Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 4, § 12386 - Cage Operation and Functions

(a) The policies and procedures for all tiers must meet or exceed the following standards for cages:

(1) The cardroom business licensee must maintain within the gambling establishment at least one separate and secure area at a fixed location that is designated as a cage. A cage must be located, designed, constructed and operated to provide convenience for patron transactions while maintaining appropriate security and accountability for all monetary transactions occurring at the cage and all cage contents.

(2) The cardroom business licensee must assign at least one gambling enterprise employee to process monetary transactions at a cage. The titles, classifications, or positions of all employees assigned to process monetary transactions at a cage must be listed on the gambling enterprise's organizational chart. The assigned employees' duties may include any or all of the following:

(A) Custody of the cage inventory or individual cashiers' banks, which is comprised of currency, coin, patron checks, gambling chips, forms, documents and records consistent with the operation of a cage or an individual cashier's bank.

(B) Receipt and distribution of gambling chips through internal operations.

(C) Sale and redemption of chips through patron transactions.

(D) Deposits to and withdrawals from players' banks and dealers' banks, if applicable.

(E) Check cashing and extensions of credit for patrons, as permitted by the cardroom business licensee's policies and procedures.

(F) Preparation of cage accountability reconciliations and records necessary to document compliance with the requirements of this chapter.

(G) Recording patron information that is necessary for compliance with the requirements of sections 5313 and 5314 of Title 31 of the United States Code, applicable regulations in Chapter X (effective as of July 1, 2011) of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations and any successor provisions, and subsection (a) of Section 12315.

(H) The proper accounting and safeguarding of any cage bank or cashier's bank, and gambling equipment or confidential documents when kept in a cage.

(3) Routine access and entry into a cage, or an area designated as a cage pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, must be limited to on-duty cage personnel assigned pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection. Other employees of the gambling enterprise who hold a valid cardroom category license may be granted access to a cage or cage area for the purpose of performing their duties.

(4) A log must be maintained, either in writing or electronically, to document entry into a cage by any person not authorized access pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection. The log must contain the person's name, title, date of entry, and time entering and exiting; or provide substantially equivalent information through an automated access control system. Any automated access control system must provide a secure, tamperproof means of recording and maintaining entry and exit information.

(5)

(A) Cage and cashiers' banks must be reconciled after each shift by the incoming and outgoing assigned cage employees. If an imprest is used, each outgoing cage employee responsible for an imprest must balance his or her imprest to the imprest amount. The recordable cage transactions and reconciliations must be posted and reconciled to the general ledger at least monthly.

(B) The reconciliation of each cage and cashiers' bank must be documented on a cage accountability form that must include, at a minimum, all of the following, as applicable:

1. The date of the reconciliation;

2. The designation of the shift being reconciled;

3. An accounting of the contents of the cage bank, cashiers' banks, and, if applicable, players' banks in use during the subject shift, including:

i. The beginning shift balances, unless an imprest is used;

ii. All transactions recordable to the general ledger;

iii. The ending balances of cash and chips;

iv. An identification of any overage or shortage with an explanation, if known.

4. The amount assigned or issued from the cage to dealers' banks and floor banks in use during the subject shift.

5. The printed name and signature of each assigned cage employee performing the reconciliation, as applicable.

(6) The purchase or redemption of gambling chips by a patron may only occur at a cage or from an authorized cardroom category licensee on the gambling floor. Cardroom category licensees may not permit TPPPS category licensees to purchase or redeem gambling chips for cash or cash equivalents from a patron or to sell gambling chips to a patron. For the purposes of this article, the sale, purchase or redemption of gambling chips may not include the exchange of a chip or chips of one total value for a chip or chips of an equal total value.

(7) If a cardroom business licensee operates more than one cage at any time during any shift, all cages, irrespective of their designations (e.g., main cage, satellite cage, auxiliary cage, supplementary cage, secondary cage, back up cage, support cage, etc.), will be subject to and comply with all provisions of this article applicable to the operation and functions of cages for the cardroom business licensee's tier.

(b) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), the policies and procedures for Tiers III through and including V must require that the cage and cashiers' banks reconciliations specified in paragraph (5) of subsection (a) be posted and reconciled to the general ledger by someone other than an assigned cage employee or cage supervisor.

(c) In addition to the requirements of subsections (a) and (b), the policies and procedures for Tiers IV and V must include the following standards for a cage:

(1) A cage must be a secure enclosed structure with at least one cashier window through which items such as gambling chips, cash, checks, and documents may be passed to serve patrons and cardroom category licensees. The design and construction of a cage must include:

(A) Secure cashier windows designed to prevent entry by a patron or another individual, and to prevent theft from the cage;

(B) A manually triggered silent alarm system connected directly to the surveillance unit, or its equivalent, or an alarm monitoring agency; and

(C) Access through a secured door or doors, which must be under constant recorded video surveillance in accordance with the applicable provisions of Section 12396.

(2) In addition to the information specified in paragraph (5) of subsection (a), the cage accountability form referenced therein must include an itemization of the following:

(A) Cash and coin by denomination;

(B) Gambling chips by denomination;

(C) All other items of monetary value (e.g., markers, patron checks, players' banks, etc.), specifying the amount of each;

(D) The amount assigned to each dealer's bank and floor bank.

(3) The cardroom business licensee must maintain a record, either in writing or electronically, of the names or classifications of all persons assigned pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (a) as being authorized to access or enter a cage, which record must specify those persons who possess the combination or the keys or who control the mechanism to open the devices securing the entrance to a cage, and those who possess the ability to operate the alarm system. The record must be updated each time an assignment is added or deleted.

(d) In addition to the requirements of subsections (a), (b) and (c), the policies and procedures for Tier V must include standards for a cage that require monitored and recorded video surveillance of the interior of the cage and all of its contents, and the exterior of all access doors in accordance with the applicable provisions of Section 12396.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 4, § 12386

1. New section filed 8-25-2009; operative 9-24-2009 (Register 2009, No. 35).
2. Amendment of section heading and section filed 6-11-2014; operative 10-1-2014 (Register 2014, No. 24).
3. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(2)(G) filed 1-17-2018 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2018, No. 3).
4. Amendment filed 12-12-2020; operative 1-1-2021 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b) (Register 2020, No. 51). Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 19840, 19841 and 19924, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 19841, 19922 and 19924, Business and Professions Code.

1. New section filed 8-25-2009; operative 9-24-2009 (Register 2009, No. 35).
2. Amendment of section heading and section filed 6-11-2014; operative 10/1/2014 (Register 2014, No. 24).
3. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(2)(G) filed 1-17-2018 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2018, No. 3).
4. Amendment filed 12-12-2020; operative 1/1/2021 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b) (Register 2020, No. 51). Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20.