§ 543.15 What are the minimum internal control standards for lines of credit?

(a) Supervision. Supervision must be provided as needed for lines of credit by an agent(s) with authority equal to or greater than those being supervised. (b) Establishment of lines of credit policy. (1) If a gaming operation extends lines of credit, controls must be established and procedures implemented to safeguard the assets of the gaming operation. Such controls must include a lines of credit policy including the following: (i) A process for the patron to apply for, modify, and/or re-establish lines of credit, to include required documentation and credit line limit; (ii) Authorization levels of credit issuer(s); (iii) Identification of agents authorized to issue lines of credit; (iv) A process for verifying an applicant's credit worthiness; (v) A system for recording patron information, to include: (A) Name, current address, and signature; (B) Identification credential; (C) Authorized credit line limit; (D) Documented approval by an agent authorized to approve credit line limits; (E) Date, time and amount of credit issuances and payments; and (F) Amount of available credit. (vi) A process for issuing lines of credit to: (A) Verify the patron's identity; (B) Notify the patron of the lines of credit terms, including obtaining patron's written acknowledgment of the terms by signature; (C) Complete a uniquely identified, multi-part, lines of credit issuance form, such as a marker or counter check, which includes the terms of the lines of credit transaction; (D) Obtain required signatures; (E) Determine the amount of the patron's available lines of credit; (F) Update the credit balance record at the time of each transaction to ensure that lines of credit issued are within the established limit and balance for that patron; and (G) Require the agent issuing the lines of credit to be independent of the agent who authorized the lines of credit. (vii) A policy establishing credit line limit exceptions to include the following: (A) Identification of the agent(s) authorized to permit a credit line limit to be exceeded; (B) Authorization thresholds; and (C) Required documentation. (viii) A policy governing increases and decreases to a patron's lines of credit account balances to include the following: (A) Documentation and record keeping requirements; (B) Independence between the department that receives the payment and the department that maintains custody of the credit balance for payments made by mail; (C) Collections; (D) Periodic audits and confirmation of balances; and (E) If a collection agency is used, a process to ensure documentation of increases and decreases to the lines of credit account balances. (ix) A policy governing write-offs and settlements to include: (A) Identification of agent(s) authorized to approve write-offs and settlements; (B) Authorization levels for write-offs and settlements of lines of credit instruments; (C) Required documentation for write-offs and settlements; (D) Independence between the agent who established the lines of credit and the agent writing off or settling the lines of credit instrument; and (E) Necessary documentation for the approval of write-offs and settlements and transmittal to the appropriate department for recording and deductibility. (c) Variances. The operation must establish, as approved by the TGRA, the threshold level at which a variance must be reviewed to determine the cause. Any such review must be documented.