(a) The Director shall by regulation provide for the establishment of a list of persons who are to be excluded or ejected from any video lottery agent’s facility and excluded from participating in any capacity in the play of any table game, sports lottery game, video lottery game, or Internet lottery game. Persons shall be placed on the list by order of the Director, predicated upon the filing of a petition by the Division of Gaming Enforcement. Persons shall be placed on the list if a reasonable basis exists for believing that the person’s engagement in the games or presence in the facility is inimical to the interests of this State, or to the operation of a video lottery agent’s facilities, or both. Such provisions shall define the standards for exclusion and shall require the Director and the Division of Gaming Enforcement to consider any:

(1) Prior conviction of a crime which is a felony in this State or under the laws of the United States; or a crime involving moral turpitude; or a violation of the gaming laws of any state;

(2) Violation or conspiracy to violate any of the provisions of § 1471 of Title 11;

(3) The failure to disclose an interest in a video lottery facility for which the person must obtain a license;

(4) Wilful evasion of fees or taxes;

(5) Notorious or unsavory reputation which would adversely affect public confidence and trust that the Delaware Lottery is free from criminal or corruptive elements; or

(6) Written order of a governmental agency which authorizes the exclusion or ejection of the person from an establishment at which gaming or pari-mutuel wagering is conducted.

(b) The Director also shall provide by regulation for the establishment of a list of persons who are to be excluded from participating in any capacity in the play of any sports lottery game, whether such sports lottery game is conducted at a video lottery agent’s facility or a sports lottery agent’s facility. The Director may place a person on the list of excluded sports lottery players by an order that shall be predicated upon the completion of an investigation conducted by the Division of Gaming Enforcement and its written report to the Director. Such regulatory provisions shall define the standards for exclusion from participation in any sports lottery games and shall require the Director to consider 1 or more of the following factors:

(1) Prior conviction of a crime that is related to sports betting in any jurisdiction.

(2) Anything that, in the opinion of the Director, would denigrate or undermine the integrity or overall soundness, financial stability, or reputation of the lottery, which may include a person’s reputation, habits, and associations that may pose a threat to the public interest of the State or the reputation or effective control of the lottery.

(c) (1) The Director may issue an emergency order to exclude any person from participating in any capacity in the play of any sports lottery game if the Director finds that the person poses an immediate threat that would denigrate or undermine the integrity or overall soundness, financial stability, or reputation of the lottery, which may include a person’s reputation, habits, and associations that may pose a threat to the public interest of the State or the reputation or effective control of the lottery.

(2) An emergency order shall set forth the grounds upon which it is issued and shall be effective immediately upon issuance and shall remain in effect until further order of the Director. In addition, an emergency order to exclude a person from participating in any capacity in the play of any sports lottery game shall be served upon the excluded sports lottery player within 7 calendar days of issuance. After the Division of Gaming Enforcement completes an investigation and report to the Director that confirms the excluded sports lottery player meets the criteria of this subsection or that the excluded sports lottery player does not meet the criteria of this subsection, the Director shall issue a further order regarding the excluded sports lottery player, which order may finalize the decision to exclude the sports lottery player or reverse the decision to exclude the sports lottery player.

(d) In considering placement on the exclusion list, it shall be improper to discriminate on any basis prohibited by § 711(a) of Title 19.

(e) Whenever the name and description of any person is placed on a list pursuant to this section, the Director shall serve notice of such fact to such person:

(1) By personal service;

(2) By certified mail to the last known address of such person; or

(3) By publication daily for 1 week in 1 of the principal newspapers published in the city of Dover and in 1 of the principal newspapers published in the city of Wilmington, Delaware.

(f) Within 30 days after service by mail or in person or 60 days after the last publication, the person named may demand a hearing before the Lottery Commission and show cause why that person’s name should be taken from such a list. Failure to demand a hearing within the time allotted in this section precludes the person from having an administrative hearing, but in no way affects that person’s right to petition for judicial review.

(g) Upon receipt of a demand for hearing, the Lottery Commission shall set a time and place for the hearing. This hearing must not be held later than 30 days after receipt of the demand for the hearing, unless the time of the hearing is changed by the Lottery Commission with the agreement of the Division of Gaming Enforcement, the Director, and the person demanding the hearing. At the hearing, the Division of Gaming Enforcement or the Director, whichever initiated the placement of the person on the exclusion list or the list of excluded sports lottery players, shall have the affirmative obligation to establish a reasonable basis that the person named for exclusion satisfies the criteria for exclusion established by this section and any regulations hereunder.

(h) If, upon completion of the hearing, the Lottery Commission determines that:

(1) The Division of Gaming Enforcement or the Director has not met the burden of proof, an order shall be entered requiring that the person’s name be removed from the list of excluded persons or the list of excluded sports lottery players and requiring the Director to so notify all video lottery agents of the person’s removal from the list.

(2) Placing the person on the exclusion list or the excluded sports lottery players list was proper, an order shall be entered to that effect, and the Lottery Commission shall serve a copy of that order on the person so named pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, as well as all video lottery agents. This order is subject to review in the Superior Court, which shall have exclusive jurisdiction over appeals of exclusion listings from the Lottery Commission.

(i) Nothing contained in this section shall:

(1) Affect the common law right of a video lottery agent, as an owner or lessor of property, from excluding or ejecting any person from its property for any reason that is not unlawful or excluding any person from participation in Internet lottery games for any reason that is not unlawful; or

(2) Be applicable to any action undertaken by a video lottery agent in the exercise of such right.

77 Del. Laws, c. 219, § 20; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 78 Del. Laws, c. 285, §§ 16, 17; 82 Del. Laws, c. 158, § 1.