Section 3000.430  Evidence

a)         The hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules of evidence.  Any relevant evidence may be admitted and shall be sufficient in itself to support a finding if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper the admission of such evidence over objection in a civil action.  Hearsay may support a finding of the Administrative Law Judge if it is the best evidence available, has sufficient indicia of trustworthiness and reliability and is of the type reasonably and customarily relied on in the gaming industry.

1)         If relevant, and not precluded from the hearing by Section 6(d) of the Act relating to all license applicants under the Act and these Rules, official Illinois Gaming Board records or certified copies thereof shall be admissible into evidence.

2)         Official Illinois Gaming Board records are documents either prepared by or provided to the Board for use in evaluating an applicant or for use in determining whether an individual should be excluded from a Riverboat Gaming Operation.

3)         A petitioner must afford the Board an opportunity to investigate and verify information that petitioner intends to offer in support of his case. Petitioner shall not be permitted to introduce into evidence any information which the Board has not been afforded the opportunity to investigate and verify.

b)         The parties should, to the fullest extent possible, stipulate to all matters which are not or fairly should not be in dispute.

c)         The parties may make objections to evidentiary offers.  When an objection is made, the hearing officer may receive the disputed evidence subject to a ruling at a later time.

d)         The hearing officer may take official notice of any generally accepted information or technical or scientific matter within the field of gaming, and any other fact which may be judicially noticed by courts of this State.  The parties shall be informed of any information, matter or facts so noticed, including any staff memoranda or data, and shall be given reasonable opportunity to refute such information.