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For the purpose of this subchapter, 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 OCCASION. A single gathering or session at which a series of one or more successive bingo games is played.
ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION. Any fraternal, religious, veteran’s, or other nonprofit organization which has been in existence for at least three years and has at least 30 active members.
PROFIT. The gross receipts collected from one or more bingo occasions less reasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for bingo supplies and equipment, prizes, rent, and utilities used during the bingo occasions, bingo license fees, and compensation to persons lawfully hired to conduct or assist in conducting a bingo occasion.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-2)
(A) No bingo occasion shall be conducted except by an eligible organization which has secured a license for that purpose as provided in this subchapter. An organization which is otherwise eligible for a license need not secure a license when bingo games are conducted fewer than five times in a year.
(B) (1) A license shall be valid for 12 calendar months from the date of issuance.
(2) The annual license fee shall be adopted by the City Council.
(3) 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 City Council.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-3) (Ord. 19, passed 9-13-1976; Ord. 107, passed 11-23-1981)
Every application for a bingo license shall be made to the City Clerk on a form supplied by the city and containing such information as the Clerk or the City 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.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-4)
The City Council may suspend for a period not exceeding 60 days or revoke any bingo license for violation of any provision of M.S. Ch. 349, as it may be amended from time to time, or this subchapter. The holder of the license shall be granted a hearing upon at least ten days’ notice before revocation or suspension is ordered. The notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the nature of the charges against the licensee.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-5)
(A) Each licensed organization shall appoint a bingo manager to supervise bingo occasions conduct by it. The bingo 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 bingo 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, except that the City Council may waive the bond requirement upon a showing by the proposed bingo manager and the licensed organization that bond is not required to protect the organization and upon a unanimous vote of the Council. Terms of the bond shall provide that notice shall be given in writing to the Council not less than 30 days prior to its cancellation. Each bingo occasion shall be conducted under the direct supervision of the bingo manager, who shall be responsible for the conduct of the bingo occasion in compliance with all applicable laws and ordinances. No person shall act as bingo manager for more than one organization.
(B) 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 Clerk.
(C) Additional persons may be engaged for other duties in connection with bingo occasions as needed, but no person shall assist in the conduct of a bingo occasion who is not an active member of the licensed organization or the spouse of an active member of the licensed organization.
(D) No person shall receive more than $12 as compensation for any duties in connection with any one bingo occasion.
(E) No more than 104 bingo occasions each year or two bingo occasions each week shall be conducted by any licensed organization.
(F) A bingo occasion shall not continue for more than four consecutive hours.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-6)
(A) 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.
(B) 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 § 131.42. 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 occasions.
(C) 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 occasions.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-7)
(A) 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 the 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 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.
(B) Each bingo winner shall be determined and every prize shall be awarded and delivered the same day on which the bingo occasion is conducted.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-8)
(A) Each licensed organization shall keep records of its gross receipts and profits for each bingo occasion. All deductions from gross receipts from a bingo occasion shall be documented with receipts of other records. The distribution of profits shall be itemized as to payee, amount, and date of payment. Records required by this subchapter shall be preserved for three years.
(B) 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 City Council.
(C) Bingo gross receipts shall be segregated from other revenues of an organization and placed in a separate account. Each organization shall maintain separate records of its bingo operations. The person who accounts for bingo gross receipts and profits shall not be the same person who accounts for other revenues of the licensed organization.
(Prior Code, § 3-8-9)
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