(a) Except as provided in § 17-21-203, each operator shall, at the time of registration, file and have approved by the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, a bond in which the candidate for registration shall be the principal obligor in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(b) The bond shall be payable to the State of Arkansas for the use of the secretary and any person who may have a cause of action against the obligor of the bond for any losses caused by a failure to conduct a beauty pageant.