A. A person shall not conduct gaming unless the person is licensed as a gaming operator.

B. A person shall not sell, supply or distribute a gaming device or associated equipment for use or play in this state or for use or play outside of this state from a location within this state unless the person is licensed as a distributor or manufacturer, but a gaming operator licensee may sell or trade in a gaming device or associated equipment to a gaming operator licensee, distributor licensee or manufacturer licensee.

C. Except as provided in Subsection D of this section, a person shall not manufacture, fabricate, assemble, program or make modifications to a gaming device or associated equipment for use or play in this state or for use or play outside of this state from any location within this state unless the person is a manufacturer licensee. A manufacturer licensee may sell, supply or distribute only the gaming devices or associated equipment that the manufacturer licensee manufactures, fabricates, assembles, programs or modifies.

D. Upon receiving a written request from a person who manufactures associated equipment, the board may waive the requirement for a manufacturer's license on the terms and conditions the board deems necessary as long as the waiver is consistent with the purpose of the Gaming Control Act.

E. Except as provided in Section 60-2E-13.1 NMSA 1978, a gaming operator licensee or a person other than a manufacturer licensee or distributor licensee shall not possess an unlicensed or illegal gaming device or possess or control a place where there is an unlicensed or illegal gaming device. Any unlicensed or illegal gaming device, except a gaming machine in the possession of a licensee while awaiting transfer to a gaming operator licensee for licensure of the machine, or as provided in Section 60-2E-13.1 NMSA 1978, is subject to seizure and forfeiture pursuant to Section 30-19-10 NMSA 1978.

F. A person shall not service or repair a gaming device or associated equipment unless the person is licensed as a manufacturer, is employed by a manufacturer licensee or is a technician approved by the board and employed by a distributor licensee or a gaming operator licensee.

G. A person shall not engage in an activity for which the board requires a license or permit without obtaining the license or permit.

H. Except as provided in Subsections B and D of this section, a person shall not purchase, lease or acquire possession of a gaming device or associated equipment except from a distributor licensee or manufacturer licensee.

I. A distributor licensee may receive a percentage of the amount wagered, the net take or other measure related to the operation of a gaming machine as a payment pursuant to a lease or other arrangement for furnishing a gaming machine, but the board shall adopt a regulation setting the maximum allowable percentage.

History: Laws 1997, ch. 190, § 15; 2002, ch. 102, § 8; 2007, ch. 217, § 2.

The 2007 amendment, effective April 2, 2007, required a person who services or repairs a gaming device or associated equipment to be approved by the board.

The 2002 amendment, effective March 5, 2002, inserted the exception clause at the beginning of Subsection C; added present Subsection D and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; and rewrote present Subsection E, inserting the references to Sections 60-2E-13.1 and 30-19-10 and to illegal gaming devices, and inserting "possess an unlicensed or illegal gaming device or" in the first sentence.

Slot machines in private home not to be considered as a "gaming machine" to make them subject to the act. State ex rel. N.M. Gaming Control Bd. v. Ten (10) Gaming Devices, 2005-NMCA-117, 138 N.M. 426, 120 P.3d 848, cert. quashed, 2006-NMCERT-003, 139 N.M. 352, 132 P.3d 1038.

Forfeiture of machine in private residence. — When the exclusion in Section 60-2E-3 N NMSA 1978 is asserted, the activity in the private residence at the time the slot machine is seized determines whether the machine is subject to forfeiture. State ex rel. N.M. Gaming Control Bd. v. Ten (10) Gaming Devices, 2005-NMCA-117, 138 N.M. 426, 120 P.3d 848, cert. quashed, 2006-NMCERT-003, 139 N.M. 352, 132 P.3d 1038.