The Arizona Revised Statutes have been updated to include the revised sections from the 56th Legislature, 1st Regular Session. Please note that the next update of this compilation will not take place until after the conclusion of the 56th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session, which convenes in January 2024.
This online version of the Arizona Revised Statutes is primarily maintained for legislative drafting purposes and reflects the version of law that is effective on January 1st of the year following the most recent legislative session. The official version of the Arizona Revised Statutes is published by Thomson Reuters.
5-1320. Problem gambling; self-exclusion list; program; liabilities
A. A licensee shall develop a procedure to inform players that help is available if a person has a problem with gambling and, at a minimum, provide the statewide toll-free helpline telephone number, text message and website information established by the department.
B. The department and licensees shall comply with the following requirements to allow problem gamblers to voluntarily exclude themselves from event wagering statewide:
1. The department shall establish a list of persons who, by acknowledging in a manner to be established by the department that they are problem gamblers, voluntarily seek to exclude themselves from event wagering statewide. The department shall establish procedures for the placement on and removal from the list of self-excluded persons. A person other than the person seeking voluntary self-exclusion may not include that person's name on the self-exclusion list of the department.
2. Event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators shall establish procedures for advising persons who inquire about self-exclusion and offer self-exclusion application forms provided by the department to those persons when requested.
3. The department shall compile identifying information concerning self-excluded persons. Such information shall contain, at a minimum, the full name and any aliases of the person, a photograph of the person, the social security or driver's license number of the person and the current physical and electronic contact information, including mailing address, of the person.
4. The department shall provide the compiled information to event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators on a weekly basis. Event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators shall treat the information received from the department under this section as confidential, and the information shall not be disclosed except to vendors approved by the department for purposes of complying with this section, appropriate law enforcement agencies if needed in conducting an official investigation or unless ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
5. Event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators shall check the most recent self-excluded persons list provided by the department before creating a player account. The event wagering operator, commercial sports license holder or limited event wagering operator shall revoke a player account and remove all self-excluded persons from all mailing lists of the event wagering operator, commercial sports license holder or limited event wagering operator.
6. Event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators shall take commercially reasonable steps to ensure that persons on the department's list of self-excluded persons are denied access to all event wagering.
7. Event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators shall take commercially reasonable steps to identify self-excluded persons. If a self-excluded person participates in event wagering, the event wagering operator, commercial sports license holder and limited event wagering operator shall report to the department, at a minimum, the name of the self-excluded person, the date of participation, the amount or value of any monies, prizes or awards forfeited, if any, and any other action taken. The report shall be provided to the department within twenty-four hours of discovery.
C. Event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators may not pay any prize or award to a person who is on the department's self-exclusion list. Any prize or award won by a person on the self-exclusion list shall be forfeited and shall be donated by the event wagering operator, commercial sports license holder or limited event wagering operator to the department's division of problem gambling on a quarterly basis by the twenty-fifth day of the following month.
D. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the department's list of self-excluded persons is not open to public inspection.
E. Event wagering operators, commercial sports license holders and limited event wagering operators shall develop and maintain a program to mitigate problem gambling and curtail compulsive gambling, which may be in conjunction with the department.
F. Before paying a person a payout of winnings that triggers the licensee's obligation to file a form W-2G or a substantially equivalent form with the United States internal revenue service, the event wagering facility operator shall check to determine if the person is identified as having a past-due, setoff obligation in the information provided to the department of gaming on a weekly basis by the administrative office of the courts or in the information provided on a monthly basis by the department of economic security division of child support enforcement, department of economic security supplemental nutrition assistance program and assistance overpayment and the Arizona health care cost containment system administration. The department of gaming shall provide to the event wagering facility operator information of persons with outstanding obligations. Subsequent to statutory state and federal tax withholding, if a person receives a payout of winnings that triggers the licensee's obligation to file a form W-2G or a substantially equivalent form with the United States internal revenue service and is identified, the event wagering facility operator shall withhold the full amount of the winnings or such portion of the winnings that satisfies the person's past-due, setoff obligation and forward those monies to the identifying agency. The event wagering facility operator shall disburse to the person only that portion of the prize, if any, remaining after the person's identified obligations have been satisfied. If the identified person is also self-excluded, tax liabilities and setoff obligations are to be satisfied before any monies are donated to the department's division of problem gambling. If the identified person has multiple liabilities, they shall be satisfied in this order:
1. Child support enforcement.
2. Supplemental nutrition assistance program and assistance overpayment.
3. The courts.
4. The Arizona health care cost containment system administration.
G. This section does not waive an Indian tribe's sovereign immunity from a suit by a person listed and whose winnings are withheld for an identified obligation.