This consolidation is unofficial and is for reference only. For the official version of the regulations, consult the original documents on file with the Registry of Regulations, or refer to the Royal Gazette Part II. Regulations are amended frequently. Please check the list of Regulations by Act to see if there are any recent amendments to these regulations filed with the Registry that are not yet included in this consolidation. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this electronic version, the Registry of Regulations assumes no responsibility for any discrepancies that may have resulted from reformatting. This electronic version is for your personal use and may not be copied for the purposes of resale in this or any other form.
Casino Regulations
made under Section 127 of the
Gaming Control Act
S.N.S. 1994-95, c. 4
O.I.C. 95-259 (April 4, 1995), N.S. Reg. 40/95
as amended up to O.I.C. 2008-176 (March 31, 2008, effective April 1, 2008), N.S. Reg. 171/2008
Table of Contents
Registration of Suppliers and Gaming Assistants -- Games of Chance Held in Casinos
Terms and conditions of registration
Gaming and non-gaming-related suppliers
Payments into the Consolidated Fund
Record of Gaming Equipment Inventory
Educational Gaming Requirements
Approval of courses, programs of instruction and instructors
Use of gaming chips and equipment
Qualification and certification
Coin, token and bill validators
Protection of logic boards and memory components
Continuation of game after malfunction is cleared
Slot Machine Specifications -- Error Conditions
Automatic clearing or clearing by attendant
Computer monitoring requirements for slot machines
Standards respecting progressive slot machines
Table and Wheel Games Equipment
Mini-baccarat or midi-baccarat tables
Surveillance Department, Security Department
Required Surveillance Equipment
Closed-circuit television system
Alterations to surveillance system
Storage of Videotape Recordings
Recordings of illegal activities
Maintenance and testing of equipment
Transportation of drop boxes to and from gaming tables
Procedures for accepting cash at gaming tables
Receipt of chips from the manufacturer or distributor
Inventory and storage of chips
Procedure for Distributing Gaming Chips to Gaming Tables
Procedure for removing gaming chips from gaming tables
Procedures for Closing Gaming Tables
Procedure for opening, counting and recording contents of drop boxes
Receipt of Cards from the Manufacturer or Distributor
Closing procedure - unused cards
Closing procedure - used cards
Signature required by security
Procedure for Filling Payout Reserve Containers of Slot Machines
Slot Count Procedure For Counting and Recording Contents of Drop Buckets
Exclusion and Removal of Individuals from Casinos
1 These regulations may be cited as the Casino Regulations.
2 In these regulations
(a) “Act” means the Gaming Control Act;
(b) “associated equipment” means any computer-based equipment or equipment that relies on mechanical or electronic devices used in the gaming areas of a casino, the cashier’s cage or the count rooms and includes links connected to progressive slot machines, computerized keno games, computerized systems for monitoring slot machines and devices for counting money;
(c) “bankroll” means the reserve stock of money as well as unused gaming chips and tokens that are held in secure storage;
(d) “bet” or “wager” means money or its equivalent representative of value that is risked on the outcome of a game of chance;
(e) “bill validator” means a device that is attached to a slot machine to accept bills, tickets or other money equivalents and then credits the slot machine with the applicable amount;
Clause 2(e) replaced: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(f) “cashier’s cage” means a secure work area within the casino for cashiers and a storage area for the casino’s bankroll;
Clause 2(g) repealed: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(h) “casino employee” means an individual who is employed in the operation of a casino and who does not supervise other individuals employed in the casino and includes
(i) a dealer, a security employee, a count room employee, a cashier’s cage employee, a slot machine employee, a slot booth employee, a surveillance employee, an audit and accounting employee and a data processing employee, and
(ii) any other individual, including a maintenance employee and a food and beverage server, who has access to the casino;
(i) “casino gaming-related supplier” means a person who
(i) manufactures or provides gaming equipment that could influence the outcome of a game of chance held in a casino, including slot machines, keno games and roulette wheels,
(ii) provides chips, tokens, plaques, cards, roulette balls, dealing shoes, automatic card shufflers or big six wheels for games of chance held in a casino,
(iii) for games of chance in a casino, provides gaming equipment that the Executive Director has designated in writing and that, if marked or tampered with, could facilitate cheating,
(iv) provides surveillance systems for a casino,
(v) installs, maintains or repairs any of the gaming equipment or surveillance systems mentioned in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv), or
(vi) under contract with the Corporation or a casino operator, provides training to persons in gaming, dealing, slot machine repairs or any other gaming-related aspect of casino operations;
(j) “casino key employee” means an individual who is employed in the operation of a casino and who supervises other individuals employed in the casino and includes
(i) a manager, an assistant manager, a floor person, a pit boss, a shift boss, a credit manager and a count room manager, and
(ii) a supervisor of security employees, surveillance employees, accounting and auditing employees, cashier’s cage employees and cashier’s or count room employees;
(k) “casino non-gaming-related supplier” means a person who provides
(i) for the playing of games of chance in a casino, gaming equipment that is not mentioned in the definition of casino gaming-related supplier in this Section, or
(ii) goods or services that relate to the construction, furnishing, repair, maintenance or business of a casino, but that are not directly related to the playing of games of chance;
(l) “casino operator” means a person who
(i) contracts with the Corporation to operate casinos in the Province, and
(ii) is a registered supplier of a class mentioned in Section 3;
(la) “centralized accounting and alarm system” means a computer system that receives
(i) financial information from slot machines, redemption units and table games, and
(ii) alarm information from slot machines, redemption units and table games;
Clause 2(la) added: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(m) “chip” means a non-metal or partly metal representative of value, redeemable for cash that is issued and sold by a casino operator for use in gaming, other than for use in slot machines;
(n) “closer” means the original of the table inventory slip upon which each table inventory is recorded at the end of each shift;
(o) “coin-in” means a legal coin or bill, a token or a ticket that has been accepted by a slot machine or electronic gaming device or machine;
Clause 2(o) replaced: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(p) “course” means a unit of educational instruction or training in a specific subject area of gaming, playing and dealing techniques or casino operations including dealer training, slot machine repair training, slot department management training, cage cashiering training, security and surveillance training;
(q) “credit”, for purposes of Sections 179 to 192, means a transaction whereby a supply of chips, coins or currency are removed from the gaming table;
(r) “credit slip” means a document evidencing a credit;
(s) “dealer” means the person assigned to directly operate or conduct a game of chance;
(t) “Director of Registration” means the Director of Registration appointed under clause 49(1)(a) of the Act;
(u) “Director of Investigation and Enforcement” means the Director of Investigation and Enforcement appointed under clause 49(1)(b) of the Act;
(v) “drop” means in table games, the total amount of money or representative of value contained in the drop box;
(w) “drop” means in slot machines, the total amount of money or tokens contained in the drop bucket or the bill validator, or both;
(x) “drop box” means a locked metal container affixed to a gaming table into which the drop is placed;
(y) “drop box contents key” means a key to the lock securing the contents of a drop box;
(z) “drop box release key” means a key used to unlock a drop box from a gaming table;
(aa) “drop bucket” means a container located in a cabinet beneath a coin-operated slot machine, for the purpose of collecting coins and tokens from the machine, that are retained by the slot machine and not used to make change or for automatic jackpot payouts;
Clause 2(ab) repealed: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(ac) “Executive Director” means the Executive Director of Gaming Control appointed under subsection 48(1) of the Act;
(ad) “fill” means a transaction whereby a supply of chips, coins or currency are transferred from a bankroll to a table;
(ae) “fill slip” means a document evidencing a fill;
(af) “floor person” means the first level supervisor, responsible for directly supervising the operation and conduct of table games;
(ag) “gaming school” means any community college campus of The Nova Scotia Community College, teaching any course or program of instruction, to prospective and actual gaming assistants, including casino employees, casino key employees, casino clerks, and any other person employed or to be employed by a casino who[m] the Commission deems necessary to be trained, examined or qualified by a gaming school;
(ah) “count room” means a secure room in a casino where coins, bills, tickets and tokens are counted;
Clause 2(ah) replaced: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(ai) “hopper” means a container, also known as a payout reserve container, in which slot machine tokens or legal coins are retained by a slot machine to make coin pays to automatically pay jackpots;
(aj) “inappropriate”, when used in reference to a bill, coin, ticket or token, means a bill, coin, ticket or token that has been entered into a coin acceptor or bill validator
(i) after the device has already accepted its maximum number of bills, coins, tickets or tokens, or
(ii) when the device is in a state in which it normally rejects additional bills, coins, tickets or tokens;
Clause 2(aj) replaced: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(ak) “incompatible function” means a function, for accounting control purposes, that places any person or department in a casino in a position of conflict;
(al) “instructor” means any person employed by a gaming school to train, teach or instruct the students enrolled in such school;
(am) “jackpot” means the combination of letters, numbers, symbols or representations required to be displayed on the reels or video screen of a slot machine device so that the winnings are payable in accordance with the prize payout scale displayed on the machine;
(an) “jackpot payout” means the hand-pay portion of a jackpot paid by slot personnel, which is determined as the difference between the total posted jackpot amount and the coins paid out by the machine or the total amount of the jackpot;
(ao) “linked jackpot” means an arrangement whereby 2 or more slot machines are linked to a device that
(i) records, from time to time, an amount which, in the event of a jackpot or other result being obtained on one of those machines, may be payable, or part of which may be payable, as winnings,
(ii) for the purpose of recording the amounts referred to in subclause (i), receives data from each slot machine to which the device is linked, and
(iii) is not capable of affecting the outcome of a game on a slot machine to which the device is linked;
(aoa) “money equivalent” includes an instrument issued by a casino that represents credit payable in currency, but does not include technology, such as credit cards or ATM cards, that allows remote access to money or money equivalents;
Clause 2(aoa) added: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(aob) “multidenomination slot machine” means a slot machine that is configured through tokenization to allow a player to choose the denomination of credits that they wish to use for wagering;
Clause 2(aob) added: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(aoc) “non-sensitive area” means an area of a casino that is not a sensitive area;
Clause 2(aoc) added: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(ap) “non-value chips” means chips without a value contained thereon;
(aq) “opener” means the duplicate copy of the table inventory slip upon which each table inventory is recorded at the end of each shift and that serves as the record of each table inventory at the beginning of the following shift;
(ar) “pit” means an area in a casino enclosed or encircled by gaming tables;
(as) “pit manager” and “pit boss” mean the supervisor, responsible for the overall supervision of the operation and conduct of table games within a particular pit;
(at) “program of instruction” means a group of courses designed to qualify a student for employment in one or more areas of casino operations;
(au) “progressive jackpot” means a value determined by a casino operator and arrived at by independent or interlinked slot machines;
(av) “progressive slot machine” means a slot machine with a pay-out that increases as the slot machine is played;
(aw) “rake” means the amount of gaming chips representing smaller values, gaming plaques representing larger values or coins collected by a dealer as poker revenue;
(ax) “random access memory” means the electronic component used for computer workspace and storage of volatile information in a slot machine;
(ay) “random number generator” means a hardware device, software device or combination hardware and software device for generating number values that exhibit characteristics of randomness;
(aya) “redemption unit” is a device on a casino floor that permits a person to redeem tickets or other money equivalents for currency;
Clause 2(aya) added: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(az) “request for credit” means a prenumbered document to authorize the preparation of a credit slip;
(aaa) “request for fill” means a prenumbered document to authorize the preparation of a fill slip;
(aaaa)“sensitive area” means an area of the casino in which money or gaming assets are directly at risk;
Clause 2(aaaa) added: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(aab) “shift boss” means the casino key employee responsible for supervising all casino employees on any given shift;
(aac) “slot booth” means a physical structure on or immediately adjacent to the gaming floor where patrons may exchange coins or currency for slot tokens or slot tokens for coins or currency;
(aad) “slot machine”, for purposes of Sections 60 to 92, includes any mechanical or electronic machine or device that is activated for playing a game of chance upon payment of consideration and that, as a result of chance or the skill of the player in playing the game, or both, may deliver to the player or entitle the player to receive cash, tokens or any other thing of value;
(aae) “slugging” means a method of cheating by inserting a slug through the legal coin or token acceptor of a slot machine;
Clause 2(aaf) repealed: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(aag) “special funds” means funds established by Order in Council pursuant to clause 2(n) of the Provincial Finance Act to which payments are required to be made in accordance with subsection 29(1) of the Act;
(aah) “spooning” means a method of cheating by inserting a spoon-shaped device through the pay-out mechanism of the slot machine;
(aai) “stringing” means a method of cheating by tying a string to a coin or token and lowering the attached coin or token down the acceptor chute to register acceptance;
(aaj) “suit” means all of the cards in a deck bearing the same symbol, that is diamond, spade, club or heart;
(aaja) “ticket” means a coupon, ticket or voucher accepted for use in the casino that represents a money equivalent and that
(i) is issued as a form of payment to a player from a slot machine, redemption unit or electronic gaming device or machine, and
(ii) is redeemable for money or a money equivalent at the casino;
Clause 2(aaja) added: O.I.C. 2005-559, N.S. Reg. 226/2005.
(aak) “tilt condition” means a programmed error state for a slot machine that occurs when the slot machine detects an internal error, malfunction or attempted cheating and the slot machine disallows further play until the error is resolved;
(aal) “token” means a metal representative of value, redeemable for cash only at the casino that issued the token and that is issued and sold by a casino operator for use in a slot machine in that casino;
(aam) “trade union” has the same meaning as a trade union under the Trade Union Act and is a trade union which is certified to represent employees of a casino; and
(aan) “value chips” means chips with a value contained thereon;
(aao) “win tax” means the payment required to be made by the Corporation into the Consolidated Fund of the Province under Section 31.
Registration of Suppliers and Gaming Assistants -- Games of Chance Held in Casinos
3 The following classes of suppliers are established for the purposes of registration as registered suppliers under the Act:
(a) casino operators;
(b) casino gaming-related suppliers;
(c) casino non-gaming-related suppliers; and
(d) trade unions, their officers, officials and agents, once certified to represent persons employed in a casino.
4 No person other than a supplier registered as a casino operator may operate a casino on behalf of the Corporation.
5 No person other than a supplier registered as a casino gaming-related supplier may carry out any of the actions described in the definition of casino gaming-related supplier in clause 2(i).
6 (1) No person other than a supplier registered as a casino non-gaming-related supplier may carry out any of the actions described in the definition of casino non-gaming-related supplier in clause 2(k).
(2) Despite Sections 10 and 51, a person who provides goods or services for the operation of a casino is exempt from the requirement to register as a casino non-gaming-related supplier and from subsection (1) if the person has obtained a written certificate of exemption from the Director of Registration stating that
(a) in the opinion of the Director of Registration,
(i) the person does not provide the goods or services on a continuing basis and the value of the goods or services does not exceed $100 000 in any 12-month period,
(ii) the business of the person is otherwise regulated by the Government of Nova Scotia or Canada or any agency of either of them, or
(iii) the goods or services are being supplied by a federal, provincial or municipal government or any agency thereof; and
(b) the Director of Registration is satisfied that issuing the certificate of exemption is not contrary to the public interest.
(3) The certificate of exemption shall identify the business premises of the person who is exempted.
(4) A holder of a certificate of exemption shall produce it when required by any agent of the Commission or registrant and, if the holder is a corporation or partnership, notify the Director of Registration in writing immediately of all changes in the officers, directors or partners.
(5) A certificate of exemption ceases to be effective if
(a) the Director of Registration determines that the exemption is contrary to the public interest and so notifies the holder;
(b) the cumulative value of the goods or services that the holder has provided for the operation of a casino exceeds $100 000 in any 12-month period;
(c) the business of the holder is not otherwise regulated by the Government of Nova Scotia or Canada or an agency of either of them; or
(d) more than 2 years have elapsed from the day on which the certificate was issued.
(6) A holder of a certificate of exemption that ceases to be effective pursuant to clause (5)(b) shall immediately notify the Director of Registration of that fact and return the certificate to the Director of Registration.
(7) A certificate of exemption that ceases to be effective pursuant to subsection (5) shall immediately be returned by the holder of the certificate to the Director of Registration.
7 (1) In this Section, “the company” means a company that may be established by a casino operator to make purchases from a non-gaming-related supplier.
(2) Subject to Section 6, the company shall not obtain goods and services in excess of $15 000 per year from any one supplier.
(3) The company shall not exceed $500 000 in total purchases per year, unless approved by the Executive Director.
(4) The company shall be registered as a non-gaming-related supplier pursuant to Section 6.
(5) The company shall retain all purchasing records for two years at a place approved by the Commission.
8 (1) The following classes of gaming assistants are established for the purpose of registration as gaming assistants under the Act:
(a) casino key employees;
(b) casino employees; and
(c) casino clerks.
(2) No individual, other than a registered gaming assistant, is authorized to be employed in managing, dealing or operating games in a casino.
9 No individual employed in the operation of a casino, other than a gaming assistant registered as a casino key employee, is authorized to supervise other individuals employed in a casino.
10 (1) An application for registration, renewal of registration or exemption as a supplier of a class mentioned in Section 3 or as a gaming assistant of a class mentioned in subsection 8(1) shall be in a form provided by the Director of Registration and shall state the class or classes of registration for which the applicant is applying and an address for service in Nova Scotia.
(2) An application shall be accompanied by the fee payable in accordance with Section 22.
(3) An application for registration or renewal of registration as a casino key employee or a casino employee shall be accompanied by an offer of employment, in the case of an application for registration and, a letter of continued employment, in the case of a renewal of registration, by a casino operator that shall
(a) be signed by an official who is authorized to sign documents on behalf of the casino operator;
(b) be conditional on a certificate of registration or renewal being granted; and
(c) not be withdrawn before the registration or renewal is granted.
11 (1) The Director of Registration may grant to a person who submits a completed application and fee, if any, interim registration as
(a) a supplier of a class mentioned in Section 3; or
(b) a gaming assistant of a class mentioned in Section 8.
(2) Upon granting an interim registration to a person, the Director of Registration shall provide the person with a certificate stating that the person has been registered on an interim basis.
(3) An interim registration is valid for 90 days only but may be extended by the Executive Director prior to the expiry of the 90-day period, for an additional 90 days.
(4) An interim registration expires on the earlier of
(a) the day on which the Director of Registration grants or refuses the application for registration; or
(b) the expiry date to which an extension may have been granted by the Executive Director.
(5) The hearing provisions of the Act do not apply to interim registration.
12 (1) Upon receiving a complete and accurate application for registration under Section 10, the Director of Registration shall consider the application and grant or refuse registration within 90 days of the date of receipt of the application.
(2) Despite subsection (1), an extension of an additional 90 days may be granted by the Executive Director for purposes of reviewing the application if, in the opinion of the Executive Director, extenuating circumstances exist.
(3) The Director of Registration shall not grant a certificate of registration or renewal of registration as a casino key employee or a casino employee, unless the casino operator who has offered employment to the applicant is a registered casino operator.
(4) Upon granting a certificate of registration, the Director of Registration shall issue a certificate of registration to the applicant stating the expiry date of the registration.
(5) A registration of a supplier of a class mentioned in Section 3 that is granted or renewed expires
(a) 2 years from the day on which the interim registration was granted, if the registrant holds an interim registration before the registration is granted or renewed; or
(b) 2 years from the day on which it is granted or renewed in all other cases.
Subsection 12(5) amended: O.I.C. 2002-12, N.S. Reg. 9/2002.
(5A) A registration of a gaming assistant of a class mentioned in subsection 8(1) that is granted or renewed expires
(a) 3 years from the day on which the interim registration was granted, if the registrant holds an interim registration before the registration is granted or renewed; or
(b) 3 years from the day on which it is granted or renewed in all other cases.
Subsection 12(5A) added: O.I.C. 2002-12, N.S. Reg. 9/2002.
(6) Despite subsection (5), the registration of a casino key employee or casino employee shall terminate if
(a) the Director of Registration revokes registration of the casino operator named in the registrant’s registration;
(b) the registration of the casino operator named in the registrant’s registration is terminated; or
(c) the registrant’s employment with the casino operator named in the registration is terminated.
(7) The Director of Registration shall revive the registration of a casino key employee or casino employee that has terminated under subsection (6) if, within 30 days after the termination of the registration, the registrant applies to the Director of Registration to have the name of the casino operator in the registration replaced with the name of another registered casino operator.
(8) An application for registration described in subsection 10(1) shall be accompanied by an offer of employment by a registered casino operator that shall
(a) be signed by an official who is authorized to sign documents on behalf of the casino operator;
(b) be conditional on the registration being granted; and
(c) not be withdrawn before the registration is granted.
13 (1) The Director of Registration may add the class of casino gaming-related supplier to the registration of a casino non-gaming-related supplier before the expiry of the registration if the registrant submits an application requesting the addition to the Director of Registration in the form prescribed by the Commission.
(2) A casino non-gaming-related supplier who applies to add the class of casino gaming-related supplier to a registration shall pay to the Director of Registration when making the application, the amount of the registration fee for the casino gaming-related supplier class, prorated for the number of months then remaining before the expiry of the registration.
(3) The Director of Registration may add the class of casino key employee to the registration of a casino employee before the expiry of the registration if the registrant submits an application requesting the addition to the Director of Registration in the form prescribed by the Commission.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), a part of a month shall count as a full month.
(5) The expiry date of a registration does not change if the Director of Registration grants an application under this Section.
Terms and conditions of registration
14 The requirements set out in Sections 15 to 18 constitute the terms of registration for registrants.
15 Every registered supplier of a class mentioned in Section 3 shall be responsible for the conduct of each person employed by the supplier in the performance of the duties of that