Chapter 5.20
BINGO GAMES
Sections:
5.20.020 Bingo games authorized.
5.20.050 Location of bingo games.
5.20.060 Games to be open to the public.
5.20.090 Use of profits and proceeds.
5.20.110 Participants to be physically present at game.
5.20.130 Use of card-minding devices.
5.20.010 Definition.
Bingo. “Bingo” means a game of chance in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers or symbols that are marked or covered by the player on a tangible card in the player’s possession and that conform to numbers or symbols, selected at random and announced by a live caller. Notwithstanding Penal Code § 300c, as used in this section, the game of bingo includes tangible cards having numbers or symbols that are concealed and preprinted in a manner providing for distribution of prizes. Electronics or video displays shall not be used in connection with the game of bingo, except in connection with the caller’s drawing of numbers or symbols and the public display of that drawing, and except as provided in Penal Code § 326.5(p). The winning cards shall not be known prior to the game by any person participating in the playing or operation of the bingo game. All preprinted cards shall bear the legend, “for sale or use only in a bingo game authorized under California law and pursuant to local ordinance.” Only a covered or marked tangible card possessed by a player and presented to an attendant may be used to claim a prize.
(Code 1965, § 4230; Code 2002, § 6-51. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
Cross references: Definitions generally, § 1.05.100.
5.20.020 Bingo games authorized.
(a) Neither the prohibition on gambling in Chapter 9 nor in Title 6 (commencing with Section 330) of Title 9 of Part I of the Penal Code applies to any bingo game that is conducted wholly in accordance with this Article, if the receipts of those games are used only for charitable purposes.
(b) Prior to an authorized organization conducting a bingo game in the city as herein allowed, said organization shall have first filed with the Director of Finance of the city a certificate or letter from the Franchise Tax Board specifically indicating that the organization is currently exempted from the payment of the bank and corporation tax by Revenue and Taxation Code §§ 23701a, 23701b, 23701d, 23701e, 23701f, 23701g, 23701k, 23701w, or 23701l. Mobile home park associations, senior citizen organizations, and charitable associations affiliated with a school district must file with the Finance Director a copy of their articles of association, whether incorporated or unincorporated, plus a copy of their bylaws that will allow the Finance Director to make a determination as to the organization’s eligibility to operate a bingo game under this Article.
(Code 1965, § 4231; Code 2002, § 6-52. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.030 Penalties.
(a) It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to receive or pay a profit, wage, or salary from any bingo game authorized by Section 19 of Article IV of the State Constitution. Security personnel employed by the organization conducting the bingo game may be paid from the revenues of bingo games, as provided herein.
(b) A violation of subsection (a) shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), which fine shall be deposited in the general fund of the city. A violation of any provision of this section, other than subdivision (a), is a misdemeanor.
(c) The city may bring an action to enjoin a violation of this Article.
(Code 1965, § 4232; Code 2002, § 6-53. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.040 Minors prohibited.
No minors shall be allowed to participate in any bingo game.
(Code 1965, § 4233; Code 2002, § 6-54. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.050 Location of bingo games.
An organization authorized to conduct bingo games pursuant to this Article shall conduct a bingo game only on property owned or leased by it, or property whose use is donated to the organization, and which property is used by that organization for an office or for performance of the purposes for which the organization is organized. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to require that the property owned or leased by, or whose use is donated to, the organization be used or leased exclusively by, or donated exclusively to, that organization.
(Code 1965, § 4234; Code 2002, § 6-55. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.060 Games to be open to the public.
All bingo games shall be open to the public, not just to the members of the authorized organization.
(Code 1965, § 4235; Code 2002, § 6-56. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.070 Staffing.
A bingo game shall be operated and staffed only by members of the authorized organization that organized it. Those members shall not receive a profit, wage, or salary from any bingo game. Only the organization authorized to conduct a bingo game shall operate such a game, or participate in the promotion, supervision, or any other phase of a bingo game. This section does not preclude the employment of security personnel who are not members of the authorized organization at a bingo game by the organization conducting the game.
(Code 1965, § 4236; Code 2002, § 6-57. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 1227; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.080 Financial interest.
No individual, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity, except the organization authorized to conduct a bingo game, shall hold a financial interest in the conduct of a bingo game.
(Code 1965, § 4237; Code 2002, § 6-58. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.090 Use of profits and proceeds.
(a) With respect to organizations exempt from payment of the bank and corporation tax by Revenue and Taxation Code § 23701d, all profits derived from a bingo game shall be kept in a special fund or account and shall not be commingled with any other fund or account. Those profits shall be used only for charitable purposes.
(b) With respect to other organizations authorized to conduct bingo games pursuant to this Article, all proceeds derived from a bingo game shall be kept in a special fund or account and shall not be commingled with any other fund or account. Proceeds are the receipts of bingo games conducted by organizations not within subsection (a) above. Those proceeds shall be used only for charitable purposes, except as follows:
(1) The proceeds may be used for prizes.
(2) A portion of the proceeds, not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the proceeds before the deduction for prizes, or two thousand dollars ($2,000) per month, whichever is less, may be used for the rental of property and for overhead, including the purchase of bingo equipment, administrative expenses, security equipment, and security personnel.
(3) The proceeds may be used to pay license fees.
(4) If the monthly gross receipts from bingo games of an organization within this subdivision exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the proceeds shall be used only for charitable donations (not relating to the conducting of bingo games) to charitable organizations exempted from the payment of the bank and corporation tax by Revenue and Taxation Code §§ 23701a, 23701b, 23701d, 23701e, 23701f, 23701g, 23701k, 23701w, or 23701l, or charitable organizations affiliated with a school district. The balance shall be used for prizes, rental of property, overhead, administrative expenses, and payment of license fees. The amount of proceeds used for rental of property, overhead, and administrative expenses is subject to the limitations specified in paragraph (b)(2).
(Code 1965, § 4238; Code 2002, § 6-59. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 1227; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.100 License fee.
Except as herein provided, an annual license fee of $50.00 shall be charged all organizations authorized to conduct bingo games pursuant to this article. Such fee shall be paid to the office of the Finance Director prior to any organization conducting any bingo games. If the organization qualifies under this article and pays the annual license or renewal fee, then the Finance Director, or his authorized representative, shall issue a license to the applicant. There shall be no proration of any fee required to be paid herein unless an application for a license or renewal thereof is denied, in which event one-half of the fee shall be refunded to the organization.
(Code 1965, § 4239; Code 2002, § 6-60. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.110 Participants to be physically present at game.
No person shall be allowed to participate in a bingo game, unless the person is physically present at the time and place where the bingo game is being conducted.
(Code 1965, § 4240; Code 2002, § 6-61. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 1227; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.120 Prizes.
The total value of prizes available to be awarded during the conduct of any bingo games shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in cash or kind, or both, for each separate game which is held.
(Code 1965, § 4241; Code 2002, § 6-62. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)
5.20.130 Use of card-minding devices.
(a) Players who are physically present at a bingo game may use hand-held, portable card-minding devices, as described in this section, to assist in monitoring the numbers or symbols announced by a live caller as those numbers or symbols are called in a live game. Card-minding devices may not be used in connection with any game where a bingo card may be sold or distributed after the start of the ball draw for that game. A card-minding device shall do all of the following:
(1) Be capable of storing in the memory of the device bingo faces of tangible cards purchased by a player.
(2) Provide a means for bingo players to input manually each individual number or symbol announced by a live caller.
(3) Compare the numbers or symbols entered by the player to the bingo faces previously stored in the memory of the device.
(4) Identify winning bingo patterns that exist on the stored bingo faces.
(b) A card-minding device shall perform no functions involving the play of the game other than those described in subsection (a) above. Card-minding devices shall not do any of the following:
(1) Be capable of accepting or dispensing any coins, currency, or other representative of value or on which value has been encoded.
(2) Be capable of monitoring any bingo card face other than the faces of the tangible bingo card or cards purchased by the player for that game.
(3) Display or represent the game result through any means, including, but not limited to, video or mechanical reels or other slot machine or casino game themes, other than highlighting the winning numbers or symbols marked or covered on the tangible bingo cards or giving an audio alert that the player’s card has a prize-winning pattern.
(4) Determine the outcome of any game or be physically or electronically connected to any component that determines the outcome of a game or to any other bingo equipment, including, but not limited to, the ball call station, or to any other card-minding device. No other player-operated or player-activated electronic or electromechanical device or equipment is permitted to be used in connection with a bingo game.
(c) Players shall only use card-minding devices approved in advance by the California Gambling Control Commission as meeting the requirements of this section and any additional requirements stated in regulations adopted by the commission.
(Code 1965, § 4242; Code 2002, § 6-63. Ord. No. 1051; Ord. No. 1099; Ord. No. 12-1)