Ord 161-36 Ordinance No. ~ ~ ~
AN ORDINANCE TO LICENSE CERTAIN TYPES
OF COIN-0PERATED DEVICES; TO REGULATE
THE OPERATION THEREOF; TO DESIGNATE
THE PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF THE
PROVISIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE; TO DEFINE
CERTAIN TYPES OF COIN-0PERATED DEVICES;
AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY TO EXIST.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, of the City of Delray
Beach, Florida:
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person or per-
sons, corporation or corporations to set up for operation, operate
lease or distribute for the purpose of operating, any coin-
operated device as defined in Section Two of this Ordinance,
without first having obtained a license therefor. This
~rdinance, however, does not apply to machines or devices being
displayed or demonstrated by manufacturers, distributors,
salesmen and agents for sales purposes.
Section 2. For the purpose of this Ordinance, coin-
operated devices are defined and classified as follows:
(1) Automatic co~n-operating vending and amusement
machines with premium features, which may or may not vend for each
coin deposited a standard article of merchandise having a
recognized retail value, and which at intervals 'vend checks,
tokens, coins or orders which may or may not be exchanged for
additional merchandise, hereinafter this type will be referred
to as automatic vendors.
(2) Coin-operated skill machir~ %commonly referred to
as Pin-Games, marble Tables, and similar devises of this type
which may have a skill feature) which may or may not pay a reward
for skillful operation or upon which operation, premiums may or
may not be given for high score or making certain combinations.
Such premiu~ns may be awarded either automatically by the ma-
chfne'i~ the form of check'~,'~kens or orde~-s~ which designate
the value of the premium or premiums or may be indicated by a
score card attached to the machine. ~ereinafter this type shall
be referred to as skill machines.
(3) Trade machines. These machines have no automatic
vending feature, although at intervals indicate that patron is
entitled to receive premiums, hereinafter this type will be
referred to as trade machines. 0nly such types of machines
as are hereinabove described and referred to as automatic
vendors, skill machines and/or trade machines are covered by
this ~rdinanc~. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to
apply to any coin-operated machine or device which returns
amusement, entertainment or some service or article of value
or a combination of the above, uniformly as to quantity and
quality, upon each insertion of a coin into the same, nor to
any coin-operated telephone.
(4) ,Other ~achines." All other coin-operated machines
or slot machines not covered by any of the above definitions,
classifications or descriptions, shall be classified as ,other
machines" and shall be subject to an occupational license tax
as hereinafter provided.
(5) This Ordinance shall not apply to coin-operated
telephones nor to U. S. Stamp machines.
(6) The Mayor is hereby authorized and directed to
make and promulgate such reasonable rules and regu]~ions as
may be necessary to secure and determine uniform classifications
for the purposes of this Ordinance, of all devices and/or
machines within the State of Florida.
Section 3. Any person, firm or corpc~ation who leases
or rents out or places, under any kind of arrangement whatsoever,
with any other person, or a location operator, any coin-
operated device or devices, as herein defined, shall pay an
occupational tax and shall be known as an "Operator."
Any person, firm or corporation who displays any coin-
operated device or devices, as herein defined, to the public
to be played or operated by the public shall be known as a
"location operator" and shall pay an occupational license tax
as provided in Section 5.
Section 4. All licenses shall be due and payable on or
before the first day of Uctobef of each year, and no license
shall be issued for any fractional portion of a year, except as
otherwise provided in this Ordinance, and except that any license
for a location tax may be issued after the first day of April
and to expire on the 30th day of September of the same year,
upon the payment of one-half of the amount fixed as the
price of such license for one year.
Section 5. The fees for such licenses to be as follows:
Each "Operator" of automatic vendors, and/or skill machines,
of the City of Delray Beach, ~la.
and/or trade machines, shall pay to the Tax Collector/an occupa-
tional tax of Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00), and in addition
thereto the following occupational tax on each machine as set
forth in this Section, and each "location operator," as defined
in Section 3, shall pay an occupational license tax on each
machine to the said Tax Collector of the City, as follows:
Automatic vendors $15.00
Skill machines 5.00
Trade machines 5.00
Other machines 250.00
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Section 6. The administration and enforcement of this
Ordinance shall be the duty of the mayor or his duly appointed
agents, and for that purpose he is hereby directed, authorized
and empowered; to make, promulgate and enforce such reasonable
rules and regulations as he may ~em necessary or expedient; to con-
fiscate all machines as herein defined upon which all taxes
herein imposed have not been paid as herein provided; to
appoint and deputize a sufficient number of inspectors to
properly enforce the provisions of this Ordinance and the rules
and regulations made pursuant hereto; to give instructions to
and provide all forms to the City tax collector; and to do
any and all acts necessary or expedient for the strict enforce-
ment of the provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 7. ~ny and all machines licensed under this
Ordinance shall be subject to the following provisions:
1. No person in direct charge or supervision of such
machine shall knowingly permit any person under twenty-one (El)
years of age to engage in the play of such machines.
2. ~ll machines licensed by this Ordinance, must be
operated and maintained at all times in an orderly manner, and
the operation thereof shall be conducted with the same dignity
as any other well regulated business.
3. Provided that no automatic vending machine shall at
any time be "plugged" or changed in any manner so as to alter
its ratio of premiums.
Section 8. Any person, firm or corporation defined in
this Ordinance engaged in the operation of coin controlled
machines as herein defined, in violation of any of the pro-
visions of this Ordinance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than Two
Hundred Dollars ($200.00), or imprisoned in the city jail not to
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exceed one (1) year or both within the discretion of the
Municipal ~udge. And each day of operation in violation of any
provision of this Ordinance shall constitute a separate offense.
Section 9. No machines operated under the provisions of
this Ordinance shall be maintained or operated within three
hundred (300) feet of any public school or church; provided,
however, that this shall not apply to any machine operated or
maintained in any hotel.
Section 10. SAVING CLAUSE. If any section, sub-
section, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance,
is for any reason, held or declared to be unconstitutional,
inoperative or void, such holding or invalidity shall not
affect the remaining portions of this 0rdinance~ and
shall be construed to have been the intent
to pass this Ordinance without such unconstitutional,
inoperative or invalid part therein; and the remainder of this
Ordinance after the exclusion of such part or parts shall
be deemed and held to be valid as if such excluded parts had not
been included hereLn; or if this ~rdinance or any provision
thereof shall be held inapplicable to any person, groups of
persons, property, kind of property, circumstances or set of
circumstances, such holding shall not affect the applicability
thereof to any other person, property or circumstance.
Section 11. That an emergency exists in the City for ·
the regulation of the operation of slot machines, and this
Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency ordinance.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Delray Beach,
Florida, this ~day of September, 1936.
P~esident of City Council.
Attest:
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