Promotional Activities

PURPOSE: This rule defines and clarifies the requirements for approval of giveaways and promotions. (1) For the purposes of this rule, the following words are defined as: (A) Promotional giveaway—a promotional gift or item given by a licensee to any person meeting the licensee’s promotional criteria, where the person provides no consideration and there is no chance or skill involved in the awarding of the promotional gift or item, and all persons meeting the criteria receive the same promotional gift or item; (B) Patron—any person present on the premises of a Class B licensee that is not employed by such Class B licensee or the commission and is not on the premises as a vendor of the Class B licensee; (C) Promotional coupon—any instrument offering any person something of value and issued by a Class B licensee to entice the person to come to the Class B licensee’s premises or for use in or related to licensed gambling games at a licensee’s gaming establishment; (D) Promotional game—a drawing, event, contest or game in which patrons of a Class B licensee may, without giving consideration, participate or compete for the chance to win a prize or prizes of different values; and (E) Player reward program—a promotional activity that provides redeemable player reward points to patrons as a result of wagering regardless of game outcome and based on predetermined formulas. (2) Class B licensees may provide promotional activities such as promotional giveaways, promotional coupons, promotional games, player reward programs, or similar activities for patrons without the prior approval of the commission, provided the promotional activity is not structured or conducted in a manner that reflects negatively on the licensee, the commission, or the integrity of gaming in Missouri and complies with the following: (A) No false or misleading statements, written or oral, shall be made by a licensee or its employees or agents regarding any aspect of any promotional activity; (B) The promotional activity shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations and shall not constitute illegal gambling under federal or state law; (C) The Class B licensee shall create dated, written rules governing the promotional activity, which rules shall be immediately available to the public and the commission upon GAMING COMMISSION request. The licensee shall maintain the rules of the event and all amendments thereto, including criteria for entry and winning, prizes awarded, and prize winners, for a minimum of two (2) years from the last day of the event; (D) All prizes offered in the promotional activity shall be awarded according to the Class B licensee’s rules governing the event; (E) The licensee’s employees shall not be permitted to participate as a player in any gambling game as defined in section 313.800, RSMo, including games for which there is no cost to participate; (F) The Class B licensee shall designate in its internal control system an employee position acceptable to the commission that shall be responsible for ensuring adherence to the rules set forth in this section; and (G) These standards do not apply to promotional activities exclusively related to food, concerts, hotels, and other nongaming establishments. (3) Documentation of any change or cancellation of a promotional activity shall be maintained on file for two (2) years. (4) Payouts from promotional activities are not winnings paid to wagerers under section 313.800.1(1), RSMo, and as such shall not be deductible when calculating adjusted gross receipts. (5) Promotional coupons shall contain the following information preprinted on the coupon: (A) The name of the gaming facility; (B) The city or other locality and state where the gaming facility is located; (C) Specific value of any monetary coupon stated in U.S. dollars; (D) Sequential identification numbers, player tracking numbers with unique numbers added to them, or other similar means of unique identification of each coupon for complete, accurate tracking and accounting purposes; (E) A specific expiration date or condition; and (F) All conditions required to redeem the coupon. (6) Class B licensees may use mass media to provide promotional coupon offers to prospective patrons; however, such offers may only be redeemed for a preprinted coupon that contains all of the information required for a promotional coupon in section (5) of this rule. (7) Class B licensees offering promotional coupons shall track the issuance and redemption of each promotional coupon. Documentation of the promotional coupon tracking shall be maintained on file for two (2) years and made readily available to the commission upon request. The inventory of unissued promotional coupons must be maintained in a reasonable manner that prevents theft or fraud. (8) Promotional coupons shall be cancelled at the time they are redeemed in a manner that will prevent multiple redemptions of the same coupon. AUTHORITY: sections 313.004 and 313.805, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed July 9, 2004, effective Jan. 30, 2005. Amended: Filed June 30, 2005, effective Jan. 30, 2006. Amended: Filed March 29, 2012, effective Nov. 30, 2012. Amended: Filed April 26, 2018, effective Dec. 30, 2018. *Original authority: 313.004, RSMo 1993, amended 1994, 2014 and 313.805, RSMo 1991, amended 1993, 1994, 2000, 2008, 2010.