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H. B. No. 165 As IntroducedAs Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Representatives Goodwin, Lundy
A BILL
To amend section 2915.01 and 2915.09 of the Revised
Code to exclude property taxes and assessments
from the calculation of net profit from the
proceeds of the sale of instant bingo for
veterans, fraternal, and sporting organizations
and to clarify that no charitable organization is
required to pay property taxes on a premises
leased from another person to conduct bingo.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2915.01 and 2915.09 of the Revised
Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2915.01. As used in this chapter:
(A) "Bookmaking" means the business of receiving or paying
off bets.
(B) "Bet" means the hazarding of anything of value upon the
result of an event, undertaking, or contingency, but does not
include a bona fide business risk.
(C) "Scheme of chance" means a slot machine, lottery, numbers
game, pool conducted for profit, or other scheme in which a
participant gives a valuable consideration for a chance to win a
prize, but does not include bingo, a skill-based amusement
machine, or a pool not conducted for profit.
(D) "Game of chance" means poker, craps, roulette, or other
game in which a player gives anything of value in the hope of
gain, the outcome of which is determined largely by chance, but
does not include bingo.
(E) "Game of chance conducted for profit" means any game of
chance designed to produce income for the person who conducts or
operates the game of chance, but does not include bingo.
(F) "Gambling device" means any of the following:
(1) A book, totalizer, or other equipment for recording bets;
(2) A ticket, token, or other device representing a chance,
share, or interest in a scheme of chance or evidencing a bet;
(3) A deck of cards, dice, gaming table, roulette wheel, slot
machine, or other apparatus designed for use in connection with a
game of chance;
(4) Any equipment, device, apparatus, or paraphernalia
specially designed for gambling purposes;
(5) Bingo supplies sold or otherwise provided, or used, in
violation of this chapter.
(G) "Gambling offense" means any of the following:
(1) A violation of section 2915.02, 2915.03, 2915.04,
2915.05, 2915.06, 2915.07, 2915.08, 2915.081, 2915.082, 2915.09,
2915.091, 2915.092, 2915.10, or 2915.11 of the Revised Code;
(2) A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance
or law of this or any other state or the United States
substantially equivalent to any section listed in division (G)(1)
of this section or a violation of section 2915.06 of the Revised
Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996;
(3) An offense under an existing or former municipal
ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States,
of which gambling is an element;
(4) A conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in
committing, any offense under division (G)(1), (2), or (3) of this
section.
(H) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, "charitable
organization" means any tax exempt religious, educational,
veteran's, fraternal, sporting, service, nonprofit medical,
volunteer rescue service, volunteer firefighter's, senior
citizen's, historic railroad educational, youth athletic, amateur
athletic, or youth athletic park organization. An organization is
tax exempt if the organization is, and has received from the
internal revenue service a determination letter that currently is
in effect stating that the organization is, exempt from federal
income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in
subsection 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(8), 501(c)(10), or
501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code, or if the organization is
a sporting organization that is exempt from federal income
taxation under subsection 501(a) and is described in subsection
501(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code. To qualify as a charitable
organization, an organization, except a volunteer rescue service
or volunteer firefighter's organization, shall have been in
continuous existence as such in this state for a period of two
years immediately preceding either the making of an application
for a bingo license under section 2915.08 of the Revised Code or
the conducting of any game of chance as provided in division (D)
of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code. A charitable organization
that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection
501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code and that is created by a veteran's organization, a
fraternal organization, or a sporting organization does not have
to have been in continuous existence as such in this state for a
period of two years immediately preceding either the making of an
application for a bingo license under section 2915.08 of the
Revised Code or the conducting of any game of chance as provided
in division (D) of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code.
(I) "Religious organization" means any church, body of
communicants, or group that is not organized or operated for
profit and that gathers in common membership for regular worship
and religious observances.
(J) "Educational organization" means any organization within
this state that is not organized for profit, the primary purpose
of which is to educate and develop the capabilities of individuals
through instruction by means of operating or contributing to the
support of a school, academy, college, or university.
(K) "Veteran's organization" means any individual post or
state headquarters of a national veteran's association or an
auxiliary unit of any individual post of a national veteran's
association, which post, state headquarters, or auxiliary unit is
incorporated as a nonprofit corporation and either has received a
letter from the state headquarters of the national veteran's
association indicating that the individual post or auxiliary unit
is in good standing with the national veteran's association or has
received a letter from the national veteran's association
indicating that the state headquarters is in good standing with
the national veteran's association. As used in this division,
"national veteran's association" means any veteran's association
that has been in continuous existence as such for a period of at
least five years and either is incorporated by an act of the
United States congress or has a national dues-paying membership of
at least five thousand persons.
(L) "Volunteer firefighter's organization" means any
organization of volunteer firefighters, as defined in section
146.01 of the Revised Code, that is organized and operated
exclusively to provide financial support for a volunteer fire
department or a volunteer fire company and that is recognized or
ratified by a county, municipal corporation, or township.
(M) "Fraternal organization" means any society, order, state
headquarters, or association within this state, except a college
or high school fraternity, that is not organized for profit, that
is a branch, lodge, or chapter of a national or state
organization, that exists exclusively for the common business or
sodality of its members.
(N) "Volunteer rescue service organization" means any
organization of volunteers organized to function as an emergency
medical service organization, as defined in section 4765.01 of the
Revised Code.
(O) "Service organization" means either of the following:
(1) Any organization, not organized for profit, that is
organized and operated exclusively to provide, or to contribute to
the support of organizations or institutions organized and
operated exclusively to provide, medical and therapeutic services
for persons who are crippled, born with birth defects, or have any
other mental or physical defect or those organized and operated
exclusively to protect, or to contribute to the support of
organizations or institutions organized and operated exclusively
to protect, animals from inhumane treatment or provide immediate
shelter to victims of domestic violence;
(2) Any organization that is described in subsection
509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
and is either a governmental unit or an organization that is tax
exempt under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that is an
organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and
operated primarily to provide, or to contribute to the support of
organizations or institutions organized and operated primarily to
provide, medical and therapeutic services for persons who are
crippled, born with birth defects, or have any other mental or
physical defect.
(P) "Nonprofit medical organization" means either of the
following:
(1) Any organization that has been incorporated as a
nonprofit corporation for at least five years and that has
continuously operated and will be operated exclusively to provide,
or to contribute to the support of organizations or institutions
organized and operated exclusively to provide, hospital, medical,
research, or therapeutic services for the public;
(2) Any organization that is described and qualified under
subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, that has been
incorporated as a nonprofit corporation for at least five years,
and that has continuously operated and will be operated primarily
to provide, or to contribute to the support of organizations or
institutions organized and operated primarily to provide,
hospital, medical, research, or therapeutic services for the
public.
(Q) "Senior citizen's organization" means any private
organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and
operated exclusively to provide recreational or social services
for persons who are fifty-five years of age or older and that is
described and qualified under subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
(R) "Charitable bingo game" means any bingo game described in
division (S)(1) or (2) of this section that is conducted by a
charitable organization that has obtained a license pursuant to
section 2915.08 of the Revised Code and the proceeds of which are
used for a charitable purpose.
(S) "Bingo" means either of the following:
(1) A game with all of the following characteristics:
(a) The participants use bingo cards or sheets, including
paper formats and electronic representation or image formats, that
are divided into twenty-five spaces arranged in five horizontal
and five vertical rows of spaces, with each space, except the
central space, being designated by a combination of a letter and a
number and with the central space being designated as a free
space.
(b) The participants cover the spaces on the bingo cards or
sheets that correspond to combinations of letters and numbers that
are announced by a bingo game operator.
(c) A bingo game operator announces combinations of letters
and numbers that appear on objects that a bingo game operator
selects by chance, either manually or mechanically, from a
receptacle that contains seventy-five objects at the beginning of
each game, each object marked by a different combination of a
letter and a number that corresponds to one of the seventy-five
possible combinations of a letter and a number that can appear on
the bingo cards or sheets.
(d) The winner of the bingo game includes any participant who
properly announces during the interval between the announcements
of letters and numbers as described in division (S)(1)(c) of this
section, that a predetermined and preannounced pattern of spaces
has been covered on a bingo card or sheet being used by the
participant.
(2) Instant bingo, punch boards, and raffles.
(T) "Conduct" means to back, promote, organize, manage, carry
on, sponsor, or prepare for the operation of bingo or a game of
chance.
(U) "Bingo game operator" means any person, except security
personnel, who performs work or labor at the site of bingo,
including, but not limited to, collecting money from participants,
handing out bingo cards or sheets or objects to cover spaces on
bingo cards or sheets, selecting from a receptacle the objects
that contain the combination of letters and numbers that appear on
bingo cards or sheets, calling out the combinations of letters and
numbers, distributing prizes, selling or redeeming instant bingo
tickets or cards, supervising the operation of a punch board,
selling raffle tickets, selecting raffle tickets from a receptacle
and announcing the winning numbers in a raffle, and preparing,
selling, and serving food or beverages.
(V) "Participant" means any person who plays bingo.
(W) "Bingo session" means a period that includes both of the
following:
(1) Not to exceed five continuous hours for the conduct of
one or more games described in division (S)(1) of this section,
instant bingo, and seal cards;
(2) A period for the conduct of instant bingo and seal cards
for not more than two hours before and not more than two hours
after the period described in division (W)(1) of this section.
(X) "Gross receipts" means all money or assets, including
admission fees, that a person receives from bingo without the
deduction of any amounts for prizes paid out or for the expenses
of conducting bingo. "Gross receipts" does not include any money
directly taken in from the sale of food or beverages by a
charitable organization conducting bingo, or by a bona fide
auxiliary unit or society of a charitable organization conducting
bingo, provided all of the following apply:
(1) The auxiliary unit or society has been in existence as a
bona fide auxiliary unit or society of the charitable organization
for at least two years prior to conducting bingo.
(2) The person who purchases the food or beverage receives
nothing of value except the food or beverage and items customarily
received with the purchase of that food or beverage.
(3) The food and beverages are sold at customary and
reasonable prices.
(Y) "Security personnel" includes any person who either is a
sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, township
constable, or member of an organized police department of a
municipal corporation or has successfully completed a peace
officer's training course pursuant to sections 109.71 to 109.79 of
the Revised Code and who is hired to provide security for the
premises on which bingo is conducted.
(Z) "Charitable purpose" means that the net profit of bingo,
other than instant bingo, is used by, or is given, donated, or
otherwise transferred to, any of the following:
(1) Any organization that is described in subsection
509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
and is either a governmental unit or an organization that is tax
exempt under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2) A veteran's organization that is a post, chapter, or
organization of veterans, or an auxiliary unit or society of, or a
trust or foundation for, any such post, chapter, or organization
organized in the United States or any of its possessions, at least
seventy-five per cent of the members of which are veterans and
substantially all of the other members of which are individuals
who are spouses, widows, or widowers of veterans, or such
individuals, provided that no part of the net earnings of such
post, chapter, or organization inures to the benefit of any
private shareholder or individual, and further provided that the
net profit is used by the post, chapter, or organization for the
charitable purposes set forth in division (B)(12) of section
5739.02 of the Revised Code, is used for awarding scholarships to
or for attendance at an institution mentioned in division (B)(12)
of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, is donated to a
governmental agency, or is used for nonprofit youth activities,
the purchase of United States or Ohio flags that are donated to
schools, youth groups, or other bona fide nonprofit organizations,
promotion of patriotism, or disaster relief;
(3) A fraternal organization that has been in continuous
existence in this state for fifteen years and that uses the net
profit exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific,
literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of
cruelty to children or animals, if contributions for such use
would qualify as a deductible charitable contribution under
subsection 170 of the Internal Revenue Code;
(4) A volunteer firefighter's organization that uses the net
profit for the purposes set forth in division (L) of this section.
(AA) "Internal Revenue Code" means the "Internal Revenue Code
of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as now or hereafter
amended.
(BB) "Youth athletic organization" means any organization,
not organized for profit, that is organized and operated
exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate,
athletic activities for persons who are twenty-one years of age or
younger by means of sponsoring, organizing, operating, or
contributing to the support of an athletic team, club, league, or
association.
(CC) "Youth athletic park organization" means any
organization, not organized for profit, that satisfies both of the
following:
(1) It owns, operates, and maintains playing fields that
satisfy both of the following:
(a) The playing fields are used at least one hundred days per
year for athletic activities by one or more organizations, not
organized for profit, each of which is organized and operated
exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate,
athletic activities for persons who are eighteen years of age or
younger by means of sponsoring, organizing, operating, or
contributing to the support of an athletic team, club, league, or
association.
(b) The playing fields are not used for any profit-making
activity at any time during the year.
(2) It uses the proceeds of bingo it conducts exclusively for
the operation, maintenance, and improvement of its playing fields
of the type described in division (CC)(1) of this section.
(DD) "Amateur athletic organization" means any organization,
not organized for profit, that is organized and operated
exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate,
athletic activities for persons who are training for amateur
athletic competition that is sanctioned by a national governing
body as defined in the "Amateur Sports Act of 1978," 90 Stat.
3045, 36 U.S.C.A. 373.
(EE) "Bingo supplies" means bingo cards or sheets; instant
bingo tickets or cards; electronic bingo aids; raffle tickets;
punch boards; seal cards; instant bingo ticket dispensers; and
devices for selecting or displaying the combination of bingo
letters and numbers or raffle tickets. Items that are "bingo
supplies" are not gambling devices if sold or otherwise provided,
and used, in accordance with this chapter. For purposes of this
chapter, "bingo supplies" are not to be considered equipment used
to conduct a bingo game.
(FF) "Instant bingo" means a form of bingo that uses folded
or banded tickets or paper cards with perforated break-open tabs,
a face of which is covered or otherwise hidden from view to
conceal a number, letter, or symbol, or set of numbers, letters,
or symbols, some of which have been designated in advance as prize
winners. "Instant bingo" includes seal cards. "Instant bingo" does
not include any device that is activated by the insertion of a
coin, currency, token, or an equivalent, and that contains as one
of its components a video display monitor that is capable of
displaying numbers, letters, symbols, or characters in winning or
losing combinations.
(GG) "Seal card" means a form of instant bingo that uses
instant bingo tickets in conjunction with a board or placard that
contains one or more seals that, when removed or opened, reveal
predesignated winning numbers, letters, or symbols.
(HH) "Raffle" means a form of bingo in which the one or more
prizes are won by one or more persons who have purchased a raffle
ticket. The one or more winners of the raffle are determined by
drawing a ticket stub or other detachable section from a
receptacle containing ticket stubs or detachable sections
corresponding to all tickets sold for the raffle. "Raffle" does
not include the drawing of a ticket stub or other detachable
section of a ticket purchased to attend a professional sporting
event if both of the following apply:
(1) The ticket stub or other detachable section is used to
select the winner of a free prize given away at the professional
sporting event; and
(2) The cost of the ticket is the same as the cost of a
ticket to the professional sporting event on days when no free
prize is given away.
(II) "Punch board" means a board containing a number of holes
or receptacles of uniform size in which are placed, mechanically
and randomly, serially numbered slips of paper that may be punched
or drawn from the hole or receptacle when used in conjunction with
instant bingo. A player may punch or draw the numbered slips of
paper from the holes or receptacles and obtain the prize
established for the game if the number drawn corresponds to a
winning number or, if the punch board includes the use of a seal
card, a potential winning number.
(JJ) "Gross profit" means gross receipts minus the amount
actually expended for the payment of prize awards.
(KK) "Net profit" means gross profit minus expenses.
(LL) "Expenses" means the reasonable amount of gross profit
actually expended for all of the following:
(1) The purchase or lease of bingo supplies;
(2) The annual license fee required under section 2915.08 of
the Revised Code;
(3) Bank fees and service charges for a bingo session or game
account described in section 2915.10 of the Revised Code;
(4) Audits and accounting services;
(7) Hiring security personnel;
(9) Renting premises in which to conduct a bingo session;
(11) Expenses for maintaining and operating a charitable
organization's facilities, including, but not limited to, a post
home, club house, lounge, tavern, or canteen and any grounds
attached to the post home, club house, lounge, tavern, or canteen;
(12) Payment of real property taxes and assessments that are
levied on a premises on which bingo is conducted;
(13) Any other product or service directly related to the
conduct of bingo that is authorized in rules adopted by the
attorney general under division (B)(1) of section 2915.08 of the
Revised Code.
(MM) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the
Revised Code and includes any firm or any other legal entity,
however organized.
(NN) "Revoke" means to void permanently all rights and
privileges of the holder of a license issued under section
2915.08, 2915.081, or 2915.082 of the Revised Code or a charitable
gaming license issued by another jurisdiction.
(OO) "Suspend" means to interrupt temporarily all rights and
privileges of the holder of a license issued under section
2915.08, 2915.081, or 2915.082 of the Revised Code or a charitable
gaming license issued by another jurisdiction.
(PP) "Distributor" means any person who purchases or obtains
bingo supplies and who does either of the following:
(1) Sells, offers for sale, or otherwise provides or offers
to provide the bingo supplies to another person for use in this
state;
(2) Modifies, converts, adds to, or removes parts from the
bingo supplies to further their promotion or sale for use in this
state.
(QQ) "Manufacturer" means any person who assembles completed
bingo supplies from raw materials, other items, or subparts or who
modifies, converts, adds to, or removes parts from bingo supplies
to further their promotion or sale.
(RR) "Gross annual revenues" means the annual gross receipts
derived from the conduct of bingo described in division (S)(1) of
this section plus the annual net profit derived from the conduct
of bingo described in division (S)(2) of this section.
(SS) "Instant bingo ticket dispenser" means a mechanical
device that dispenses an instant bingo ticket or card as the sole
item of value dispensed and that has the following
characteristics:
(1) It is activated upon the insertion of United States
currency.
(2) It performs no gaming functions.
(3) It does not contain a video display monitor or generate
noise.
(4) It is not capable of displaying any numbers, letters,
symbols, or characters in winning or losing combinations.
(5) It does not simulate or display rolling or spinning
reels.
(6) It is incapable of determining whether a dispensed bingo
ticket or card is a winning or nonwinning ticket or card and
requires a winning ticket or card to be paid by a bingo game
operator.
(7) It may provide accounting and security features to aid in
accounting for the instant bingo tickets or cards it dispenses.
(8) It is not part of an electronic network and is not
interactive.
(TT)(1) "Electronic bingo aid" means an electronic device
used by a participant to monitor bingo cards or sheets purchased
at the time and place of a bingo session and that does all of the
following:
(a) It provides a means for a participant to input numbers
and letters announced by a bingo caller.
(b) It compares the numbers and letters entered by the
participant to the bingo faces previously stored in the memory of
the device.
(c) It identifies a winning bingo pattern.
(2) "Electronic bingo aid" does not include any device into
which a coin, currency, token, or an equivalent is inserted to
activate play.
(UU) "Deal of instant bingo tickets" means a single game of
instant bingo tickets all with the same serial number.
(VV)(1) "Slot machine" means either of the following:
(a) Any mechanical, electronic, video, or digital device that
is capable of accepting anything of value, directly or indirectly,
from or on behalf of a player who gives the thing of value in the
hope of gain;
(b) Any mechanical, electronic, video, or digital device that
is capable of accepting anything of value, directly or indirectly,
from or on behalf of a player to conduct bingo or a scheme or game
of chance.
(2) "Slot machine" does not include a skill-based amusement
machine or an instant bingo ticket dispenser.
(WW) "Net profit from the proceeds of the sale of instant
bingo" means gross profit minus the ordinary, necessary, and
reasonable expense expended for the purchase of instant bingo
supplies, and, for instant bingo conducted by a veterans,
fraternal, or sporting organization, the payment by that
organization of real property taxes and assessments levied on a
premises on which instant bingo is conducted.
(XX) "Charitable instant bingo organization" means an
organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under
subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code and is a charitable organization as defined
in this section. A "charitable instant bingo organization" does
not include a charitable organization that is exempt from federal
income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in
subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that is
created by a veteran's organization, a fraternal organization, or
a sporting organization in regards to bingo conducted or assisted
by a veteran's organization, a fraternal organization, or a
sporting organization pursuant to section 2915.13 of the Revised
Code.
(YY) "Game flare" means the board or placard that accompanies
each deal of instant bingo tickets and that has printed on or
affixed to it the following information for the game:
(1) The name of the game;
(2) The manufacturer's name or distinctive logo;
(5) The prize structure, including the number of winning
instant bingo tickets by denomination and the respective winning
symbol or number combinations for the winning instant bingo
tickets;
(7) The serial number of the game.
(ZZ) "Historic railroad educational organization" means an
organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under
subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, that owns in fee simple the tracks and the
right-of-way of a historic railroad that the organization restores
or maintains and on which the organization provides excursions as
part of a program to promote tourism and educate visitors
regarding the role of railroad transportation in Ohio history, and
that received as donations from a charitable organization that
holds a license to conduct bingo under this chapter an amount
equal to at least fifty per cent of that licensed charitable
organization's net proceeds from the conduct of bingo during each
of the five years preceding June 30, 2003. "Historic railroad"
means all or a portion of the tracks and right-of-way of a
railroad that was owned and operated by a for-profit common
carrier in this state at any time prior to January 1, 1950.
(AAA)(1) "Skill-based amusement machine" means a mechanical,
video, digital, or electronic device that rewards the player or
players, if at all, only with merchandise prizes or with
redeemable vouchers redeemable only for merchandise prizes,
provided that with respect to rewards for playing the game all of
the following apply:
(a) The wholesale value of a merchandise prize awarded as a
result of the single play of a machine does not exceed ten
dollars;
(b) Redeemable vouchers awarded for any single play of a
machine are not redeemable for a merchandise prize with a
wholesale value of more than ten dollars;
(c) Redeemable vouchers are not redeemable for a merchandise
prize that has a wholesale value of more than ten dollars times
the fewest number of single plays necessary to accrue the
redeemable vouchers required to obtain that prize; and
(d) Any redeemable vouchers or merchandise prizes are
distributed at the site of the skill-based amusement machine at
the time of play.
(2) A device shall not be considered a skill-based amusement
machine and shall be considered a slot machine if it pays cash or
one or more of the following apply:
(a) The ability of a player to succeed at the game is
impacted by the number or ratio of prior wins to prior losses of
players playing the game.
(b) Any reward of redeemable vouchers is not based solely on
the player achieving the object of the game or the player's score;
(c) The outcome of the game, or the value of the redeemable
voucher or merchandise prize awarded for winning the game, can be
controlled by a source other than any player playing the game.
(d) The success of any player is or may be determined by a
chance event that cannot be altered by player actions.
(e) The ability of any player to succeed at the game is
determined by game features not visible or known to the player.
(f) The ability of the player to succeed at the game is
impacted by the exercise of a skill that no reasonable player
could exercise.
(3) All of the following apply to any machine that is
operated as described in division (AAA)(1) of this section:
(a) As used in this section, "game" and "play" mean one event
from the initial activation of the machine until the results of
play are determined without payment of additional consideration.
An individual utilizing a machine that involves a single game,
play, contest, competition, or tournament may be awarded
redeemable vouchers or merchandise prizes based on the results of
play.
(b) Advance play for a single game, play, contest,
competition, or tournament participation may be purchased. The
cost of the contest, competition, or tournament participation may
be greater than a single noncontest, competition, or tournament
play.
(c) To the extent that the machine is used in a contest,
competition, or tournament, that contest, competition, or
tournament has a defined starting and ending date and is open to
participants in competition for scoring and ranking results toward
the awarding of redeemable vouchers or merchandise prizes that are
stated prior to the start of the contest, competition, or
tournament.
(4) For purposes of division (AAA)(1) of this section, the
mere presence of a device, such as a pin-setting, ball-releasing,
or scoring mechanism, that does not contribute to or affect the
outcome of the play of the game does not make the device a
skill-based amusement machine.
(BBB) "Merchandise prize" means any item of value, but shall
not include any of the following:
(1) Cash, gift cards, or any equivalent thereof;
(2) Plays on games of chance, state lottery tickets, bingo,
or instant bingo;
(3) Firearms, tobacco, or alcoholic beverages; or
(4) A redeemable voucher that is redeemable for any of the
items listed in division (BBB)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.
(CCC) "Redeemable voucher" means any ticket, token, coupon,
receipt, or other noncash representation of value.
(DDD) "Pool not conducted for profit" means a scheme in which
a participant gives a valuable consideration for a chance to win a
prize and the total amount of consideration wagered is distributed
to a participant or participants.
(EEE) "Sporting organization" means a hunting, fishing, or
trapping organization, other than a college or high school
fraternity or sorority, that is not organized for profit, that is
affiliated with a state or national sporting organization,
including but not limited to, the Ohio league of sportsmen, and
that has been in continuous existence in this state for a period
of three years.
(FFF) "Community action agency" has the same meaning as in
section 122.66 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2915.09. (A) No charitable organization that conducts
bingo shall fail to do any of the following:
(1) Own all of the equipment used to conduct bingo or lease
that equipment from a charitable organization that is licensed to
conduct bingo, or from the landlord of a premises where bingo is
conducted, for a rental rate that is not more than is customary
and reasonable for that equipment;
(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(3) of this
section, use all of the gross receipts from bingo for paying
prizes, for reimbursement of expenses for or for renting premises
in which to conduct a bingo session, for reimbursement of expenses
for or for purchasing or leasing bingo supplies used in conducting
bingo, for reimbursement of expenses for or for hiring security
personnel, for reimbursement of expenses for or for advertising
bingo, or for reimbursement of other expenses or for other
expenses listed in division (LL) of section 2915.01 of the Revised
Code, provided that the amount of the receipts so spent is not
more than is customary and reasonable for a similar purchase,
lease, hiring, advertising, or expense. If the building in which
bingo is conducted is owned by the charitable organization
conducting bingo and the bingo conducted includes a form of bingo
described in division (S)(1) of section 2915.01 of the Revised
Code, the charitable organization may deduct from the total amount
of the gross receipts from each session a sum equal to the lesser
of six hundred dollars or forty-five per cent of the gross
receipts from the bingo described in that division as
consideration for the use of the premises.
(3) Use, or give, donate, or otherwise transfer, all of the
net profit derived from bingo, other than instant bingo, for a
charitable purpose listed in its license application and described
in division (Z) of section 2915.01 of the Revised Code, or
distribute all of the net profit from the proceeds of the sale of
instant bingo as stated in its license application and in
accordance with section 2915.101 of the Revised Code.
(B) No charitable organization that conducts a bingo game
described in division (S)(1) of section 2915.01 of the Revised
Code shall fail to do any of the following:
(1) Conduct the bingo game on premises that are owned by the
charitable organization, on premises that are owned by another
charitable organization and leased from that charitable
organization for a rental rate not in excess of the lesser of six
hundred dollars per bingo session or forty-five per cent of the
gross receipts of the bingo session, on premises that are leased
from a person other than a charitable organization for a rental
rate that is not more than is customary and reasonable for
premises that are similar in location, size, and quality but not
in excess of four hundred fifty dollars per bingo session, or on
premises that are owned by a person other than a charitable
organization, that are leased from that person by another
charitable organization, and that are subleased from that other
charitable organization by the charitable organization for a
rental rate not in excess of four hundred fifty dollars per bingo
session. No charitable organization is required to pay property
taxes or assessments on premises that the charitable organization
leases from another person to conduct bingo. If the charitable
organization leases from a person other than a charitable
organization the premises on which it conducts bingo sessions, the
lessor of the premises shall provide the premises to the
organization and shall not provide the organization with bingo
game operators, security personnel, concessions or concession
operators, bingo supplies, or any other type of service. A
charitable organization shall not lease or sublease premises that
it owns or leases to more than one other charitable organization
per calendar week for the purpose of conducting bingo sessions on
the premises. A person that is not a charitable organization shall
not lease premises that it owns, leases, or otherwise is empowered
to lease to more than three charitable organizations per calendar
week for conducting bingo sessions on the premises. In no case
shall more than nine bingo sessions be conducted on any premises
in any calendar week.
(2) Display its license conspicuously at the premises where
the bingo session is conducted;
(3) Conduct the bingo session in accordance with the
definition of bingo set forth in division (S)(1) of section
2915.01 of the Revised Code.
(C) No charitable organization that conducts a bingo game
described in division (S)(1) of section 2915.01 of the Revised
Code shall do any of the following:
(1) Pay any compensation to a bingo game operator for
operating a bingo session that is conducted by the charitable
organization or for preparing, selling, or serving food or
beverages at the site of the bingo session, permit any auxiliary
unit or society of the charitable organization to pay compensation
to any bingo game operator who prepares, sells, or serves food or
beverages at a bingo session conducted by the charitable
organization, or permit any auxiliary unit or society of the
charitable organization to prepare, sell, or serve food or
beverages at a bingo session conducted by the charitable
organization, if the auxiliary unit or society pays any
compensation to the bingo game operators who prepare, sell, or
serve the food or beverages;
(2) Pay consulting fees to any person for any services
performed in relation to the bingo session;
(3) Pay concession fees to any person who provides
refreshments to the participants in the bingo session;
(4) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(4) of this
section, conduct more than three bingo sessions in any seven-day
period. A volunteer firefighter's organization or a volunteer
rescue service organization that conducts not more than five bingo
sessions in a calendar year may conduct more than three bingo
sessions in a seven-day period after notifying the attorney
general when it will conduct the sessions.
(5) Pay out more than six thousand dollars in prizes for
bingo games described in division (S)(1) of section 2915.01 of the
Revised Code during any bingo session that is conducted by the
charitable organization. "Prizes" does not include awards from the
conduct of instant bingo.
(6) Conduct a bingo session at any time during the ten-hour
period between midnight and ten a.m., at any time during, or
within ten hours of, a bingo game conducted for amusement only
pursuant to section 2915.12 of the Revised Code, at any premises
not specified on its license, or on any day of the week or during
any time period not specified on its license. Division (A)(6) of
this section does not prohibit the sale of instant bingo tickets
beginning at nine a.m. for a bingo session that begins at ten a.m.
If circumstances make it impractical for the charitable
organization to conduct a bingo session at the premises, or on the
day of the week or at the time, specified on its license or if a
charitable organization wants to conduct bingo sessions on a day
of the week or at a time other than the day or time specified on
its license, the charitable organization may apply in writing to
the attorney general for an amended license pursuant to division
(F) of section 2915.08 of the Revised Code. A charitable
organization may apply twice in each calendar year for an amended
license to conduct bingo sessions on a day of the week or at a
time other than the day or time specified on its license. If the
amended license is granted, the organization may conduct bingo
sessions at the premises, on the day of the week, and at the time
specified on its amended license.
(7) Permit any person whom the charitable organization knows,
or should have known, is under the age of eighteen to work as a
bingo game operator;
(8) Permit any person whom the charitable organization knows,
or should have known, has been convicted of a felony or gambling
offense in any jurisdiction to be a bingo game operator;
(9) Permit the lessor of the premises on which the bingo
session is conducted, if the lessor is not a charitable
organization, to provide the charitable organization with bingo
game operators, security personnel, concessions, bingo supplies,
or any other type of service;
(10) Purchase or lease bingo supplies from any person except
a distributor issued a license under section 2915.081 of the
Revised Code;
(11)(a) Use or permit the use of electronic bingo aids except
under the following circumstances:
(i) For any single participant, not more than ninety bingo
faces can be played using an electronic bingo aid or aids.
(ii) The charitable organization shall provide a participant
using an electronic bingo aid with corresponding paper bingo cards
or sheets.
(iii) The total price of bingo faces played with an
electronic bingo aid shall be equal to the total price of the same
number of bingo faces played with a paper bingo card or sheet sold
at the same bingo session but without an electronic bingo aid.
(iv) An electronic bingo aid cannot be part of an electronic
network other than a network that includes only bingo aids and
devices that are located on the premises at which the bingo is
being conducted or be interactive with any device not located on
the premises at which the bingo is being conducted.
(v) An electronic bingo aid cannot be used to participate in
bingo that is conducted at a location other than the location at
which the bingo session is conducted and at which the electronic
bingo aid is used.
(vi) An electronic bingo aid cannot be used to provide for
the input of numbers and letters announced by a bingo caller other
than the bingo caller who physically calls the numbers and letters
at the location at which the bingo session is conducted and at
which the electronic bingo aid is used.
(b) The attorney general may adopt rules in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that govern the use of electronic
bingo aids. The rules may include a requirement that an electronic
bingo aid be capable of being audited by the attorney general to
verify the number of bingo cards or sheets played during each
bingo session.
(12) Permit any person the charitable organization knows, or
should have known, to be under eighteen years of age to play bingo
described in division (S)(1) of section 2915.01 of the Revised
Code.
(D)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(3) of
this section, no charitable organization shall provide to a bingo
game operator, and no bingo game operator shall receive or accept,
any commission, wage, salary, reward, tip, donation, gratuity, or
other form of compensation, directly or indirectly, regardless of
the source, for conducting bingo or providing other work or labor
at the site of bingo during a bingo session.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(3) of this
section, no charitable organization shall provide to a bingo game
operator any commission, wage, salary, reward, tip, donation,
gratuity, or other form of compensation, directly or indirectly,
regardless of the source, for conducting instant bingo other than
at a bingo session at the site of instant bingo other than at a
bingo session.
(3) Nothing in division (D) of this section prohibits an
employee of a fraternal organization, veteran's organization, or
sporting organization from selling instant bingo tickets or cards
to the organization's members or invited guests, as long as no
portion of the employee's compensation is paid from any receipts
of bingo.
(E) Notwithstanding division (B)(1) of this section, a
charitable organization that, prior to December 6, 1977, has
entered into written agreements for the lease of premises it owns
to another charitable organization or other charitable
organizations for the conducting of bingo sessions so that more
than two bingo sessions are conducted per calendar week on the
premises, and a person that is not a charitable organization and
that, prior to December 6, 1977, has entered into written
agreements for the lease of premises it owns to charitable
organizations for the conducting of more than two bingo sessions
per calendar week on the premises, may continue to lease the
premises to those charitable organizations, provided that no more
than four sessions are conducted per calendar week, that the
lessor organization or person has notified the attorney general in
writing of the organizations that will conduct the sessions and
the days of the week and the times of the day on which the
sessions will be conducted, that the initial lease entered into
with each organization that will conduct the sessions was filed
with the attorney general prior to December 6, 1977, and that each
organization that will conduct the sessions was issued a license
to conduct bingo games by the attorney general prior to December
6, 1977.
(F) This section does not prohibit a bingo licensed
charitable organization or a game operator from giving any person
an instant bingo ticket as a prize.
(G) Whoever violates division (A)(2) of this section is
guilty of illegally conducting a bingo game, a felony of the
fourth degree. Except as otherwise provided in this division,
whoever violates division (A)(1) or (3), (B)(1), (2), or (3),
(C)(1) to (12), or (D) of this section is guilty of a minor
misdemeanor. If the offender previously has been convicted of a
violation of division (A)(1) or (3), (B)(1), (2), or (3), (C)(1)
to (11), or (D) of this section, a violation of division (A)(1) or
(3), (B)(1), (2), or (3), (C), or (D) of this section is a
misdemeanor of the first degree. Whoever violates division (C)(12)
of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, if
the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of
division (C)(12) of this section, a felony of the fourth degree.
Section 2. That existing sections 2915.01 and 2915.09 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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