interstate off-track wager No person may accept an interstate off-track wager except as provided in this chapter. (Pub. L. 95–515, § 4, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1813.) § 3004. Regulation of interstate off-track wager- ing (a) Consent of host racing association, host rac- ing commission, and off-track racing commis- sion as prerequisite to acceptance of wager An interstate off-track wager may be accepted by an off-track betting system only if consent is obtained from— (1) the host racing association, except that— (A) as a condition precedent to such con- sent, said racing association (except a not- for-profit racing association in a State where the distribution of off-track betting revenues in that State is set forth by law) must have a written agreement with the horsemen’s group, under which said racing association may give such consent, setting forth the terms and conditions relating thereto; provided, (B) that where the host racing association has a contract with a horsemen’s group at the time of enactment of this chapter which contains no provisions referring to inter- state off-track betting, the terms and condi- tions of said then-existing contract shall be deemed to apply to the interstate off-track wagers and no additional written agreement need be entered into unless the parties to such then-existing contract agree otherwise. Where such provisions exist in such existing contract, such contract shall govern. Where written consents exist at the time of enact- ment of this chapter between an off-track betting system and the host racing associa- tion providing for interstate off-track wa- gers, or such written consents are executed by these parties prior to the expiration of such then-existing contract, upon the expi- ration of such then-existing contract the written agreement of such horsemen’s group shall thereafter be required as such condi- tion precedent and as a part of the regular contractual process, and may not be with- drawn or varied except in the regular con- tractual process. Where no such written con- sent exists, and where such written agree- ment occurs at a racing association which has a regular contractual process with such horsemen’s group, said agreement by the horsemen’s group may not be withdrawn or varied except in the regular contractual process; (2) the host racing commission; (3) the off-track racing commission. (b) Approval of tracks as prerequisite to accept- ance of wager; exceptions (1) In addition to the requirement of sub- section (a), any off-track betting office shall ob- tain the approval of— (A) all currently operating tracks within 60 miles of such off-track betting office; and (B) if there are no currently operating tracks within 60 miles then the closest cur- rently operating track in an adjoining State. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of para- graph (1) of this subsection, any off-track bet- ting office in a State with at least 250 days of on-track parimutuel horseracing a year, may ac- cept interstate off-track wagers for a total of 60 racing days and 25 special events a year without the approval required by paragraph (1), if with respect to such 60 racing days, there is no racing of the same type at the same time of day being conducted within the off-track betting State within 60 miles of the off-track betting office ac- cepting the wager, or such racing program can- not be completed. Excluded from such 60 days and from the consent required by subsection (b)(1) may be dark days which occur during a regularly scheduled race meeting in said off- track betting State. In order to accept any interstate off-track wager under the terms of the preceding sentence the off-track betting of- fice shall make identical offers to any racing as- sociation described in subparagraph (A) of sub- section (b)(1). Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to reduce or eliminate the ne- cessity of obtaining all the approvals required by subsection (a). (c) Takeout amount No parimutuel off-track betting system may employ a takeout for an interstate wager which is greater than the takeout for corresponding wagering pools of off-track wagers on races run within the off-track State except where such greater takeout is authorized by State law in the off-track State. (Pub. L. 95–515, § 5, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1813.) § 3005. Liability and damages Any person accepting any interstate off-track wager in violation of this chapter shall be civ- illy liable for damages to the host State, the host racing association and the horsemen’s group. Damages for each violation shall be based on the total of off-track wagers as follows: (1) If the interstate off-track wager was of a type accepted at the host racing association, damages shall be in an amount equal to that portion of the takeout which would have been distributed to the host State, host racing asso- ciation and the horsemen’s group, as if each such interstate off-track wager had been placed at the host racing association. (2) If such interstate off-track wager was of a type not accepted at the host racing associa- tion, the amount of damages shall be deter- mined at the rate of takeout prevailing at the off-track betting system for that type of wager and shall be distributed according to the same formulas as in paragraph (1) above. (Pub. L. 95–515, § 6, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1814.) § 3006. Civil action (a) Parties; remedies The host State, the host racing association, or the horsemen’s group may commence a civil ac- tion against any person alleged to be in viola- tion of this chapter, for injunctive relief to re- strain violations and for damages in accordance with section 3005 of this title. (b) Intervention In any civil action under this section, the host State, the host racing association and horse-