A. The board shall make appropriate investigations to:

(1) determine whether there has been any violation of the Gaming Control Act or of any regulations adopted pursuant to that act;

(2) determine any facts, conditions, practices or matters that it deems necessary or proper to aid in the enforcement of the Gaming Control Act or regulations adopted pursuant to that act;

(3) aid in adopting regulations;

(4) secure information as a basis for recommending legislation relating to the Gaming Control Act; or

(5) determine whether a licensee is able to meet its financial obligations, including all financial obligations imposed by the Gaming Control Act, as they become due.

B. If after an investigation the board is satisfied that a license, registration, finding of suitability or prior approval by the board of any transaction for which approval was required by the provisions of the Gaming Control Act should be limited, conditioned, suspended or revoked, or that a fine should be levied, the board shall initiate a hearing by filing a complaint and transmitting a copy of it to the licensee, together with a summary of evidence in its possession bearing on the matter and the transcript of testimony at any investigative hearing conducted by or on behalf of the board. The complaint shall be a written statement of charges that sets forth in ordinary and concise language the acts or omissions with which the respondent is charged. It shall specify the statutes or regulations that the respondent is alleged to have violated but shall not consist merely of charges raised in the language of the statutes or regulations. The summary of the evidence shall be confidential and made available only to the respondent until such time as it is offered into evidence at any public hearing on the matter.

C. The respondent shall file an answer within thirty days after service of the complaint.

D. Upon filing the complaint, the board shall appoint a hearing examiner to conduct further proceedings.

E. The hearing examiner shall conduct proceedings in accordance with the Gaming Control Act and the regulations adopted by the board. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the hearing examiner may recommend that the board take any appropriate action, including revocation, suspension, limitation or conditioning of a license or imposition of a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each violation or any combination or all of the foregoing actions.

F. The hearing examiner shall prepare a written decision containing his recommendation to the board and shall serve it on all parties.

G. The board shall by a majority vote accept, reject or modify the recommendation.

H. If the board limits, conditions, suspends or revokes any license or imposes a fine or limits, conditions, suspends or revokes any registration, finding of suitability or prior approval, it shall issue a written order specifying its action.

I. The board's order is effective on the date issued and continues in effect unless reversed upon judicial review, except that the board may stay its order pending a rehearing or judicial review upon such terms and conditions as it deems proper.

History: Laws 1997, ch. 190, § 34; 2002, ch. 102, § 13.

The 2002 amendment, effective March 5, 2002, deleted the former last sentence in Subsection F, which provided for requests for review by the board of the hearing examiner's recommendations; deleted former Subsection G, relating to the board's review; and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly.