(A) Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to closely regulate, control and to prohibit commercialization of gambling.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACTIVE MEMBER. A member of the organization requesting a license whose dues are paid for the current membership period and who has been a member for at least six months.
BINGO. A game where each player has a card or board for which a consideration has been paid, containing five horizontal rows of spaces, with each row except the central one containing five figures. The central, row has four figures with the word “free” marked in the center space thereof. A player wins a game of bingo by completing any pre-announced combination of spaces or, in the absence of a pre-announcement of a combination of spaces, any combination of five spaces in a row, either vertical, horizontal or diagonal.
BINGO or GAMBLING ACTIVITY. A single gathering, session or occasion at which a series of one or more successive bingo games is played or at which gambling devices are operated or a raffle is conducted.
ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION. Any fraternal, religious, veterans or other nonprofit organization which has been in existence for at least three years and has at least 30 active members.
GAMBLING DEVICES. By those devices known as paddle wheels, or tip boards, or apparatus used in conducting raffles.
PADDLE WHEEL. A wheel marked off into sections containing one or more numbers, and which, after being turned or spun, uses a pointer or marker to indicate winning chances.
PROFIT. The gross receipts collected from one or more bingo occasions or from the operation of gambling devices and the conduct of raffles, less reasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for bingo supplies and equipment, prizes, rent and utilities used during the bingo occasions and the maintenance costs for the devices, local license fees and compensation to persons lawfully hired to conduct or assist in conducting the bingo occasion.
RAFFLE. A game in which a participant buys a ticket for a chance at a prize with the winner determined by random drawing.
TIP BOARD. A board, placard or other device measuring at least 12 inches square, marked off in a grid or similar pattern, in which each section contains a hidden number or numbers, or other symbols, which determine the winning chances.
(C) License required.
(1) No bingo occasion shall be conducted except by an eligible organization nor shall any person directly or indirectly operate a gambling device or conduct a raffle without first obtaining a license for that purpose, as provided in this chapter.
(2) Licenses may be obtained for periods of one year or on a per occasion basis.
(3) Applications for licenses may not be issued until at least 30 days from the date of application and shall be acted upon by the Council within 60 days from the date of application therefore.
(4) No bingo license issued may be transferred to any other person or organization, No bingo license shall be transferred to any location other than the location specified in the license, without prior approval by the Council.
(D) License eligibility. A license shall be issued only to fraternal, religious, veterans organizations or other non-profit organizations, except that a gambling license may be issued to any corporation, trust or association organized for exclusively scientific, literary, charitable, educational or artistic purposes or any club which is organized and operated exclusively for pleasure or recreation. The organization must have been in existence for at least three years and shall have at least 30 active members.
(E) License applications. Every application for a bingo license shall be made to the City Administrator on a form supplied by the city and containing information as the Administrator or Council may require. No person shall make a false statement in an application. Copies of each application shall be referred to the city’s Police Chief, Fire Chief and Building Inspector, for their recommendations.
(F) Suspension or revocation. The Council may suspend, for a period as it deems appropriate, or revoke, any license granted under this chapter for violation of any provisions of M.S. Chs. 349 and 507, as may be amended from time to time, or this chapter.
(G) Conduct of bingo.
(1) Each licensed organization shall appoint a manager to supervise bingo occasions or gambling activity conducted by it. The manager must be a member of the licensed organization, with dues paid for the current membership period, and must have been a member of the organization for at least two years. The manager shall give a fidelity bond in the sum of $10,000 in favor of the organization conditioned on the faithful performance of his or her duties. Terms of the bond shall provide that notice shall be given in writing to the City Council not less than 30 days prior to its cancellation, except that, the fidelity bond requirement may be waived upon a unanimous vote of the Council in favor thereof. Each bingo or gambling activity shall be conducted under the supervision of the manager, who shall be responsible for the conduct of the activities in compliance with all applicable laws and ordinances. No person shall act as manager for more than one organization.
(2) One or more checkers shall be engaged for each bingo occasion. The checkers shall be active members of the licensed organization or spouses of active members of the licensed organization. The checker or checkers shall record the number of cards purchased and played in each game prior to the completion of each game and record the prizes awarded to the recorded cards. Each checker shall certify all figures which he or she has recorded as accurate and correct to the best of his or her knowledge, on forms prescribed by the City Administrator.
(3) Additional persons may be engaged for other duties in connection with bingo or gambling activities as needed, but no person shall assist in the conduct of such who is not an active member of the licensed organization, or the spouse of an active member of the licensed organization.
(4) No person shall receive more than $12 as compensation for any duties in connection with any one bingo occasion; however, no compensation shall be paid to any person in connection with the operation of a gambling device or the conduct of a raffle by a licensed organization.
(5) No more than 104 bingo occasions each year or two bingo occasions each week shall be conducted by any licensed organization; except that, the Council may authorize up to three additional bingo occasions in any one week by a four-fifths majority vote in favor thereof.
(6) A bingo occasion shall not continue for more than four consecutive hours.
(H) Activities on leased premises.
(1) Any person, corporation or eligible organization, which leases any premises that it owns to two or more eligible organizations for purposes including the conduct of bingo occasions, shall not allow more than four bingo occasions to be conducted on the premises in any week. Gambling devices shall be operated and raffles conducted by licensed organizations only upon premises which it owns or leases, except the tickets for raffles conducted in accordance with this section may be sold off the premises.
(2) Any eligible organization which leases any premises to one or more other eligible organizations for purposes including the conduct of bingo occasions shall use the proceeds of the rental, less reasonable sums for maintenance, furnishings and other necessary expenses only for the uses for which bingo profits may be used, as set out in division (A) above. Not less than once each year the lessor organization shall report to the City Council the disposition of all receipts which it has received during the reporting period from the-rental of its facilities to other organizations for purposes including the conduct of bingo occasion.
(3) No eligible organization shall conduct bingo on any leased premises without a written lease for a term at least equal to the remainder of the term of the bingo license of the lessee organization. Lease payments shall be at a fixed monthly rate, or rate per bingo occasion, not subject to change during the term of the lease. No lease shall provide that rental payments be based on a percentage of receipts or profits from bingo occasion.
(I) Prizes.
(1) Prizes for a single bingo game shall not exceed $100, except prizes for a game of the type commonly known as a “cover-all” game. “Cover-all” prizes may exceed $100 provided that the aggregate value of such prizes for a bingo occasion shall not exceed $500. The aggregate value of prizes for a bingo occasion shall not exceed $2,500; except that, in the case of a bingo occasion during which a “cover-all” game is played for a maximum prize of more than $100, but less than $500, the aggregate value of prizes for the bingo occasion shall not exceed $3,000. Merchandise prizes shall be valued at fair market retail value.
(2) Each bingo winner shall be determined and every prize shall be awarded and delivered the same day on which the bingo occasion is conducted.
(3) Total prizes from the operation of paddle wheels and tip boards awarded in any single day in which they are operated shall not exceed $500. Total prizes resulting from any single spin of a paddle wheel, or from any single tip board, shall not exceed $100. Total prizes awarded in any calendar year by any organization from the operation of paddle wheels and tip boards and the conduct of raffles shall not exceed $1,500.
(J) Records.
(1) Each licensed organization shall keep records of its gross receipts and profits for each bingo or gambling activity. All deductions from gross receipts for an activity shall be documented with receipts or other records. The distribution of profits shall be itemized as to payee, amount and date of payment. Records required by this section shall be preserved for three years and shall be open for public inspection at reasonable times and places.
(2) Gross receipts shall be compared to the checkers’ records for the bingo occasion by a person who did not sell cards for the bingo occasion. If a discrepancy exceeding $20 is found between the amount of gross receipts for a bingo occasion as determined by the checkers’ records and the amount of gross receipts as determined by totaling the cash receipts, the discrepancy shall be reported to and investigated by the Council.
(3) Bingo and gambling gross receipts shall be segregated from other revenues of an organization and from each other and placed in separate accounts. Each organization shall maintain separate records of each operation. The person who accounts for bingo or gambling gross receipts and profits shall not be the same person who accounts for other revenues of the licensed organization.
(K) Reports.
(1) Each licensed organization shall report in each month bingo or gambling activities conducted to its membership its gross receipts from the activities, its profits and the distribution of those profits itemized as required by division (J) above.
(2) At the time of making its first license application under this chapter, and on an annual basis thereafter, each licensed organization shall file with the Council copies of the following:
(a) The most recently filed Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax,” Form 990, or a comparable form if the organization is required to file the form with the Department of the Treasury;
(b) The most recently filed Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, “Exempt Organization Business Income Tax,” Form 990-T, or a comparable form if the organization is required to file the form with the Department of the Treasury;
(c) The most recently filed annual report required of charitable organizations by M.S. § 309.53, as may be amended from time to time; provided that, an organization that is licensed to conduct bingo, but is exempt from submitting this report to the Department of Commerce under M.S. § 309.53, Subd. 1a, as may be amended from time to time, shall nevertheless submit such a report under this division;
(d) The most recently filed State Department of Commerce “Statement of Bingo Operations.” All information contained in the statement shall be true, correct and complete to the best of the knowledge of the person or persons signing the statement; and
(e) Any lease agreements required by this act, executed by the organization in regard to premises leased for the conduct of bingo.
(3) No person shall knowingly make a false statement in any report required by this section.
(L) Inspection and investigation. Any city official or employee, having a duty to perform with reference to a bingo license, and any police officer may inspect and with reference to a bingo license, and any police officer may inspect and examine the records of any licensed organization upon 24 hours’ notice.
(M) Use of bingo or gambling receipts. No expense shall be incurred or amounts paid in connection with the conduct of bingo or gambling, except those reasonable expended for supplies and equipment, prizes, rent or utilities used during the activities, license fees and compensation to a person lawfully hired to conduct or assist in conducting a bingo occasion.
(N) Use of bingo or gambling profits.
(1) Profits from any bingo or gambling activity shall be expended only as authorized by a resolution recorded in the official minutes at a regular meeting of the licensed organization and only for one or more of the following purposes:
(a) Benefitting persons by enhancing their opportunity for religious or education advancement, by relieving or protecting them from disease, suffering, or distress, by contributing to their physical well-being, by assisting them in establishing themselves in life as worthy and useful citizens, or by increasing their comprehension of and devotion to the principles upon which this nation was founded;
(b) Initiating, performing or fostering worthy public works or enabling or furthering the erection or maintenance of public structures;
(c) Lessening the burdens borne by government of voluntarily supporting, augmenting or supplementing services which government would normally render to the people; and
(d) The improving, expanding, maintaining or repairing of real property owned or leased by the licensed organization.
(2) Profits from bingo occasions shall not be expended for the erection or acquisition of any real property, unless the City Council specifically authorizes the expenditures after finding that the property will be used exclusively for one or more of the purposes specified in this section.
(O) Exemptions. Bingo may be conducted without complying with the requirements of divisions (G)(5), (6) and (H) if conducted by an organization that conducts fewer than five bingo occasions in any calendar year.
(Ord. 62, passed 6-11-1979; Ord. 62.10, passed 7-9-1984) Penalty, see § 115.99