Complimentary Services or Items and Promotional Gaming Credits

(1) A system of internal controls submitted by a gaming licensee in accordance with 205 CMR 138.02 shall include a detailed complimentary distribution program consistent with M.G.L. c. 23K, § 28 and a description of its proposed use and distribution of promotional gaming credits. The program shall include provisions detailing the protocols and procedures for the distribution of complimentary alcoholic beverages to patrons in the gaming area. Further, if in accordance with 205 CMR 136.07(4), alcoholic beverages will be provided free of charge to patrons in a licensed area outside of the gaming area, and paid for by a third party other than the gaming beverage licensee or jointly responsible person or will be paid for using a form of monetary-like consideration other than money, the gaming licensee shall detail the manner in which such payments will be made and/or accepted and records of the transaction maintained. (2) The gaming licensee's complimentary distribution program shall be such that reasonable assurance is provided that any complimentary services or items, as defined by M.G.L. c. 23K, § 2, whether provided directly to the patron and the patron's guests by the gaming licensee or indirectly to the patron and the patron's guests on behalf of a third party, are: (a) Issued by employees authorized for such purposes in accordance with the program; (b) In accordance with M.G.L. c. 23K, § 28(c), valued in an amount based upon the retail price normally charged by the gaming licensee for the service or item. The value of a complimentaryservice or item not normallyoffered for sale by a gaming licensee or provided by a third party on behalf of a gaming licensee shall be the cost to the gaming licensee of providing the service or item, as determined under rules adopted by the commission; (c) Recorded, compiled and maintained in such a way so as to allow a system of reporting in accordance with M.G.L. c. 23K, § 28(b) that can report complimentaries by date, issuer, recipient, type, and value. (3) A gaming licensee may include in its policy and procedure provisions for the discretionary discounting of the amount of an outstanding Counter Check to be redeemed by a patron for any marketing related reason. (4) Thegaminglicensee'scomplimentarydistribution program shall include provisions ensuring that each patron who has been issued a rewards card by the gaming licensee (or its parent or other associated entity) in Massachusetts is issued a monthly statement, mailed to the patron at the patron's physical mailing address, which shall include the patron's total bets, wins and losses in Massachusetts in accordance with M.G.L. c. 23K, § 29. For purposes of 205 CMR 138.13(4), the following shall apply: (a) An email address provided by the patron at the time a rewards card is applied for may be considered a physical mailing address. If a gaming licensee will provide the required notices via email, its program submission shall describe the manner in which the email contact list will be compiled and maintained. (b) Notice of the issuance of a monthly statement shall be provided to the applicant at the time of application for a rewards card. The applicant shall be given the opportunity to decline issuance of a monthly statement at that time. Notice shall also be provided to the applicant that they may later opt-out of being issued a monthly statement by providing a written or online request to the gaming licensee or affiliate. The complimentary distribution program submission shall describe these notice and opt-out provisions. (c) The program submission shall describe the information to be contained on the monthly statement including the terms and categories to be represented and a brief description as to how monetary figures are to be calculated. (d) If monthly total bets, wins and losses associated with a rewards card will be available to a patron via password protected log-in on the gaming licensee's website, or via similar means, the gaming licensee mayprovide the patron a monthly notice (via email or otherwise) advising where the information is available and how to access it, in lieu of incorporating the actual information into a monthly statement. If a gaming licensee elects this method the process shall be fully described in its complimentary distribution program submission. (e) Upon written request by a patron, information relative to total bets, wins and losses associated with the patron's rewards card shall be made available to the patron in writing at a gaming establishment upon reasonable notice. (f) If there is no gaming activity tied to a patron's rewards card for a period of at least two years the gaming licensee may cease providing notices to the patron in accordance with 205 CMR 138.13(4).