Title 5 — Amusements and Sports

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Additional wagering facility" means a facility that is not the enclosure in which authorized racing takes place but that meets the requirements of section 5-111, subsection A and is used by a permittee for handling pari-…

A. There is established a division of racing within the department of gaming. B. The director shall administer the division. To be eligible for appointment as director, a person must have a minimum of five years of experience in business and administration and shall not have a fi…

There shall be an Arizona racing commission consisting of five members, who shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38-211. Appointment shall be for a term of five years which shall expire on the third Monday in January of the appropriate year.

A. A member of the commission shall have been a resident of this state and a qualified elector for at least five years before the governor appoints the member. B. Before entering on the discharge of the appointee's duties, each appointee shall take the official oath. C. A person …

An employee or appointee of the commission may not: 1. Enter into any business dealing, venture or contract with an owner or lessee of a race track or any permittee. 2. Be employed in any capacity by any race track or permittee. 3. Participate as an owner-trainer, trainer or jock…

A. The commission shall: 1. Issue racing dates. 2. Prepare and adopt complete rules to govern the racing meetings that are required to protect and promote the safety and welfare of the animals participating in racing meetings, to protect and promote public health, safety and the …

A. The department shall require that an annual financial audit be conducted of each permittee licensed under this chapter. The department may also require a financial audit from any concessionaire licensed under this article. The department may, for any audit required by this sec…

A. For purposes of detecting violations of this article, the department shall appoint qualified veterinarians, biochemists and such other personnel subject to title 41, chapter 4, article 4 as the department considers necessary or may contract with a duly qualified chemical labor…

A. The director shall appoint a supervisor of mutuels, security personnel and as many other employees as may be necessary for the enforcement of the laws of this state and the rules relating to racing. B. The director shall determine which employees shall give bond to the state f…

A. Permits to conduct racing meetings are deemed to be personal in nature, are nontransferable and shall terminate on a substantial change of ownership of the permittee. The sale or transfer of twenty-five percent or more of the equity of a permittee shall be considered a substan…

A. A person, association or corporation shall not hold any racing meeting without having first obtained and having in full force and effect a permit that is issued by the department. B. A trainer, driver, jockey, apprentice jockey, horse owner, exercise rider, agent, jockey's age…

No person, association or corporation is eligible to operate a racing meeting with a permit issued under this chapter unless he is an owner or the lessee of the track named in the permit. A permit shall not be issued to any corporation or association unless the corporation or ass…

A. Each permittee and each concessionaire who has a proprietary interest in a permit shall keep separate financial books, statements and records with respect to the operations conducted by him at each particular place, track, additional wagering facility or enclosure. A commercia…

A. The department shall conduct a thorough investigation concerning the application for a permit or a license and: 1. The department may refuse to issue or renew a license or the commission may refuse to approve or renew a permit for any applicant if there is substantial evidence…

A. The commission shall hold a public hearing on an original application for a racing permit or renewal of a current racing permit under this article. At least fifteen days' notice shall be given to all permittees holding a permit, and they may appear and be heard as parties in i…

A. The commission may revoke the permit of any permittee upon any of the grounds upon which the commission could refuse to approve a permit in section 5-108 or who has failed to pay the department all sums required under this chapter. B. The commission may revoke the permit to ho…

A. From and after December 31, 1978, no person, firm, partnership, corporation or association or any affiliate thereof shall simultaneously hold or have an ownership interest, direct or indirect, in permits to conduct racing meetings at more than four racetracks within this state…

A permittee or an affiliate of a permittee shall not borrow from or accept loans or guarantees of loans from any licensed food and beverage concessionaire or any affiliate of a concessionaire, or make payments pursuant to any such loans, except that a permittee may accept loans o…

A. Except as provided by subsections C and D of this section the department may revoke or suspend the license of a licensee or impose probation requirements or a civil penalty, or any combination of these sanctions, based on any of the grounds for which the department could refus…

A horse shall not take part in any race conducted under this article unless satisfactorily identified and registered by an association recognized by the department. A horse shall not be allowed to leave the racetrack premises unless it is accompanied by the certificate required b…

A. A permittee, in addition to all other requirements, shall: 1. Admit to qualifying any horse that is foaled in this state or any dog that is whelped at a facility licensed by the department and that is: (a) Of suitable racing age. (b) Physically qualified and registered pursuan…

A. Permits for horse or harness racing meetings shall be approved and issued for substantially the same dates allotted to permittees for the same type of racing during the preceding year or for other dates that permittees request, provided that, in the event there is a conflict i…

A. The commission shall prescribe rules governing wagering on races under the system known as pari-mutuel wagering. Wagering shall be conducted by a permittee only by pari-mutuel wagering and only on the dates for which racing or dark day simulcasting has been authorized by the c…

A. The term "breakage" means the odd cents by which the amount payable on each dollar wagered in a pari-mutuel pool exceeds a multiple of ten cents, except that in the case of minus pools breakage means the odd cents by which the amount payable exceeds a multiple of five cents. A…

A. To encourage the improvement of racing facilities for the benefit of the public, breeders and horse owners, and to increase the revenue to the state from the increase in pari-mutuel wagering resulting from such improvements, the percentage paid by a permittee to the state as p…

A. If it is determined by the commission, through the findings of the commission or through information provided to the commission by the department or the auditor general, that a permittee has retained monies for approved capital improvements pursuant to section 5-111.02 in exce…

A. Except as provided in subsection J of this section, section 5-101.01, subsection F and title 13, chapter 33, any person within the enclosure of a racing meeting held pursuant to this article may wager on the results of a race held at the meeting or televised to the racetrack e…

Reasonable cause shall be a defense to a civil or criminal action brought for false arrest, false imprisonment or wrongful detention against a peace officer, employee or security personnel of the department or the permittee by a person suspected of wagering violations as provided…

A. All revenues derived from permittees, permits and licenses as provided by this article shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the racing regulation fund established by section 5-113.01. The commission shall further allocate all monies deposited in the A…

The racing regulation fund is established. All revenues derived from permittees, permits and licenses pursuant to this article and any grants or donations received by the department shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the racing regulation fund. The dep…

A. For the purpose of promoting and encouraging the breeding of Arizona bred horses, each meeting shall offer not less than one race each day of racing which shall be exclusively for Arizona bred horses. In the event such race does not fill with at least five Arizona bred horses,…

A. At any racing meeting conducted under this article, a person is guilty of a class 4 felony, if the person: 1. Knowingly influences or has any understanding or connivance with any official, owner, jockey, trainer, groom, starter, assistant starter or other person associated wit…

A. It is unlawful for a permittee, licensee or facility for commercial horse racing or dog racing licensed pursuant to this title to operate on the licensed premises an automatic teller machine or a point-of-sale terminal that accepts electronic benefit transfer cards issued purs…

A. Any person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter may be ejected or excluded from any racing meeting or racetrack enclosure in this state or any portion of a racing meeting or portion of a racetrack enclosure in this state if the track stewards issue a ruling that the person…

B. A permittee that is authorized to conduct live racing in a county with a population of seven hundred thousand persons or more but less than one million five hundred thousand persons may not own or lease an additional wagering facility within sixty miles of a racetrack enclosur…

The department of gaming and the racing commission may join with other states in an interstate compact on licensure of participants in live racing with pari-mutuel wagering as follows: Article I Rights and Responsibilities of Each Party State Section 1. Rights and responsibilitie…

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Boxing": (a) Means the act of attack and defense with the fists, using padded gloves, that is practiced as a sport. (b) Includes kickboxing, if applicable. 2. "Combatant" means any person who practices the sport of unarm…

A. This chapter does not apply to any amateur boxing or mixed martial arts contest conducted by the following: 1. Any school, community college, college or university or an association or organization composed exclusively of schools, community colleges, colleges or universities i…

A. The Arizona state boxing and mixed martial arts commission consists of three members appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38-211. The term of office of commissioners is three years. The term of one member shall expire on the third Monday in January each year. B. Two m…

A. A division of boxing and mixed martial arts regulation is established in the department to provide staff support for the Arizona state boxing and mixed martial arts commission. Subject to title 41, chapter 4, article 4, the director of the department shall appoint an executive…

A. All boxing contests are subject to this chapter and to rules adopted pursuant to this chapter. The commission, for every contest that is subject to regulation by the commission, shall: 1. Direct a person authorized by the commission or by the executive director to be present. …

A. Any person who promotes a boxing contest in this state pursuant to this article shall comply with rules adopted pursuant to this article and shall within ten days after the contest pay to the department four percent of the gross receipts, after the deduction of city, state and…

A. The commission shall: 1. Except for the financial and accounting functions delegated to the director pursuant to section 5-226, have sole direction, management, control and jurisdiction over all boxing and mixed martial arts contests held within this state unless exempt from t…

A. All referees, judges, matchmakers, promoters, trainers, ring announcers, timekeepers, ringside physicians, inspectors, mixed martial arts combatants, boxers, managers and seconds are required to be licensed by the commission. The commission shall not allow any of these persons…

A. The commission may in its discretion withhold the granting of a license to a promoter until the applicant furnishes proof of his financial responsibility to promote contests in accordance with section 5-226, subsection B and the rules adopted by the director. The commission ma…

A. The commission may establish and issue annual licenses and may establish and collect fees for those licenses. The commission shall deposit the license fees in the unarmed combat subaccount in the racing regulation fund established by section 5-226. B. A license expires at midn…

A person shall not have, either directly or indirectly, any financial ownership interest in a combatant competing on premises owned or leased by the person, or in which the person is otherwise interested.

A person who is under eighteen years of age shall not participate in any boxing or mixed martial arts contest.

A. All boxers, mixed martial arts combatants and referees shall be examined by a physician licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or 17 before entering the ring, and the examining physician shall immediately file with the commission a written report of the examination. The phy…

If a contest is held within the corporate limits of a city or town, the promoter shall request that the chief of police assign not less than one officer to attend the contest, and if a contest is held outside the corporate limits of a city or town, the promoter shall request that…