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15 USC CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

.

-HEAD-

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-MISC1-

Sec.

3001. Congressional findings and policy.

3002. Definitions.

3003. Acceptance of interstate off-track wager.

3004. Regulation of interstate off-track wagering.

(a) Consent of host racing association, host racing

commission, and off-track racing commission as

prerequisite to acceptance of wager.

(b) Approval of tracks as prerequisite to acceptance

of wager; exceptions.

(c) Takeout amount.

3005. Liability and damages.

3006. Civil action.

(a) Parties; remedies.

(b) Intervention.

(c) Limitations.

(d) State as defendant.

3007. Jurisdiction and venue.

(a) District court jurisdiction.

(b) Venue; service of process.

(c) Concurrent State court jurisdiction.

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15 USC Sec. 3001 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-HEAD-

Sec. 3001. Congressional findings and policy

-STATUTE-

(a) The Congress finds that -

(1) the States should have the primary responsibility for

determining what forms of gambling may legally take place within

their borders;

(2) the Federal Government should prevent interference by one

State with the gambling policies of another, and should act to

protect identifiable national interests; and

(3) in the limited area of interstate off-track wagering on

horseraces, there is a need for Federal action to ensure States

will continue to cooperate with one another in the acceptance of

legal interstate wagers.

(b) It is the policy of the Congress in this chapter to regulate

interstate commerce with respect to wagering on horseracing, in

order to further the horseracing and legal off-track betting

industries in the United States.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 95-515, Sec. 2, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1811.)

-MISC1-

EFFECTIVE DATE

Section 9 of Pub. L. 95-515 provided that:

''(a) The provisions of this Act (this chapter) shall take effect

on the date of enactment of this Act (Oct. 25, 1978), and, except

as provided in subsection (b) of this section, shall apply to any

interstate off-track wager accepted on or after such date of

enactment.

''(b)(1) The provisions of this Act (this chapter) shall not

apply to any interstate off-track wager which is accepted pursuant

to a contract existing on May 1, 1978.

''(2) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to any form of

legal non-parimutuel off-track betting existing in a State on May

1, 1978.

''(3) The provisions of subsection (b) of section 5 of this Act

(section 3004(b) of this title) shall not apply to any parimutuel

off-track betting system existing on May 1, 1978, in a State which

does not conduct parimutuel horseracing on the date of enactment of

this Act (Oct. 25, 1978).''

SHORT TITLE

Section 1 of Pub. L. 95-515 provided that: ''This Act (enacting

this chapter) may be cited as the 'Interstate Horseracing Act of

1978'.''

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15 USC Sec. 3002 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-HEAD-

Sec. 3002. Definitions

-STATUTE-

For the purposes of this chapter the term -

(1) ''person'' means any individual, association, partnership,

joint venture, corporation, State or political subdivision

thereof, department, agency, or instrumentality of a State or

political subdivision thereof, or any other organization or

entity;

(2) ''State'' means each State of the United States, the

District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any

territory or possession of the United States;

(3) ''interstate off-track wager'' means a legal wager placed

or accepted in one State with respect to the outcome of a

horserace taking place in another State and includes pari-mutuel

wagers, where lawful in each State involved, placed or

transmitted by an individual in one State via telephone or other

electronic media and accepted by an off-track betting system in

the same or another State, as well as the combination of any

pari-mutuel wagering pools;

(4) ''on-track wager'' means a wager with respect to the

outcome of a horserace which is placed at the racetrack at which

such horse- race takes place;

(5) ''host State'' means the State in which the horserace

subject to the interstate wager takes place;

(6) ''off-track State'' means the State in which an interstate

off-track wager is accepted;

(7) ''off-track betting system'' means any group which is in

the business of accepting wagers on horseraces at locations other

than the place where the horserace is run, which business is

conducted by the State or licensed or otherwise permitted by

State law;

(8) ''off-track betting office'' means any location within an

off-track State at which off-track wagers are accepted;

(9) ''host racing association'' means any person who, pursuant

to a license or other permission granted by the host State,

conducts the horserace subject to the interstate wager;

(10) ''host racing commission'' means that person designated by

State statute or, in the absence of statute, by regulation, with

jurisdiction to regulate the conduct of racing within the host

State;

(11) ''off-track racing commission'' means that person

designated by State statute or, in the absence of statute, by

regulation, with jurisdiction to regulate off-track betting in

that State;

(12) ''horsemen's group'' means, with reference to the

applicable host racing association, the group which represents

the majority of owners and trainers racing there, for the races

subject to the interstate off-track wager on any racing day;

(13) ''parimutuel'' means any system whereby wagers with

respect to the outcome of a horserace are placed with, or in, a

wagering pool conducted by a person licensed or otherwise

permitted to do so under State law, and in which the participants

are wagering with each other and not against the operator;

(14) ''currently operating tracks'' means racing associations

conducting parimutuel horseracing at the same time of day

(afternoon against afternoon; nighttime against nighttime) as the

racing association conducting the horseracing which is the

subject of the interstate off-track wager;

(15) ''race meeting'' means those scheduled days during the

year a racing association is granted permission by the

appropriate State racing commission to conduct horseracing;

(16) ''racing day'' means a full program of races at a

specified racing association on a specified day;

(17) ''special event'' means the specific individual horserace

which is deemed by the off-track betting system to be of

sufficient national significance and interest to warrant

interstate off-track wagering on that event or events;

(18) ''dark days'' means those days when racing of the same

type does not occur in an off-track State within 60 miles of an

off-track betting office during a race meeting, including, but

not limited to, a dark weekday when such racing association or

associations run on Sunday, and days when a racing program is

scheduled but does not take place, or cannot be completed due to

weather, strikes and other factors not within the control of the

off-track betting system;

(19) ''year'' means calendar year;

(20) ''takeout'' means that portion of a wager which is

deducted from or not included in the parimutuel pool, and which

is distributed to persons other than those placing wagers;

(21) ''regular contractual process'' means those negotiations

by which the applicable horsemen's group and host racing

association reach agreements on issues regarding the conduct of

horseracing by the horsemen's group at that racing association;

(22) ''terms and conditions'' includes, but is not limited to,

the percentage which is paid by the off-track betting system to

the host racing association, the percentage which is paid by the

host racing association to the horsemen's group, as well as any

arrangements as to the exclusivity between the host racing

association and the off-track betting system.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 95-515, Sec. 3, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1811; Pub. L.

106-553, Sec. 1(a)(2) (title VI, Sec. 629), Dec. 21, 2000, 114

Stat. 2762, 2762A-108.)

-MISC1-

AMENDMENTS

2000 - Par. (3). Pub. L. 106-553 inserted ''and includes

pari-mutuel wagers, where lawful in each State involved, placed or

transmitted by an individual in one State via telephone or other

electronic media and accepted by an off-track betting system in the

same or another State, as well as the combination of any

pari-mutuel wagering pools'' after ''another State''.

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15 USC Sec. 3003 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-HEAD-

Sec. 3003. Acceptance of interstate off-track wager

-STATUTE-

No person may accept an interstate off-track wager except as

provided in this chapter.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 95-515, Sec. 4, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1813.)

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15 USC Sec. 3004 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-HEAD-

Sec. 3004. Regulation of interstate off-track wagering

-STATUTE-

(a) Consent of host racing association, host racing commission, and

off-track racing commission as prerequisite to acceptance of

wager

An interstate off-track wager may be accepted by an off-track

betting system only if consent is obtained from -

(1) the host racing association, except that -

(A) as a condition precedent to such consent, said racing

association (except a not-for-profit racing association in a

State where the distribution of off-track betting revenues in

that State is set forth by law) must have a written agreement

with the horsemen's group, under which said racing association

may give such consent, setting forth the terms and conditions

relating thereto; provided,

(B) that where the host racing association has a contract

with a horsemen's group at the time of enactment of this

chapter which contains no provisions referring to interstate

off-track betting, the terms and conditions of said

then-existing contract shall be deemed to apply to the

interstate off-track wagers and no additional written agreement

need be entered into unless the parties to such then-existing

contract agree otherwise. Where such provisions exist in such

existing contract, such contract shall govern. Where written

consents exist at the time of enactment of this chapter between

an off-track betting system and the host racing association

providing for interstate off-track wagers, or such written

consents are executed by these parties prior to the expiration

of such then-existing contract, upon the expiration of such

then-existing contract the written agreement of such horsemen's

group shall thereafter be required as such condition precedent

and as a part of the regular contractual process, and may not

be withdrawn or varied except in the regular contractual

process. Where no such written consent exists, and where such

written agreement occurs at a racing association which has a

regular contractual process with such horsemen's group, said

agreement by the horsemen's group may not be withdrawn or

varied except in the regular contractual process;

(2) the host racing commission;

(3) the off-track racing commission.

(b) Approval of tracks as prerequisite to acceptance of wager;

exceptions

(1) In addition to the requirement of subsection (a) of this

section, any off-track betting office shall obtain the approval of

-

(A) all currently operating tracks within 60 miles of such

off-track betting office; and

(B) if there are no currently operating tracks within 60 miles

then the closest currently operating track in an adjoining State.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this

subsection, any off-track betting office in a State with at least

250 days of on-track parimutuel horseracing a year, may accept

interstate off-track wagers for a total of 60 racing days and 25

special events a year without the approval required by paragraph

(1), if with respect to such 60 racing days, there is no racing of

the same type at the same time of day being conducted within the

off-track betting State within 60 miles of the off-track betting

office accepting the wager, or such racing program cannot be

completed. Excluded from such 60 days and from the consent

required by subsection (b)(1) of this section may be dark days

which occur during a regularly scheduled race meeting in said

off-track betting State. In order to accept any interstate

off-track wager under the terms of the preceding sentence the

off-track betting office shall make identical offers to any racing

association described in subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) of

this section. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to

reduce or eliminate the necessity of obtaining all the approvals

required by subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Takeout amount

No parimutuel off-track betting system may employ a takeout for

an interstate wager which is greater than the takeout for

corresponding wagering pools of off-track wagers on races run

within the off-track State except where such greater takeout is

authorized by State law in the off-track State.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 95-515, Sec. 5, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1813.)

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15 USC Sec. 3005 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-HEAD-

Sec. 3005. Liability and damages

-STATUTE-

Any person accepting any interstate off-track wager in violation

of this chapter shall be civilly liable for damages to the host

State, the host racing association and the horsemen's group.

Damages for each violation shall be based on the total of off-track

wagers as follows:

(1) If the interstate off-track wager was of a type accepted at

the host racing association, damages shall be in an amount equal

to that portion of the takeout which would have been distributed

to the host State, host racing association and the horsemen's

group, as if each such interstate off-track wager had been placed

at the host racing association.

(2) If such interstate off-track wager was of a type not

accepted at the host racing association, the amount of damages

shall be determined at the rate of takeout prevailing at the

off-track betting system for that type of wager and shall be

distributed according to the same formulas as in paragraph (1)

above.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 95-515, Sec. 6, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1814.)

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 3006 of this title.

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15 USC Sec. 3006 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-HEAD-

Sec. 3006. Civil action

-STATUTE-

(a) Parties; remedies

The host State, the host racing association, or the horsemen's

group may commence a civil action against any person alleged to be

in violation of this chapter, for injunctive relief to restrain

violations and for damages in accordance with section 3005 of this

title.

(b) Intervention

In any civil action under this section, the host State, the host

racing association and horsemen's group, if not a party, shall be

permitted to intervene as a matter of right.

(c) Limitations

A civil action may not be commenced pursuant to this section more

than 3 years after the discovery of the alleged violation upon

which such civil action is based.

(d) State as defendant

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit a State to

be sued under this section other than in accordance with its

applicable laws.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 95-515, Sec. 7, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1814.)

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15 USC Sec. 3007 01/06/03

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TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 57 - INTERSTATE HORSERACING

-HEAD-

Sec. 3007. Jurisdiction and venue

-STATUTE-

(a) District court jurisdiction

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the district courts

of the United States shall have jurisdiction over any civil action

under this chapter, without regard to the citizenship of the

parties or the amount in controversy.

(b) Venue; service of process

A civil action under this chapter may be brought in any district

court of the United States for a district located in the host State

or the off-track State, and all process in any such civil action

may be served in any judicial district of the United States.

(c) Concurrent State court jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the district courts of the United States

pursuant to this section shall be concurrent with that of any State

court of competent jurisdiction located in the host State or the

off-track State.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 95-515, Sec. 8, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1814.)

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