Section 11-65-18 Application for Operator’s License.

Depending upon the licensing authority granted a commission by elections held pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of Section 11-65-4, a commission shall be empowered to grant operator’s licenses for horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon or for greyhound racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon. Any corporation, partnership, or other business entity desiring to obtain (i) an operator’s license to conduct horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon at a racing facility located in the commission municipal jurisdiction or (ii) an operator’s license to conduct greyhound racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon at a racing facility located in the commission municipal jurisdiction, either through issuance of such license by a commission or transfer of an outstanding license, shall file with the appropriate commission an application for such license. Such application may, but need not, be made in conjunction with an application for a horse racing facility license. Operator’s licenses shall separately authorize only the designated activity for which they were issued, but operator’s licenses for both horse racing and greyhound racing may be granted to the same licensee. Applications for both kinds of licenses may be submitted by an applicant at the same time, and in such case the commission shall review and decide both applications together. An application for an operator’s license shall be filed at the time and place prescribed by the commission and shall be in such form and contain such information as may be prescribed by the commission, including the following: (1) A statement identifying the kind of license for which application is being made, whether for horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon or greyhound racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon, which statement may simply result from the use of the application form prescribed by the commission for the license in question; (2) The name and address of the applicant; if a corporation, the state of its incorporation and the full name and address of each officer and director thereof; if a foreign corporation, whether it is qualified to do business in the state; and if a partnership or joint venture, the name and address of each general partner thereof; (3) The name, and every address for the period of five years immediately preceding the date of such application, of each stockholder or member of such corporation, or each general partner of such partnership or joint venture, and of each person who has contracted for a financial interest in the applicant or the racing facility where the racing and wagering activities of the applicant will be conducted, whether such interest will be an ownership or a security interest, and the nature and value of such interest, and the name and address of each person who has agreed to lend money to the applicant; provided that if the applicant proposes to arrange further financing, subsequent to the award of an operator’s license, through a sale of stock, partnership interests, or other equity interest, the issuance of debt securities, the entering into of financing leases, or otherwise borrowing money, then, in such case, the commission may grant an operator’s license which sets forth conditions to be met in arranging such further financing or which reserves to such commission the right to approve any or all aspects of such further financing; (4) Such information as the commission deems appropriate regarding the character and responsibility of the applicant and the members, partners, stockholders, officers, and directors of the applicant; (5) The location and description of the racing facility where the applicant proposes to conduct the activity covered by the operator’s license for which application is being made; provided that the commission may require such information about such facility and the location thereof, including preliminary architectural plans, as it deems necessary and appropriate to determine whether such facility is suitable and complies with the standards established by the commission pursuant to this chapter, and whether the conduct of horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon or greyhound racing and pari-mutuel wagering thereon, as the case may be, at such location would be in the best interests of the people of the state; (6) Such information relating to the business experience and financial responsibility of the applicant as the commission deems appropriate; and (7) Any other information which the commission in its discretion deems appropriate. Anything contained in this section to the contrary notwithstanding, an applicant shall not be required to disclose, in connection with an application for an operator’s license, any confidential financial information, or any information concerning the exact percentage of ownership interests in such applicant held by various persons, that it would be entitled, as a licensee of the commission, to keep confidential under the provisions of subdivision (10) of Section 11-65-10, and to the extent that any such information is furnished to the commission by such applicant, or otherwise comes into the possession of the commission, it shall be kept confidential and shall be protected from public disclosure to the same extent as confidential information concerning a licensee is required to be protected from public disclosure pursuant to said subdivision (10). Any application for the issuance or transfer of an operator’s license, whether for horse racing or greyhound racing, shall be verified by the oath or affirmation of an officer of the applicant and shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of $10,000.00.