2011-05-C CITY OF CLERMONT
ORDINANCE NO. 2011-05-C
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 42,
"OFFENSES" OF THE CLERMONT CITY CODE; CREATING ARTICLE
IV "PROHIBITION OF SIMULATED GAMBLING DEVICES ";
PROVIDING FOR LEGISLATIVE AUTHORIZATION; DEFINITIONS;
INTENT; EXEMPTIONS; CONFLICT WITH STATE LAW; CIVIL
PENALTIES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF; PROVIDING FOR
CODIFICATION, SEVERABILITY, CONFLICT AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article VIII, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution and Chapter
166 of the Florida Statutes, the City of Clermont is authorized and required to protect the public
health, safety and welfare of its citizens and has the power and authority to enact regulations for
valid governmental purposes that are not inconsistent with general or special law;
WHEREAS, the public health, safety and welfare is a legitimate public purpose
recognized by the courts of Florida;
WHEREAS, there is presently in Central Florida an increasing proliferation of
establishments that utilize computer or video displays of spinning reels or other simulations of
games ordinarily played on a slot machine or in a casino or otherwise in connection with
gambling and which show the results of raffles, sweepstakes, contests or other promotions,
hereinafter collectively referred to in these recitals as "simulated gambling devices ", for
commercial gain; and
WHEREAS, the Council recognizes that while the State of Florida has authorized slot
machine gaming at licensed facilities in certain areas outside of the City of Clermont, it also
recognizes that establishments that utilize simulated gambling devices can deceive members of
the public, including the elderly and the economically disadvantaged, into believing that they are
engaging in a lawfully permitted gaming activity; and
WHEREAS, the use of simulated gambling devices is therefore inherently deceptive;
and
WHEREAS, due to their inherently deceptive nature, establishments that utilize
simulated gambling devices are adverse to the quality of life, tone of commerce, and total
community environment in the City of Clermont, and have an unreasonable adverse effect upon
the elderly, the economically disadvantaged, and other citizens of the City of Clermont; and
WHEREAS, there is often a correlation between establishments that utilize simulated
gambling devices and disturbances of the peace and good order of the community, and the
concurrency of these activities is hazardous to the public health, safety, and general welfare of
the citizens of the City of Clermont; and
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ORDINANCE NO. 2011-05-C
WHEREAS, while other jurisdictions in Florida have attempted to utilize existing state
laws to close these establishments that utilize simulated gambling devices with mixed success, it
is believed that a local prohibition on such simulated gambling devices would close any alleged
loopholes left by the state laws and enable local law enforcement to consistently enforce existing
code provisions and statutes and safeguard the public's welfare; and
WHEREAS, in order to ensure the uniform enforcement of existing laws, to preserve the
public peace and good order, and to safeguard the health, safety, and general welfare of the
community and citizens thereof, it is necessary and advisable to prohibit the use of simulated
gambling devices, unless otherwise exempted by law or ordinance; and
WHEREAS, several jurisdictions, including Seminole County and Orange County,
Florida have the adopted findings as set forth in the above - recitals and have adopted prohibition
on the use of simulated gambling devices.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Clermont,
Florida:
Section 1.
The foregoing Whereas clauses are hereby ratified and incorporated as the legislative intent and
findings supporting this Ordinance.
Section 2.
Chapter 42, "Offenses ", Article IV "Prohibition of Simulated Gambling Devices" of the Code of
the City of Clermont, Florida, is hereby created to read as follows:
Article IV. Prohibition of Simulated gambling Devices
Section 42 -100. Legislative authorization.
This Article is enacted in the interest of the public health, peace, safety, and general
welfare of the citizens and inhabitants of the City of Clermont, Florida, pursuant to
Article VIII, Section 2, Florida Constitution and Chapter 166, Florida Statutes (2010).
Section 42 -101. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a
different meaning:
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Person means an individual, association, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or any
other type of organization, whether conducted for profit or not for profit; or a director,
executive, officer or manager of an association, partnership, joint venture, corporation or
other organization.
Simulated gambling device means any device that, upon connection with an object, is
available to play or operate a computer simulation of any game, and which may deliver or
entitle the person or persons playing or operating the device to a payoff. The following
rules of construction apply to this definition of "simulated gambling device ":
(1) The term "device" means any mechanical or electrical contrivance,
computer, terminal, video or other equipment that may or may not be
capable of downloading games from a central server system, machine,
computer or other device or equipment. The term "device" also includes
any associated equipment necessary to conduct the operation of the
device.
(2) The term "upon connection with" means insertion, swiping, passing in
range, or any other technical means of physically or electromagnetically
connecting an object to a device or inputting a password or code account
number, or user name, into a device.
(3) The term "object" means a coin, bill, ticket, token, card, password, code
account number or similar object, obtained directly or indirectly through
payment of consideration, or obtained as a bonus or supplement to another
transaction involving the payment of consideration.
(4) The terms "play or operate" or "play or operation" includes the use of
skill, the application of the element of chance, or both.
(5) The term "computer simulation" includes simulations by means of a
computer, computer system, video display, video system or any other form
of electronic video presentation.
(6) The term "game" includes slot machines, poker, bingo, craps, keno, any
other type of game ordinarily played in a casino, a game involving the
display of the results of a raffle, sweepstakes, drawing, contest or other
promotion, lotto, sweepstakes, and any other game associated with
gambling or which could be associated with gambling, but the term
"game" does not necessarily imply gambling as that term may be defined
elsewhere.
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ORDINANCE NO. 2011-05-C
(7) The term "payoff' means cash, monetary or other credit, billets, tickets,
tokens, or electronic credits to be exchanged for cash or to receive
merchandise or anything of value whatsoever, whether made
automatically from the machine or manually.
(8) The use of the word "gambling" in the term "simulated gambling device"
is for convenience of reference only. The term "simulated gambling
device" as used in this Article is defined exclusively by this subsection
and does not incorporate or imply any other legal definition or
requirement applicable to gambling that may be found elsewhere.
Section 42 -102. Intent.
The intent of the Council acting as the governing body of the City of Clermont, Florida in
adopting this Article is to prohibit broadly the possession or use of simulated gambling
devices, including any related activity or behavior which can be reasonably construed to
be the use of simulated gambling devices. Further, the Council, in prohibiting simulated
gambling devices, in no way intends to approve the use of actual slot machines, other
forms of casino gambling or other types of gambling devices. In addition, this prohibition
is aimed directly at devices that simulate gambling activity, regardless of whether the
devices or the simulations in and of themselves can be said to constitute gambling as that
term may be defined elsewhere.
Section 42- 103. Prohibition of simulated gambling devices.
It is unlawful in the City of Clermont for any person to design, develop, manage,
supervise, maintain, provide, produce, possess or use one or multiple simulated gambling
devices. Each individual act to design, develop, manage, supervise, maintain, provide,
produce, possess or use a simulated gambling device constitutes a separate violation of
this section.
Section 42 -104. Exemptions.
(a) This Article does not prohibit an individual's personal, recreational, and
non - commercial ownership, possession, play, operation or use of a device
which could be construed to be a simulated gambling device.
(b) This Article does not prohibit the ownership, possession, play, operation
or use of any device expressly permitted by the Florida Statutes
and not otherwise prohibited by the Florida Constitution, except that
devices permitted by Article X, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution
and Chapter 551, Florida Statutes, in Broward and Miami -Dade County
only are not permitted by this Article.
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(c) This Article does not prohibit a religious or charitable organization from
conducting a fund raising activity involving gaming, provided the
religious or charitable organization provides advance written notice to the
City of Clermont Chief of Police of the date, time, place, and nature of
such activity and who will be conducting it, and the activity is not
otherwise unlawful.
Section 42 -105. Conflict with state law.
Nothing in this Article is intended to conflict with the provisions of the Florida
Constitution or Chapter 849, Florida Statutes, concerning gambling. In the event of a
direct and express conflict between this Article and either the Florida Constitution or
Chapter 849, Flonda Statutes, then the provisions of the Flonda Constitution or Chapter
849, Florida Statutes, as applicable, control.
Section 42 -106. Civil penalties and injunctive relief.
(a) Civil penalties. Any person who violates this Article is subject to the fine
provisions of Chapter 2, Article V of this Code. Each simulated gambling
device, possession or use thereof, constitutes an individual offense for the
purpose of Chapter 2.
(b) Injunctive relief The City of Clermont Attorney's Office or special
counsel as otherwise authorized, is authorized to pursue temporary or
permanent injunctive relief or any other legal or equitable remedy
authonzed by law in courts of competent jurisdiction to cure, remove or
end any activity which violates this Article.
Section 3. Codification.
The text of Section 2 of this Ordinance shall be codified as a part of the Clermont City Code. The
codifier is authorized to make editorial changes not effecting the substance of this ordinance by the
substitution of "article" for "ordinance ", "section" for "paragraph ", or otherwise to take such
editorial license.
Section 4. Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, it is the intent of the Council that the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are declared severable.
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ORDINANCE NO. 2011-05-C
Section 5. Conflict.
All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances, all City Code sections or parts of City Code sections, and
all Resolutions or parts of Resolutions in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the
extent of such conflict.
Section 6. Effective Date and Enforcement Abatement.
This Ordinance shall take effect upon the filing of a copy of this Ordinance with the Department
of State by the City Clerk of the City Council of Clermont, Florida or November 1, 2011,
whichever occurs later. Provided, however; that enforcement is abated until May 1, 2012 with
regard to any person, as defined in this Ordinance, that lawfully possesses or uses one or multiple
simulated gambling devices within the City of Clermont as of the day of First Reading of this
Ordinance.
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CITY OF CLERMONT
ORDINANCE NO. 2011-05-C
INTRODUCED AS FIRST READING by the City Council of the City of Clermont, Lake
County, Florida, this 11 day of October, 2011.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Clermont, Lake County,
Flonda, this 25 day of October, 2011.
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ATTEST:
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Approved as to form and legality:
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