Important multi-game agreement date pending
Pub Date: 11/1/2007
By Gene Huntington, Administrator
The Gambling Control Division
The good news is that January 1, 2008, will see the end of the multi-game agreement paperwork that has proven annoying for gambling operators and the Gambling Control Division.
The only down side is that the small number of operators who have not yet signed one of the agreements could be in for some inconvenience and delays after January 1.
To avoid any problems, the Gambling Control Division is urging locations that have not yet signed a multi-game agreement to do so before the new year.
Operators do not need to purchase or permit a multi-game machine to sign an agreement. However, they should consider signing an agreement in the next couple of months if at some time they may want to offer multi-game machines or sell their location to someone who would offer multi-game machines.
When the 1999 Legislature first approved an "automated accounting and reporting system," it also provided an incentive to encourage gambling operators to use the new system. Anyone who volunteered to use the accounting system would be allowed to have poker, keno and bingo in a single video gambling machine.
However, when the automated accounting system was delayed, it created a log jam in developing the next generation of video gambling machines. Many customers were not interested in buying a single-game machine when they knew multi-game machines were just over the horizon.
To solve this problem, the 2003 Legislature authorized multi-game agreements. These agreements were only to be in effect until an automated accounting system was available. At that point, the law required that owners be approved to use an accounting system before they can offer multi-game machines.
After January 1, if you want to purchase a multi-game machine and you do not have a multi-game agreement in place, you will have to begin using an approved accounting system before the machine can be permitted. Because new operators can only begin reporting at the start of a tax-reporting quarter, operators cannot expect instant approval. Operators need to apply to use the Division' web-entry system 60 days before the end of a tax-reporting quarter.
The vast majority of gambling operators have already signed multi-game agreements. Of just over 1,700 locations, the Division estimates that less than 300 operators have not signed agreements. In the coming days, the division will mail a letter and an agreement form to anyone who has not yet signed one.
Of course, by signing the agreement, the location commits to using an automated accounting system at some future date. However, that requirement is effective only after the operator has the opportunity to learn about the various options and receives 90 days' notice from the Division.
If at that time operators believe they will never purchase a multi-game machine or want to divest themselves of multi-game machines, they can be excused from the multi-game agreement.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, November, 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.