(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
EDUCATIONAL.
An organization or institution organized and operated to provide systematic instruction in useful branches of learning which compare favorable in their scope and intensity with the course of study presented in tax-supported schools.
FRATERNAL.
An organization of persons having a common interest, the primary interest of which is to both promote the welfare of its members and to provide assistance to the general public in such a way as to lessen the burdens of government by caring for those that otherwise would be cared for by the government.
LABOR.
An organization composed of workers organized with the objective of betterment of the conditions of those engaged in such pursuit and the development of a higher degree of efficiency in their respective operations.
NONPROFIT.
An organization or institution organized and conducted on a not-for-profit basis with no personal profit inuring to anyone as a result of the operation.
RAFFLE..
A form of lottery, as defined in § 28-2(b) of the Illinois Criminal Code, conducted by an organization licensed under this section in which:
(a) The player pays or agrees to pay something of value for a chance, represented and differentiated by a number or by a combination of numbers or by some other medium, one or more of which chances is to be designated the winner chance;
(b) The winning chance is to be determined through a drawing or by some other method based on an element of chance by an act or sets of acts on the part of persons conducting or connected with the raffle, except that the winning chance shall not be determined by the outcome of a publicly exhibited sporting contest.
UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
A school district, part district, library district, community college district, or special recreation district, which services the city’s residents.
(B) Authority for issuance: applicability. The clerk shall have the authority to issue licenses for raffles subject to the limitations set forth in division (C) hereof. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the conducting or operating of any gambling scheme, enterprise, activity or device other than a raffle provided for herein.
(C) License required. No person shall conduct a raffle or sell chances for a raffle in the city without first having obtained a license pursuant to this section. Licenses for raffles shall be issued only to bona fide religious, charitable, labor, fraternal, educational or veterans organizations which operate without profit to their members which have been in existence continuously for a period of five years immediately before making application for a license and have had during that entire five-year period a bona fide membership engaged in carrying out their objects, and which maintain an office in the city or a unit of local government. A license issued by the city shall authorize the sale of raffle chances only within the borders of the city. However, internet sales of raffle chances shall be considered as having been made within the borders of the city. The clerk shall act on a license application within 30 days from the date of the application.
(D) Application for license.
(1) Application for a license shall be made in writing on forms provided by the clerk’s office. Each license and application for license shall contain the following information:
(a) The name and address of the applicant;
(b) The area within the city in which the raffle chances will be sold and issued;
(c) The time period during which raffle chances will be sold or issued;
(d) The date, time, manner and location(s) of determining the winning chances;
(e) A sworn statement attesting to the non-profit character of the applicant signed by its presiding officer and secretary;
(f) A copy of the applicant’s articles of incorporation and/or charter; and
(g) Such other information as the clerk’s office may require.
(2) Each license issued under this section shall be valid for one raffle.
(E) License fees.
(1) Each raffle must be authorized by a separate license, and must be conducted in accordance with this section. The fee for each license shall be $25. The fee for a raffle license may be waived by an affirmative vote of the city council. Each raffle license shall be valid for the duration of the contest.
(2) All fees for licenses required under this section shall be paid to the clerk at the time of application. In the event the license applied for is denied, the fee shall be returned to the applicant; if the license is granted, the fee shall be deposited in the general fund or in such other fund designated by the city.
(F) Restrictions on licensees. No raffle license shall be issued to:
(1) Any person who has been convicted of a felony.
(2) Any person who is or has been a professional gambler or gambling promoter.
(3) Any person who is not of good moral character.
(4) Any firm or corporation in which a person defined in divisions (F)(1), (2), or (3) of this section has a proprietary, equitable or credit interest, or in which such person is active or employed.
(5) Any organization in which a person defined in divisions (F)(1), (2), or (3) of this section is an officer, director, or employee, whether compensated or not.
(6) Any organization in which a person defined in divisions (F)(1), (2), or (3) of this section is to participate in the management or operation of a raffle as defined in this section.
(G) Conduct of raffles.
(1) The conducting of raffles in the city is subject to the following:
(a) The entire net proceeds of any raffle must be exclusively devoted to the lawful purposes of the organization permitted to conduct the raffle.
(b) No person except a bona fide member of the sponsoring organization may participate in the management or operation of the raffle.
(c) No person may receive any remuneration or profit for participating in the management or operation of the raffle.
(d) The maximum fee which may be charged for each raffle chance sold or issued shall not exceed $1,000. All such fees shall be paid in currency, by check or credit card.
(e) A license may rent a premises on which to determine the winning chance or chances in a raffle only from an organization which is also licensed under this section.
(f) Raffle chances may be sold or issued only within the area specified on the license and winning chances may be determined only at those locations specified on the license.
(g) No person under the age of 18 years may participate in the conducting of raffles or selling chances. A person under the age of 18 years may be within the area where winning chances are being determined only when accompanied by his or her parent or guardian.
(2) The clerk, or his or her designated agent, may publish rules and regulations consistent with this section or state law governing the conduct of raffles licensed hereunder.
(H) Raffle manager; bond. All operation of and the conduct of raffles shall be under the supervision of a single raffles manager designated by the organization. The manager shall give a fidelity bond in the sum of an amount determined by the city in favor of the organization conditioned upon his or her honesty in the performance of his or her duties. Terms of the bond shall provide that notice shall be given in writing to the city not less than 30 days prior to its cancellation. The bond requirement is waived for a group or organization which supports a unit of local government, provided that there is unanimous consent of the governing board of such group or organization that the bond should be waived.
(I) Raffle tickets.
(1) Each raffle ticket, chance or other raffle token shall state, on its face, the name and address of the licensee, the date or dates of the drawing, and the prize or prized to be awarded; provided, however, that this requirement shall not apply to any raffle in which prizes in aggregate value under $50 are awarded, or to any raffle in which raffle chances are sold only on the date of the drawing during the event at which the drawing is to be conducted. No ticket, chance or token shall be sold or issued more than one year before the determination of the winning chance or chances.
(2) If any raffle for which a license is issued under this section is cancelled, or if any such raffle is not conducted on the date contained in the application for license, the licensee shall refund all money paid for any raffle chances issued or sold to the persons to whom such raffle chances were issued or sold within 45 days after the date on which the raffle was to be conducted or within 45 days after cancellation of the raffle, whichever is sooner.
(J) Prizes. The maximum cash prize awarded in any raffle shall be $500,000; the maximum retail value of a noncash prize awarded in any raffle shall be $500,000; and the aggregated value of all prizes awarded in any raffle shall not exceed $500,000.
(K) Records.
(1) Each organization licensed to conduct raffles and chances shall keep records of its gross receipts, expenses and net proceeds for each single gathering or occasion at which winning chances are determined. All deductions from gross receipts for each single gathering or occasion shall be documented with receipts or other records indicating the amount, a description of the purchased item or service or other reason for the deduction, and the recipient. The distribution of net proceeds shall be itemized as to payee, amount and date of payment.
(2) Each organization licensed to conduct raffles shall, for each and every raffle, keep records of the name and address of each person to whom a raffle chance has been sold or issued, and the number of raffle chances sold or issued to such person.
(3) Gross receipts from the operation of raffle programs shall be segregated from other revenues of the organization, including bingo gross receipts, if bingo games are also conducted by the same non-profit organization pursuant to license therefore issued by the Department of Revenue of the state and placed in a separate account. Each organization shall have separate records of its raffles. The person who accounts for gross receipts, expenses and net proceeds from the operation of raffles shall not be the same person who accounts for other revenues of the organization.
(4) Each organization licensed to conduct raffles shall report to its membership, and to the city, its gross receipts, expenses, and net proceeds from raffles, and the distribution of net proceeds itemized as required in this section.
(5) Records required by this section shall be preserved for three years, and organizations shall make available their records relating to operation of raffles for public inspection at reasonable times and places.
(Ord. O-17-13, passed 7-2-13)