THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1. The Gaming Commission should set direction for the Compliance Division staff in reviewing qualifications of corporate applicants for licenses by establishing in policies and procedures an overall purpose for the investigations, how qualifications will be determined, items to be analyzed by corporate investigators, and how the investigation will be reported and/or items to be included in an investigation report. For instance, the commission may require that certain background checks must be performed with specific state and federal agencies, that certain types of financial analysis should be performed and for what purpose, and that the Compliance Division may have investigatory and analytical discretion in certain areas.


2. Based on the Gaming Commission’s direction, the Compliance Division should develop an analytical plan to conduct its investigations. Also, the Corporate Investigations section should document its investigation procedures and file the workpapers at MGC offices. The documentation should include evidence that background checks and financial and other analyses have been performed. Also, the corporate investigation reports should indicate the work that has been performed in summary form.

3. The Gaming Commission should adhere to MISS. CODE ANN. Section 75-76-131, which prohibits individuals from working for casinos for any amount of time without permits. MGC should not allow work permit applicants to work in the casinos until the process is completed. Specifically, MGC should not issue permits to applicants until it receives criminal background check information from all law enforcement agencies from which information is requested.


4. The Gaming Commission should ensure that the system for tracking work permits is accurate. Using existing resources, the Investigations Division should set up its database systems to form a centralized automated method for tracking work permit data, including tracking and retrieving work permits that have been revoked and denied, by employee name and work permit number, by year, by district, and by final disposition. The system should be revised to allow comprehensive management reporting (a monthly management report showing the number of applications, denials, and revoked licenses).

5. The Gaming Commission should improve its method of accounting for and updating the list of those employees who are defined as key employees. The division also should develop a database that is coded so that a report of all current key employees can be instantly produced.

6. The Gaming Commission should develop and maintain an inventory of show cause cases, listing their dispositions, to help assure that the handling of cases is consistent. The inventory of cases should:
   
   
   • list whether a fine was assessed;
   
   
   • be categorized by type of violation and reasoning for the fine amount or lack of fine; and,
   
   
   • be used as a database to help ensure consistency.

7. The Gaming Commission should develop a Compliance Division operating manual, including overall policies for the implementation of compliance audits and guidance of compliance officers and procedures to assist auditors in understanding the elements of casino auditing.


8. The Compliance Division should implement audit steps to determine that:
• the management at casinos have established internal procedures for ensuring that all currency transactions equaling or exceeding $10,000 be reported to the federal government in compliance with Title 31;


• the internal auditors at the casinos have established audit steps to monitor that Title 31 is implemented; and,


• the managers at casinos have established internal procedures to ensure that their employees comply with legal requirements governing the handling of patron disputes.

9. The Gaming Commission should establish a uniform field training program for its districts. This program should include a Field Training Manual that includes, at a minimum:
• a training plan with specific goals and objectives for the trainer and trainee;


• minimum qualifications for the trainer;


• a training curriculum with lesson plans for specific tasks;


• competency standards and performance outcomes for the established curriculum;


• instructional methods;


• documentation requirements for trainer and trainee;


• the expected time for successful trainee completion; and,


• a policy addressing the status of unsuccessful trainees.

10. The Gaming Commission should revise its MGC Regulatory Academy Training Program to include:
• course objectives for the curriculum topics;


• competency standards or performance outcomes for its established curriculum courses; and,


• a policy concerning the employment and work status of compliance and enforcement personnel who do not successfully complete the academy.

11. Using existing resources, the Gaming Commission should establish a centralized management program for its in-service academy training programs. This program, under the MGC Training Officer, should include the following information for all MGC employees:
• a management information system for monitoring training records. This system should, at a minimum, document the required and completed training courses and hours for each employee;


• a mandatory curriculum with training objectives, competency standards, or performance outcomes;


• an annual training budget under the control of MGC Training Officer; and,


• a centralized system for scheduling individuals’ annual training requirements.

12. The Gaming Commission should establish a policy to require all enforcement personnel to attend at least annually its courses regarding detection of cheating on games and slot machines.

13. Using existing resources, the Gaming Commission should develop and use a documented inspection program that inspects every facet of each gaming operation a predetermined number of times every thirty days on a random basis. This system should include:
• Twenty-four hour enforcement personnel coverage, seven days per week, to conduct inspections on a random, “no notice” basis. Existing personnel resources could be rotated on a random basis to accomplish these inspections when necessary during the period of 12:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.


• A comprehensive inspection system that uses a detailed checklist to document what, who, when, where, number of monthly inspections for the operation, inspection results, state authority (statute and regulation reference), and a short summary statement of any violation.

The guiding objective of the detailed checklist should be to assure licensed gaming is conducted “honestly and competitively.”

• The accomplishment of a mandated number of MGC sweep inspections to inspect the total gaming operation simultaneously.


• The use of a management information database to plan and manage the inspection schedule for each facet of each gaming operation in the three districts. The district personnel should document all inspection results in this system for management analysis.

14. The Gaming Commission should create a management information system with performance measures or outcomes that collects, analyzes, and tracks the information for its statewide enforcement and investigative programs. For example, some components should include:
• work activities of enforcement personnel.;


• casino observations and regulatory inspections;


• use and cost of state vehicles; and,


• use of assigned personnel.

15. The Gaming Commission should review and revise, as necessary, its new statewide case management system to include all appropriate categories of regulatory and statutory violations, including compliance, investigative, and intelligence activities. These changes should include mandatory statewide use of standardized definitions for each component category.

16. The Gaming Lab should perform a needs analysis to determine the number of engineers needed for scientific sampling of modifications. If warranted by problems with recruiting electrical engineers to fill the open engineering positions in the lab, MGC should present documentation of the hiring difficulties to the State Personnel Board to determine if the jobs can be reclassified to higher salary levels. Any necessary starting engineer salary increases or new engineering positions for accomplishing inspections should be paid for only by increases to manufacturer’s fees, as provided for under Section 75-76-79.


17. The Gaming Lab should document the engineering tests of software that it performs for approval of slot machines and electronic games for use in the Mississippi gaming industry and should document its tests of modifications to computer chips.


18. In the absence of a full review of each modification of computer chips for gaming devices considered by the Gaming Lab, the lab should implement scientific sampling of the modified chips. The scientific sampling should provide assurance that the chips reviewed represent the total population of chips that are approved.


19. The Compliance Division should develop a training program for its officers to learn to analyze slot machines on a statistical basis and determine whether machines on the casino floor have payouts that are in compliance with the amounts approved by the Gaming Lab. Officers should be trained to understand the various ways that machines could be compromised and to look for situations where this may have occurred. Officers should always request documentation from casino management as to why they are asserting that a machine with aberrant payout is actually performing as would be expected under certain circumstances. Officers should also be trained to know when to continue testing of machines, for instance, when casino documentation is not satisfactory.


20. The Enforcement Division should develop a statewide program for enforcement and/or regulatory agents to conduct surprise Kobetron checks to ensure that the computer chips in casino gaming devices are those that have been approved by the Gaming Lab.

21. The Gaming Commission should develop policies and procedures to ensure that table games and their modifications are approved in a consistent manner on a statewide basis. The policies, which should supplement the current New Table Games Policy and should be used by the training director and enforcement agents, should include:
• criteria for the agency to determine whether table games are being conducted honestly and competitively according to MISS. CODE ANN. Section 75-76-3;
• criteria for enforcement agents to determine whether to approve modifications; and,
• policies and procedures for enforcement agents to determine how and when to approve table game modifications and when they should be forwarded to the training director for review.

22. As recommended in PEER’s 1996 report, the Gaming Commission should conduct a cost/benefit analysis of Mississippi’s legalized gambling industry and report the findings to the Legislature, gaming industry, and the public. The Legislature should require the State Economist to estimate the amount of funds needed to conduct such a study and provide options to the Legislature for conducting the study. 

23. The Gaming Commission should finalize its additions to its Mississippi casino exclusion list (undesirable casino patrons who are prohibited from visiting Mississippi casinos) based on the most recent information available from enforcement personnel, compile the list, and disseminate the list to Mississippi casinos and other state gaming commissions. MGC should obtain copies of the exclusion lists of other large gaming jurisdictions and distribute copies of those lists to the casinos in Mississippi on a regular basis such as quarterly or monthly.

24. The Gaming Commission should consider taking disciplinary action against its MGC Executive Director, Deputy Director and Chief of Staff in accordance with the MGC Ethics Policy for a Group Two Offense.

25. The Gaming Commission should establish a written policy regarding the development and implementation of major organizational changes. This policy should include the requirement that the commission review all proposed organizational changes and promotions to bureau director or above to ensure that they are in accordance with the legislative intent of the Gaming Control Act. The commission should approve any major organizational changes, document such approval in its minutes, and submit the changes to the State Personnel Board for review and approval.

26. The Gaming Commission should not reimburse its employees for travel expenses when the purpose of the reimbursement is for expenses related to moving to a new MGC employment location within the state rather than travel expenses.

27. The PEER Committee should refer payment of the unauthorized travel expenses to the Office of the State Auditor for collection under the provisions of MISS. CODE ANN. Section 7-7-211 (1972).


28. The Gaming Commission should conduct a needs analysis to determine how many vehicles that it actually requires performing its statutory and regulatory duties under the Gaming Control Act and Commission Regulations.

This needs analysis should exclude all historical commuter mileage except the mileage required for accomplishing the shift work requirements and the on-call response time of the scheduled officers during the seven-day, twenty-four-hour work shifts.



29. The Gaming Commission should expand its “State Vehicles” policy to establish an agency-wide assignment and use policy for its state vehicles. In making decisions about the use and assignment of state vehicles, MGC should analyze its travel mileage data to determine the most efficient mode of transportation. (See Appendix B, page 78, for information from PEER’s report #407, Managing Travel Expenditures.)

When developing this agency-wide assignment and use policy for state vehicles, the Gaming Commission should organize its current inventory of state vehicles into a motor pool. Should the agency choose to establish one, MGC managers should consider the following:

• provide motor pool vehicles for work-related activities after MGC personnel arrive at their official duty station;


• determine the number of vehicles to be located at each of the four MGC locations based on documented analysis of need;


• develop and implement a policies and procedures manual for motor pool operations;


• require periodic management reviews of the MGC Daily Travel Logs and MGC Monthly Vehicle Report.

The Gaming Commission’s travel policy should also address the following:

• assigning state vehicles to individuals on the basis of work requirements rather than position titles;


• limiting commuter vehicles to the personnel scheduled to work on-call response time during the seven-day, twenty-four-hour work shifts;


• requiring all other personnel to use their personal vehicles for commuting between home and official duty station on their scheduled work days;


• requiring all employees (including executive managers) for in-state or out-of-state vehicle travel to use a state vehicle unless it is cheaper to reimburse the employee for the use of their own vehicle.

30. The Gaming Commission should take disciplinary action (as required by Section 7.8 of the MGC Administrative Manual) against all employees who misuse state vehicles.


31. The Gaming Commission should comply with Internal Revenue Service Regulation 26 CFR Section 1.61 governing reporting of personal use of vehicles.

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