TITLE 50 STATE GOVERNMENT

Section 27. Lottery for Education, 50-27-1 through 50-27-104.

ARTICLE 3 BONA FIDE COIN OPERATED AMUSEMENT MACHINES

50-27-73. Refusal to issue or renew license; revocation or suspension; hearing; limitation on issuance of licenses.

1. The corporation shall not renew a license for a person under this article and shall suspend for any period of time or cancel a license if the corporation finds that the applicant or licensee is indebted to the state for any fees, costs, penalties, or delinquent fees.
2. The corporation shall not issue or renew a license for a person under this article if the applicant does not designate and maintain an office in this state or if the applicant does not permit inspection by the corporation's agents of his or her place of business or of all records which the applicant or licensee is required to maintain; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to manufacturers.
3. The corporation may refuse to issue or renew a manufacturer, distributor, or master license or may revoke or suspend a manufacturer, distributor, or master license issued under this chapter if:
   1. The licensee or applicant has intentionally violated a provision of this chapter or a regulation promulgated under this chapter;
   2. The licensee or applicant has intentionally failed to provide requested information or answer a question, intentionally made a false statement in or in connection with his or her application or renewal, or omitted any material or requested information;
   3. The licensee or applicant used coercion to accomplish a purpose or to engage in conduct regulated by the corporation;
   4. A master licensee or applicant allows the use of its master license certificate or per machine permit stickers by any other business entity or person that owns or operates bona fide coin operated amusement machines available for commercial use and available to the public for play. If such unauthorized use occurs, the corporation may fine the licensee as follows:
      1. One thousand dollars for each improper use of a per machine permit sticker; and
      2. Twenty-five thousand dollars for each improper use of a master license certificate.

         In addition, the corporation is authorized to seize the machines in question and assess the master license and permit fees as required by law and to assess the costs of such seizure to the owner or operator of the machines;

   5. Failure to suspend or revoke the license would be contrary to the intent and purpose of this article;
   6. The licensee or applicant has engaged in unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices as provided in Code Section 50-27-87.1; or
   7. Any applicant, or any person, firm, corporation, legal entity, or organization having any interest in any operation for which an application has been submitted, fails to meet any obligations imposed by the tax laws or other laws or regulations of this state.
4. The corporation, on the request of a licensee or applicant for a license, shall conduct a hearing to ascertain whether a licensee or applicant for a license has engaged in conduct which would be grounds for revocation, suspension, or refusal to issue or renew a license.
5. Effective July 1, 2015, the corporation may issue up to 220 Class B master licenses through a process of competitive auction to be established by the corporation and such competitive auction shall occur at least once every three years effective July 1, 2015; provided, however, that any person or entity holding a Class B master license on the effective date of this subsection shall not be subject to the competitive auction process provided for in this Code section but shall be subject to all other requirements of this article; provided, further, that the corporation shall be permitted to renew Class B master licenses at any time.

(Code 1981, §48-17-4, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 1521, § 3; Code 1981, §50-27-73, as redesignated by Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 1-1/HB 487; Ga. L. 2013, p. 141, § 48/HB 79; Ga. L. 2015, p. 39, § 4/SB 190.)

The 2013 amendments. The first 2013 amendment, effective April 10, 2013, redesignated former Code Section 48-17-4 as present Code Section 50-27-73; throughout this Code section, substituted "corporation" for "commissioner" and substituted "article" for "chapter"; inserted ", location owner, or location operator" twice in subsection (a); substituted "corporation's agents of his or her place" for "commissioner of his place" in subsection (b); in paragraph (c)(2), substituted "provide requested information or answer a question, intentionally" for "answer a question or has intentionally", inserted "or her", and added ", or omitted any material or requested information"; substituted "applicant allows" for "applicant that allows" near the beginning of paragraph (c)(4); substituted "One thousand dollars" for "One hundred and fifty dollars" in subparagraph (c)(4)(A); substituted "Twenty-five thousand dollars" for "One thousand dollars" in subparagraph (c)(4)(B); deleted "or" at the end of the concluding paragraph of paragraph (c)(4); added paragraphs (c)(6) and (c)(7); and added subsection (e). The second 2013 amendment, effective April 24, 2013, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "applicant allows" for "applicant that allows" in the introductory language of paragraph (c)(4).

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted the present provisions of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: "The corporation shall not renew a master, location owner, or location operator license for a business under this article and shall suspend for any period of time or cancel a master, location owner, or location operator license if the corporation finds that the applicant or licensee is indebted to the state for any fees, costs, penalties, or delinquent fees."; in subsection (b), substituted "person" for "business" preceding "under this article" near the beginning, and added the proviso at the end; in subsection (c), inserted "manufacturer, distributor, or" twice in the introductory language, and, in the first sentence of paragraph (4), inserted "master" near the beginning and substituted "person that owns" for "person who owns" near the middle; and substituted the present provisions of subsection (e) for the former provisions, which read: "The corporation shall not issue any new Class B master licenses until one year after it certifies that the Class B accounting terminal authorized by Code Section 50-27-101 is implemented; provided, however, the corporation shall be permitted to renew Class B master licenses at any time."