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Subcommittee advances bill to clarify COAM rules, allow noncash prizes at darts and billiards tournaments
Summary
The House Regulated Industries Subcommittee voted to give House Bill 1197 a do-pass recommendation after testimony that the bill would (1) allow location-run darts and billiards tournaments to award noncash prizes, (2) require progressive discipline by the COAM division, (3) add a reporting option for noncash lottery redemptions, and (4) permit disgorgement of funds to the lottery when arbitration claims are found frivolous.
The House Regulated Industries Subcommittee voted to give House Bill 1197 a do-pass recommendation to the full committee after members heard testimony on changes to coin-operated amusement machine (COAM) rules.
Representative Powell, the bill’s author, told the panel the measure aims to clarify COAM oversight and to restore common-sense practices for location owners. Powell noted that "pool tables are a COAM machine. They take coins," and said the bill would allow location operators to run darts and billiards tournaments that award noncash prizes, such as gift certificates, rather than cash (see section 1).
Powell also said the bill addresses what he described as the agency’s practice of "stacking" charges—holding multiple infractions to impose a severe sanction in a single action—and would require a progressive-discipline approach for most regulatory…
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