(a) Applications for Licenses. All applications for licenses under this chapter shall be in writing on a form approved by and filed with the Safety Director. A license application shall be submitted along with an application for a zoning certificate. The application shall be signed by the owner or owners and shall contain information required by this section supplied in detail as to each such person, including general and limited partners, or partnerships, shareholders of corporations, and principals of any other type of business entity. In the event that no person owns twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the entertainment device arcade, such application shall be signed by an authorized representative. All applications shall contain a statement that the information contained therein is complete, accurate, and truthful to the best knowledge of all applicants. Every owner and operator of the entertainment device or entertainment device arcades therefore, as a condition precedent, shall be required to consent to a criminal history record check by the employer and sent to the Safety Director for review. No entertainment device shall be lawfully operated unless it is certified to meet the requirements of this section.
(b) Contents of Applications. The application shall contain the following information as to all owners:
(1) True name and all names used in the past five years;
(2) Date of birth;
(3) Permanent home address and all home addresses used in the past five (5) years;
(4) Business and home telephone numbers;
(5) Employment history for the past five (5) years;
(6) A statement as to whether the owner has been convicted of any crime other than traffic offenses and, if so, the date and place of conviction, the nature of the offense, and the penalty imposed;
(7) A statement confirming that all employees and operators of an entertainment device arcade have had a criminal history record check through the Ohio Attorney General's office and employees and operators have not had, within the last five (5) years, any felony or any misdemeanor offense for violation of building, health, or tax codes, involving the operation of a similarly licensed business activity, or involving physical violence, unlawful gambling activity, controlled substances, alcoholic beverages, minors, or any crime involving moral turpitude. These record checks will be performed annually and submitted with initial and annual licensing documentation. These records will be subject to inspection and confirmation as determined by the Safety Director or his/her designee.
(8) A statement as to whether the owner has ever conducted a game room, entertainment, or sweepstakes terminal arcade and, if so, when, where, and for how long;
(9) A description of the nature and operation of the main type of business activity to be conducted upon the premises;
(10) A description of the nature and operation of any business activity to be conducted in conjunction with the entertainment device arcade, and the anticipated percentage of gross revenue to be derived from each respective business activity;
(11) The address and telephone number of the premises of the business, if different from that premises;
(12) The name under which the business and premises will be operated;
(13) A statement as to whether the owner will directly operate the entertainment device arcade, or whether an operator who is not an owner will operate it, and if the latter, the application shall contain information required by this section supplied in detail as to each such operator;
(14) Building and utility drawings of the premises meeting all building requirements of the City of Wickliffe including floor plans of the premises showing devices, equipment, computers, internet distribution routing, and the immediate vicinity drawn to scale (24 x 36) showing the square footage and placement of the entertainment devices, exits, windows, storage spaces, bicycle storage racks, and off-street parking;
(15) Specification of the days of the week and the hours of the day during which the licensed activity will be conducted;
(16) A copy of the employer identification number, business registration form, and other evidence that the owner is in full compliance with the Regional Income Tax Agency for corporate and/or payroll tax collections;
(17) Confirmation that real property tax collections are current, not delinquent, or are otherwise subject to payment plan in accordance with law, and subject to verification in conjunction with building and/or occupancy permits;
(18) Certificate of Insurance for general and premises liability in an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00); and
(19) Any other information which the Safety Director may deem reasonably necessary for the full interest of the public in the application.
(c) Report Issued by an Authorized Independent Testing Laboratory. A certificate or report, provided by an authorized independent testing laboratory, identifying the components of the entertainment devices and related systems, identifying the operational characteristics of the entertainment devices and systems, and verifying that each entertainment device, and the software therein, is either a skill-based amusement machine, as defined in Ohio Revised Code 2915.01, or is part of a sweepstakes game format.
(1) The Safety Director or his/her designee shall publish, within thirty (30) days after the enactment of this chapter, a list of authorized independent, testing laboratories, and shall keep said list updated and current at all times. Only certificates or reports from the entities listed by the City of Wickliffe as authorized independent testing laboratories shall satisfy the requirements of this section. Said certificate or report shall be provided to the City of Wickliffe for each entertainment device prior to an owner or operator placing the device into service.
(2) The certificate or report issued by an authorized independent testing laboratory herein shall be updated annually for each entertainment device and the updated certificate or report shall be provided at the time of each annual application and shall contain the information required in this subsection.
(d) Sweepstakes Game Format Requirements. If the certificate or report issued by an authorized independent testing laboratory verifies that the entertainment device, and the software therein, is part of a sweepstakes game format, the certificate or report shall verify the following
information:
(1) The sweepstakes game is governed by official rules, which are clearly posted and available to customers;
(2) Sweepstakes entries are provided to customers upon purchase of a good or service, for which consideration is paid, and no consideration is paid for the sweepstakes entry itself. Additionally, the sweepstakes game provides for a method of free entry upon request, and the chance of winning the sweepstakes game does not vary between free entries and entries received as a result of purchase;
(3) The total number of entries, the number of winning and losing entries, and the number and nature of prizes of the sweepstakes game are finite, predetermined, and established prior to the start of the sweepstakes. Additionally, all winning and losing entries are predetermined prior to the start of the sweepstakes game and the entries cannot be changed or modified once the sweepstakes game begins; and
(4) The sweepstakes game contains no element of skill and the customer has no ability to alter or affect the outcome or results of the sweepstakes game.
(Ord. 2023-32. Passed 10-23-23.)