Mississippi - Casinos Innocent until proven guilty ...

The following is from a Report to the Mississippi Legislature Gaming Regulation in Mississippi: A Progress Report The Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) done by a Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER):

Enforcement

• The MGC’s Enforcement Division still lacks a formal inspection program that would include a plan for conducting unannounced inspections of casino operations a pre-determined number of times to ensure adequate monitoring of the fair play of casino games

• MGC does not provide adequate training for enforcement agents regarding MGC’s regulations, table games, and electronic gaming devices and equipment. Thus MGC does not ensure that enforcement agents have the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to ensure that gaming is conducted honestly and competitively. 

MGC’s Theory of Inspections

Since the agency’s inception, the MGC’s enforcement field operations have been driven primarily by industry complaints rather than by an aggressive inspection program. The theory has been that casinos are primarily responsible for detecting and reporting incidents and potential violations to the MGC. According to MGC staff, an underlying assumption of this theory is that the casinos are owned by legitimate corporate businesses that are not going to risk losing their gaming licenses through unethical, unfair, or illegal play of the game practices.

A formal inspection program for casino regulation would include an inspection of every facet of each casino’s operations a pre-determined number of times, comprehensive and standardized checklists to document evaluations of casino games and operations, and twenty-four hour coverage, seven days a week, on a “no notice” basis in all MGC districts. Such a program would aggressively monitor all casino operations without an assumption that licensees are trustworthy and would report all potential violations of state laws or regulations to the MGC.

MGC still does not have a formal inspection program in place for monitoring casino games.

The MGC has criteria for table game approval and modifications (e. g., a new game should not exceed the estimated hold percentage of games already approved in Mississippi, games should be compatible with the public policy of the state). However, MGC has not written these procedures for this process. PEER contends that without written criteria, MGC cannot assure that table games are being conducted in an honest and competitive manner. Without sufficient policies governing the approval or modification of table games, the commission cannot be assured that table games are being approved in a consistent manner and played consistently on a statewide basis. Because the standard is discretionary, there is no objectivity in the table game approval and modification process. Without this objectivity, the MGC cannot ensure fair and equitable treatment of casino patrons or operators.

Link to Report