(a) No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Engage in bookmaking, or knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates bookmaking;
(2) Establish, promote, or operate or knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates any scheme or game of chance conducted for profit.
(3) Knowingly procure, transmit, exchange, or engage in conduct that facilitates the procurement, transmission, or exchange of information for use in establishing odds or determining winners in connection with bookmaking or with any scheme or game of chance conducted for profit.
(4) Engage in betting or in playing any scheme or game of chance, except a charitable bingo game, as a substantial source of income or livelihood.
(5) With purpose to violate division (a)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section, acquire, possess, control, or operate any gambling device.
(b) For purposes of division (a)(1) of this section, a person facilitates bookmaking if he or she in any way knowingly aids an illegal bookmaking operation, including, without limitation, placing a bet with a person engaged in or facilitating illegal bookmaking. For purposes of division (a)(2) of this section, a person facilitates a scheme or game of chance conducted for profit if he or she in any way knowingly aids in the conduct or operation of any such scheme or game, including, without limitation, playing any such scheme or game.
(c) This section does not prohibit conduct in connection with gambling expressly permitted by law.
(d) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Schemes of chance conducted by a charitable organization that has received from the Internal Revenue Service a determination letter that is currently in effect, stating that the organization is exempt from federal income taxation under IRC 501(a) and described in IRC 501(c)(3), provided that all of the money or assets received from the scheme of chance after deduction only of prizes paid out during the conduct of the scheme of chance are used by, given, donated or otherwise transferred to any organization that is described in IRC 509(a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3) and is either a governmental unit or an organization that is tax exempt under IRC 501(a) and described in IRC 501(c)(3), and provided that the scheme of chance is not conducted during or within ten hours of a bingo game conducted for amusement purposes only pursuant to Ohio R.C. 2915.12 or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance.
(2) Games of chance, if all of the following apply:
A. The games of chance are not craps for money, roulette for money, or slot machines.
B. The games of chance are conducted by a charitable organization that is and has received from the Internal Revenue Service a determination letter that is currently in effect, stating that the organization is exempt from federal income taxation under IRC 501(a) and described in IRC 501(c)(3).
C. The games of chance are conducted at festivals of the organization that are conducted not more than a total of five days a calendar year, and are conducted on premises owned by the charitable organization for a period of no less than one year immediately preceding the conducting of the games of chance, on premises leased from a governmental unit, or on premises that are leased from a veteran’s or fraternal organization and that have been owned by the lessor veteran’s or fraternal organization for a period of no less than one year immediately preceding the conducting of the games of chance. A charitable organization shall not lease premises from a veteran’s or fraternal organization to conduct a festival described in this subsection, if the veteran’s or fraternal organization already has leased the premises 12 times during the preceding year to charitable organizations for that purpose. If a charitable organization leases premises from a veteran’s or fraternal organization to conduct a festival described in this subsection, the charitable organization shall not pay a rental rate for the premises per day of the festival that exceeds the rental rate per bingo session that a charitable organization may pay under Ohio R.C. 2915.09(A)(3) or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance when it leases premises from another charitable organization to conduct bingo games.
D. All of the money or assets received from the games of chance after deduction only of prizes paid out during the conduct of the games of chance are used by, given, donated or otherwise transferred to any organization that is described in IRC 509(a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3) and is either a governmental unit or an organization that is tax exempt under IRC 501(a) and described in IRC 501(c)(3).
E. The games of chance are not conducted during or within ten hours of a bingo game conducted for amusement purposes only pursuant to Ohio R.C. 2915.12 or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance. No person shall receive any commission, wage, salary, reward, tip, donation, gratuity, or other form of compensation, directly or indirectly, for operating or assisting in the operation of any scheme or game of chance.
(3) Any tag fishing tournament, as defined in Ohio R.C. 1531.01, operated under a permit issued under Ohio R.C. 1533.92.
(e) Division (d) of this section shall not be construed to authorize the sale, lease, or other temporary or permanent transfer of the right to conduct schemes of chance or games of chance, as granted by division (d) of this section, by any charitable organization that is granted that right.
(f) Whoever violates this section is guilty of gambling, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of any gambling offense, gambling is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law.
(ORC 2915.02)
(g) Any gambling device acquired, possessed, controlled, or operated by any person while such person is acting in violation of this section is contraband subject to seizure by any police officer of the City, and no gambling device so seized shall be returned to the owner or person claiming the same except pursuant to court order. Any such gambling device seized and not ordered returned shall be demolished or destroyed under the direction of the Mayor or the Director of Public Safety, upon adjudication by the courts that the gambling device was acquired, possessed, controlled or operated by a person while acting in violation of this section.
(Ord. C42-74. Passed 7-1-74; Ord. C71-87. Passed 9-8-87.)