Bill Text: MN SF2642 | 2013-2014 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Lawful gambling clarifying, technical, and conforming modifications; participation modification; online and play at pump prohibition

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Vetoed) 2014-05-30 - Governor's action Veto Chapter 303 [SF2642 Detail]

Download: Minnesota-2013-SF2642-Introduced.html

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A bill for an act

relating to gambling; making clarifying, conforming, and technical changes
relating to lawful gambling; modifying games, prizes, and regulatory provisions;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 349.12, subdivision 18, by adding a
subdivision; 349.16, by adding a subdivision; 349.163, subdivision 3, by adding
subdivisions; 349.1635, subdivision 4; 349.17, subdivisions 5, 6, 9; 349.1711,
subdivisions 1, 2; 349.1721, subdivision 4; 349.173; 349.181, subdivision 3;
349.19, subdivision 11; 349.211, subdivisions 1, 1a, 2, by adding a subdivision;
349.2127, subdivision 7, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2013
Supplement, section 349.19, subdivision 2; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012,
sections 349.169; 349.19, subdivision 9.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.12, subdivision 18, is amended to read:
    Subd. 18. Gambling equipment. "Gambling equipment" means gambling
equipment that is either disposable or permanent gambling equipment.
(a) Disposable gambling equipment includes the following:
(1) bingo hard cards or paper sheets, including linked bingo paper sheets;
(2) paper and electronic pull-tabs;
(3) jar tickets;
(4) paddle tickets and paddle ticket cards;
(5) tipboards and tipboard tickets; and
(6) promotional tickets that mimic a pull-tab or tipboard;
(7) a disposable sealed placard, containing all 75 randomly placed bingo letter
and number combinations, that, when opened, is used to select the bingo numbers in
a single game of bingo.
(b) Permanent gambling equipment includes the following:
(1) devices for selecting bingo numbers;
(2) electronic bingo devices;
(3) electronic pull-tab devices;
(4) pull-tab dispensing devices;
(5) programmable electronic devices that have no effect on the outcome of a game
and are used to provide a visual or auditory enhancement of a game;
(6) paddle wheels; and
(7) paddle wheel tables.

    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.12, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
    Subd. 21a. Hot-ball bingo prize. "Hot-ball bingo prize" is an additional prize
awarded to a winning bingo face for which the last bingo number called in the bingo game
matches a previously designated bingo number announced to all players immediately prior
to the beginning of the bingo game or the bingo occasion. All players participating in a
bingo game that offers a hot-ball bingo prize must be eligible to win the hot-ball bingo
prize at no additional cost to the player.

    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.16, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
    Subd. 2a. Merged organizations. If two or more organizations merge or otherwise
join together to form a new organization and at least one of the organizations has an active
lawful gambling license, the board shall consider the new organization to have been in
existence for the most recent three years if all other requirements of subdivision 2 are met.

    Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.163, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
    Subd. 3. Prohibited sales. (a) A manufacturer may not:
(1) sell gambling equipment for use or resale within the state to any person not
licensed as a distributor, except that gambling equipment used exclusively in a linked
bingo game may be sold to a licensed linked bingo provider; or
(2) sell gambling equipment to a distributor in this state that has the same serial
number as another item of gambling equipment of the same type that is sold by that
manufacturer for use or resale in this state.
(b) A manufacturer, affiliate of a manufacturer, or person acting as a representative
or agent of a manufacturer may not provide a lessor of gambling premises or an appointed
official any compensation, gift, gratuity, premium, contribution, or other thing of value.
(c) A manufacturer may not sell or otherwise provide a pull-tab or tipboard deal
with the symbol required by subdivision 5, paragraph (d), imprinted on the flare to any
person other than a licensed distributor unless the manufacturer first renders the symbol
permanently invisible.

    Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.163, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
    Subd. 3a. Promotional materials. A manufacturer may provide to an organization
for use at a premises where lawful gambling is conducted by the licensed organization,
marketing, promotional, or point-of-sale items or materials for the promotion of lawful
gambling, provided the total value of the items or materials provided to the organization
does not exceed $250 per year. Any marketing, promotional, or point-of-sale items and
materials used for the promotion of lawful gambling may not include items normally
purchased by the lessor of a premises in the lessor's business.

    Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.163, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
    Subd. 5a. Disposable sealed placard requirements. A disposable sealed placard
used for the selection of bingo numbers in a bingo game in this state must have imprinted
on it a unique serial and form number and a symbol that is at least one inch high and one
inch wide consisting of an outline of the geographic boundaries of Minnesota with the
letters "MN" inside the outline.

    Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.1635, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
    Subd. 4. Prohibition. (a) Except for services associated exclusively with a linked
bingo game, a linked bingo game provider may not participate or assist in the conduct
of lawful gambling by an organization. No linked bingo game provider or employee,
representative, agent, affiliate, or other employee of a linked bingo game provider may:
(1) hold any financial or managerial interest in a premises leased for the conduct
of bingo;
(2) also be licensed as a distributor or hold any financial or managerial interest
in a distributor;
(3) sell or lease linked bingo game equipment to any person not licensed as an
organization;
(4) purchase gambling equipment to be used exclusively in a linked bingo game
from any person not licensed as a manufacturer under section 349.163;
(5) provide a lessor of gambling premises or an appointed official any compensation,
gift, gratuity, premium, or contribution; and
(6) provide an employee or agent of the organization any compensation, gift, gratuity,
premium, or other thing of value greater than $25 per organization in a calendar year.
(b) A linked bingo provider may provide to an organization for use at a premises
where lawful gambling is conducted by the licensed organization, marketing, promotional,
or point-of-sale items or materials for the promotion of lawful gambling, provided the
total value of the items or materials provided to the organization does not exceed $250
per year. Any marketing, promotional, or point-of-sale items and materials used for the
promotion of lawful gambling may not include items normally purchased by the lessor of
a premises in the lessor's business.
(b) (c) Employees of the board and the Division of Alcohol and Gambling
Enforcement may inspect the books, records, inventory, and business premises of a
licensed linked bingo game provider without notice during the normal business hours of the
linked bingo game provider. The board may charge a linked bingo game provider for the
actual cost of conducting scheduled or unscheduled inspections of the licensee's facilities.

    Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.17, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
    Subd. 5. Bingo cards and sheets. (a) The board shall by rule require that all
licensed organizations: (1) conduct bingo only using a bingo paper sheet or facsimile of a
bingo face that bears an individual number recorded by the distributor or linked bingo
game provider; and (2) use each bingo paper sheet for no more than one bingo occasion.
In lieu of the requirements of clause (2), a licensed organization may electronically record
the sale of each bingo hard card or paper sheet at each bingo occasion using an electronic
recording system approved by the board.
(b) The requirements of paragraph (a) shall only apply to a licensed organization
that received gross receipts from bingo in excess of $150,000 in the organization's last
fiscal year.
(c) Each bingo hard card, bingo paper sheet, or a facsimile of a bingo paper sheet
must have five horizontal rows of spaces with each row except one having five not more
than two numbers in each space. The center row must have four spaces with not more
than two numbers in each space and the center space marked "free." Each column must
have one of the letters B-I-N-G-O in order at the top. Bingo paper sheets may also have
numbers that are not preprinted but are filled in by players.

    Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.17, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
    Subd. 6. Conduct of bingo. The price of a face played on an electronic bingo device
may not be less than the price of a face on a bingo paper sheet sold for the same game at the
same occasion. A game of bingo begins with the first letter and number called or displayed.
Each player must cover, mark, or activate the numbers when bingo numbers are randomly
selected and announced or displayed to the players. The game is won when a player, using
bingo paper, bingo hard card, or a facsimile of a bingo paper sheet, has completed, as
described in the bingo program, a previously designated pattern or previously determined
requirements of the game and declared bingo. A bingo pattern or bingo game requirement
may not be completed with fewer than three bingo numbers having been drawn, unless the
game being played is a cover-none game. The game is completed when a winning card,
sheet, or facsimile is verified and a prize awarded pursuant to subdivision 3.

    Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.17, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
    Subd. 9. Linked bingo games played exclusively on electronic bingo devices. In
addition to the requirements of subdivision 8, the following requirements and restrictions
apply when linked bingo games are played exclusively on electronic bingo devices.
(a) The permitted premises must be:
(1) a premises licensed for the on-sale or off-sale of intoxicating liquor or 3.2 percent
malt beverages, except for a general food store or drug store permitted to sell alcoholic
beverages under section 340A.405, subdivision 1; or
(2) a premises where bingo is conducted as the primary business and has a seating
capacity of at least 100.
(b) The number of electronic bingo devices is limited to:
(1) no more than six devices in play for permitted premises with 200 seats or less;
(2) no more than 12 devices in play for permitted premises with 201 seats or more; and
(3) no more than 50 devices in play for permitted premises where bingo is the
primary business.
Seating capacity is determined as specified under the local fire code.
(c) Prior to a bingo occasion, the linked bingo game provider, on behalf of the
participating organizations, must provide to the board a bingo program in a format
prescribed by the board.
(d) Before participating in the play of a linked bingo game, a player must present
and register a valid picture identification card that includes the player's address and date
of birth. The board may not require by rule that an organization register or retain any
information contained on the player's picture identification card.
(e) An organization may remove from play a device that a player has not maintained
in an activated mode for a specified period of time determined by the organization. The
organization must provide the notice in its house rules.

    Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.1711, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
    Subdivision 1. Sale of tickets. (a) Tipboard games must be played using only
tipboard tickets that are either (1) attached to a placard and arranged in columns or rows,
or (2) separate from the placard and contained in a receptacle while the game is in play.
The placard serves as the game flare.
(b) Except for a sports-themed tipboard, the placard must contain a seal or seals that
conceals conceal the winning number numbers or symbol symbols. When a tipboard ticket
is purchased and opened from a game containing more than 32 100 tickets, each player
having a tipboard ticket with one or more predesignated numbers or symbols must sign the
placard at the line indicated by the number or symbol on the tipboard ticket.

    Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.1711, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
    Subd. 2. Determination of winners. When the predesignated numbers or symbols
have all been purchased, or all of the tipboard tickets for that game have been sold, the
a seal must be removed to reveal a number or symbol that determines which of the
predesignated numbers or symbols is the winning number or symbol. The seal must be
opened by an employee or volunteer of the organization, but if there is more than one seal
on the placard, the eligible player may select which seal is opened. A tipboard may also
contain consolation winners, or winning chances that are determined in whole or in part
by the numerical outcome of one or more professional sporting events, that need not be
determined by the use of the seal.

    Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.1721, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
    Subd. 4. Electronic pull-tab device requirements and restrictions. The following
pertain to the use of electronic pull-tab devices as defined under section 349.12,
subdivision 12b.
(a) The use of any electronic pull-tab device may only be at a permitted premises
that is:
(1) a premises licensed for the on-sale or off-sale of intoxicating liquor or 3.2 percent
malt beverages, except for a general food store or drug store permitted to sell alcoholic
beverages under section 340A.405, subdivision 1; or
(2) a premises where bingo is conducted as the primary business and has a seating
capacity of at least 100; and
(3) where the licensed organization sells paper pull-tabs.
(b) The number of electronic pull-tab devices is limited to:
(1) no more than six devices in play at any permitted premises with 200 seats or less;
(2) no more than 12 devices in play at any permitted premises with 201 seats
or more; and
(3) no more than 50 devices in play at any permitted premises where the primary
business is bingo.
Seating capacity is determined as specified under the local fire code.
(c) The hours of operation for the devices are limited to 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
(d) All electronic pull-tab games must be sold and played on the permitted premises
and may not be linked to other permitted premises.
(e) Electronic pull-tab games may not be transferred electronically or otherwise to
any other location by the licensed organization.
(f) Electronic pull-tab games may be commingled if the games are from the same
family of games and manufacturer and contain the same game name, form number, type
of game, ticket count, prize amounts, and prize denominations. Each commingled game
must have a unique serial number.
(g) An organization may remove from play a device that a player has not maintained
in an activated mode for a specified period of time determined by the organization. The
organization must provide the notice in its house rules.
(h) Before participating in the play of an electronic pull-tab game, a player must
present and register a valid picture identification card that includes the player's address
and date of birth. The board may not require by rule that an organization register or retain
any information contained on the player's picture identification card.
(i) Each player is limited to the use of one device at a time.

    Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.173, is amended to read:
349.173 CONDUCT OF RAFFLES.
(a) Raffle tickets or certificates of participation at a minimum must list the three
most expensive prizes to be awarded and include the location, date, and time of the
selection of the winning entries. If additional prizes will be awarded, a complete list of
additional prizes must be publicly posted or the additional prizes must be prominently
displayed at the event and. Copies of the complete prize list must be made available upon
request. Raffles conducted under the exemptions in section 349.166 may use tickets that
contain only the sequential number of the raffle ticket and no other information if the
organization makes a list of prizes and a statement of other relevant information required
by rule available to persons purchasing tickets and if tickets are only sold at the event
and on the date when the tickets are drawn.
(b) Raffles must be conducted in a manner that ensures:
(1) all entries in the raffle have an equal chance of selection;
(2) entry in the raffle is not conditioned upon any other purchase, except that a
certificate of participation may be a button with a nominal value of less than $5;
(3) the method of selection is conducted in a public forum;
(4) the method of selection cannot be manipulated or based on the outcome of an
event not under the control of the organization;
(5) physical presence at the raffle is not a requirement to win; and
(6) all sold and unsold tickets or certificates of participation are accounted for.
(c) Methods of selecting winning entries from a raffle other than prescribed in rule
may be used with the prior written approval of the board.

    Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.181, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
    Subd. 3. Organization and lessor employees and volunteers. (a) For purposes of
this section, "volunteer" means a person who is not compensated by an organization but
who performs activities in the conduct of lawful gambling for that organization.
(b) For purposes of this section, "conduct of pull-tabs, tipboards, and paddlewheels"
includes selling tickets, redeeming tickets, auditing games, making deposits, spinning the
paddlewheel, and conducting inventory.
(c) For purposes of this section, "conduct of bingo" includes selling bingo hard cards,
bingo paper sheets, or facsimiles of bingo paper sheets; completing bingo occasion records;
selecting or announcing bingo numbers; making deposits; and conducting inventory.
(d) An employee or volunteer who is involved in the conduct of pull-tabs, tipboards,
or paddlewheels at a permitted premises may not participate directly or indirectly as a
player in a pull-tab, tipboard, or paddlewheel game at that same premises. This restriction
is in effect until six weeks after the employee or volunteer is no longer involved in the
conduct of pull-tab, tipboard, or paddlewheel games at that same premises.
(e) A volunteer involved in the conduct of a pull-tab, tipboard, or paddlewheel
game limited to 32 chances or less per game may not participate as a player in a pull-tab,
tipboard, or paddlewheel game at the same premises on the same business day that the
volunteer was involved in the conduct of the game.
(e) (f) An employee or volunteer who is involved in the conduct of any lawful
gambling during a bingo occasion may not participate directly or indirectly as a player in
any lawful gambling during that bingo occasion.

    Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 349.19, subdivision 2, is
amended to read:
    Subd. 2. Accounts. (a) Gross receipts from lawful gambling by each organization
must be segregated from all other revenues of the conducting organization and placed in a
separate gambling bank account.
(b) All expenditures for allowable expenses, taxes, and lawful purposes must be
made from the separate account except (1) in the case of expenditures previously approved
by the organization's membership for emergencies as defined by board rule, (2) as provided
in subdivision 2a, or (3) when restricted to one electronic fund transaction for the payment
of taxes for the organization as a whole, the organization may transfer the amount of taxes
related to the conduct of gambling to the general account at the time when due and payable.
(c) The name and address of the bank, the account number for the separate account,
and the names of organization members authorized as signatories on the separate account
must be provided to the board when the application is submitted. Changes in the
information must be submitted to the board at least ten days before the change is made.
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (e), gambling receipts must be deposited into
the gambling bank account within four business days of completion of the bingo occasion,
deal, or game from which they are received.
(1) A deal of paper pull-tabs is considered complete when either the last pull-tab of
the deal is sold or the organization does not continue the play of the deal during the next
scheduled period of time in which the organization will conduct pull-tabs.
(2) A tipboard game is considered complete when the seal on the game flare is
uncovered or the organization does not continue the play of the deal during the next
scheduled period of time in which the organization will conduct tipboards.
(e) Gambling receipts from all electronic pull-tab games and all linked electronic
bingo games gambling must be recorded on a daily basis and deposited into the gambling
bank account within four business days when the total net receipts from all electronic
games at the premises reach the sum of $2,000 or on or before the first day of the month
immediately following the month during which the receipts were generated, whichever
occurs first.
(f) Deposit records must be sufficient to allow determination of deposits made from
each bingo occasion, deal, or game at each permitted premises.
(g) The person who accounts for gambling gross receipts and profits may not be the
same person who accounts for other revenues of the organization.

    Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.19, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
    Subd. 11. Information made part of organization minutes. A licensed
organization which receives a copy of a written audit under subdivision 9, or an audit
or compliance report prepared by an agency of the state, must place the audit report or
compliance report in the minutes of the next meeting of the organization following
receipt of the report. Copies of such minutes must be made available to all members
of the organization upon request.

    Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.211, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
    Subdivision 1. Bingo. Except as provided in subdivisions 1a, 1b, and 2, prizes for a
single bingo game may not exceed $200 except prizes for a cover-all or cover-none game,
which may exceed $200 if the aggregate value of all cover-all or cover-none prizes in a
bingo occasion does not exceed $1,000. Total prizes awarded at a bingo occasion may not
exceed $2,800, unless a cover-all and cover-none game is played in which case the limit is
$3,800 $4,800. A prize may be determined based on the value of the bingo packet sold to
the player. For purposes of this subdivision, a cover-all game is one in which a player must
cover all spaces except a single free space to win and includes a game in which all odd or all
even numbers are designated by the organization as covered prior to the start of the game.

    Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.211, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
    Subd. 1a. Linked bingo prizes. Prizes for a linked bingo game shall be limited
as follows:
(1) for linked bingo games played without electronic bingo devices, an organization
may not contribute to a linked bingo game prize pool more than $300 per linked bingo
game per site;
(2) for linked bingo games played exclusively with electronic bingo devices, an
organization may not contribute more than 85 percent of the gross receipts per permitted
premises to a linked bingo game prize pool;
(3) (2) no organization may award more than $200 for a linked bingo game
consolation prize. For purposes of this subdivision, a linked bingo game consolation
prize is a prize awarded by an organization after a prize from the linked bingo prize pool
has been won;
    (4) (3) for a progressive linked bingo game, if no player declares a valid bingo for
a progressive prize or prizes based on a predetermined and posted win determination, a
portion of the gross receipts may be carried over to another game until the accumulated
progressive prize is won. The portion of the prize that is not carried over must be awarded
to the first player or players who declares a valid bingo as additional numbers are called. If
a valid bingo is declared, the entire prize pool for that game is awarded to the winner; and
(5) (4) for linked bingo games played exclusively with electronic bingo devices,
linked bingo prizes in excess of $599 shall be paid by the linked bingo game provider to
the player within three business days. Winners of linked bingo prizes in excess of $599
will be given a receipt or claim voucher as proof of a win.

    Sec. 20. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.211, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
    Subd. 1b. Hot-ball bingo prizes. An organization may award up to $500 for a
hot-ball bingo prize in a bingo occasion.

    Sec. 21. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.211, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
    Subd. 2. Progressive bingo games. Except as provided in subdivision 1a, a prize of
up to $2,000 may be awarded for a progressive bingo game, including a cover-all game.
The prize for a progressive bingo game may start at up to $500 and be increased by up to
$100 for each occasion during which the progressive bingo game is played. A consolation
prize of up to $200 for a progressive bingo game may be awarded in each occasion during
which the progressive bingo game is played and the accumulated prize is not won.

    Sec. 22. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.2127, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
    Subd. 7. Checks for gambling purchases. An organization may not accept checks
or debit cards in payment for the purchase of any gambling equipment or for the chance to
participate in any form of lawful gambling except a raffle. If an organization accepts a
check or debit card, the payment of which is subsequently dishonored, the organization
shall reimburse its gambling account for the amount of the dishonored payment within
30 days of receiving notice of the dishonor. This subdivision does not apply to gaming
activities conducted pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, United States Code,
title 25, section 2701 et seq.

    Sec. 23. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 349.2127, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:
    Subd. 8a. Debit cards permitted. An organization may accept a debit card in
payment for the purchase of any gambling equipment or for the chance to participate
in any form of lawful gambling.

    Sec. 24. REPEALER.
Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 349.169; and 349.19, subdivision 9, are repealed.