PRINTER'S NO. 43
No. 42 Session of 1981
INTRODUCED BY COCHRAN, JANUARY 19, 1981
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 19, 1981
AN ACT
1 Relating to the lawful conduct of bingo, prescribing penalties
2 and making a repeal.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Bingo Law."
7 Section 2. Legislative intent.
8 The General Assembly hereby declares that the playing of
9 bingo for the purpose of raising funds, by certain nonprofit
10 associations, for the promotion of charitable or civic purposes,
11 is in the public interest.
12 It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Legislature
13 that all phases of licensing, operation and regulation of the
14 game of bingo be strictly controlled, and that all laws and
15 regulations with respect thereto as well as all gambling laws
16 should be strictly construed and rigidly enforced.
17 The Legislature recognizes the possibility of association
1 between commercial gambling and organized crime, and wishes to
2 discourage commercialization of the game of bingo; prevent
3 participation by organized crime and prevent the diversion of
4 funds from the purposes herein authorized.
5 Section 3. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this act, shall
7 have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
8 meanings given to them in this section:
9 "Association." A volunteer fire company or auxiliary
10 thereof, ambulance association or a religious, charitable,
11 fraternal, veterans, civic, county fair or agricultural
12 association organized as a nonprofit organization which shall
13 have existed, and conducted business in furtherance of their
14 written constitution, charter, articles of incorporation or
15 bylaw express purpose, for one year prior to application for a
16 license.
17 "Bingo." A game in which each player has a card or board
18 containing five horizontal rows all but the central one
19 containing five figures. The central row has four figures with
20 the word "free" marked in the center thereof. Any preannounced
21 combination of spaces when completed by a player constitutes
22 bingo. In the absence of a preannouncement of a combination of
23 spaces, any combination of five in a row whether horizontal or
24 vertical when completed by a player constitutes bingo when its
25 four members are announced and covered. A wheel or other
26 mechanical device may be used by any person conducting the game
27 of bingo, and any such person may award to any player or players
28 first completing any combination constituting bingo a prize so
29 long as such prize awarded shall not exceed a value of $1,000
30 for any one such game of bingo except for jackpot games which
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1 shall not exceed $5,000 for one such game of bingo.
2 "Charitable purpose." Benevolent or philanthropic purpose.
3 "Civic purpose." Community purpose.
4 Section 4. Associations permitted to conduct bingo.
5 Any association, for a charitable or civic purpose, when
6 licensed pursuant to this act, may conduct the game of bingo as
7 herein defined.
8 Section 5. Rules for licensing.
9 (a) In every county, the county treasurer shall license,
10 upon application, any eligible association as defined in section
11 3 to conduct the game of bingo at one location in the county.
12 The license fee to be charged to each nonprofit association
13 shall be $100 per annum. The license fee to be charged to each
14 agricultural association or county fair shall be $100 per annum.
15 The fees collected pursuant to this section shall be paid by the
16 county treasurer into the general fund of the county and used
17 for county purposes.
18 (b) Licenses issued pursuant to this section shall be
19 publicly displayed at games conducted by licensees.
20 (c) No association may hire any person not a bona fide
21 member of the association to manage, set up bingo, operate or
22 actually run the game of bingo.
23 (d) No license shall be issued to any association if:
24 (1) Any person under the age of 18 will be permitted by
25 the association to play bingo unless accompanied by an adult.
26 (2) The facility in which any game of bingo is to be
27 played does not have adequate means of ingress and egress or
28 does not have adequate sanitary facilities available in the
29 area.
30 (e) No person may be employed in the operation or the actual
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1 running of a bingo game for compensation greater than $50 per
2 day or any part thereof, and any person compensated shall be
3 paid individually.
4 Section 6. Revocation of licenses.
5 (a) The county treasurer shall revoke or refuse to renew the
6 license of any association whenever he finds that:
7 (1) Any of the funds derived from the operation of the
8 game of bingo are used for any purpose other than for
9 charitable, civic or religious work.
10 (2) Any person under the age of 18 unaccompanied by an
11 adult is playing bingo as herein defined.
12 (3) The facility in which any game of bingo is played
13 does not have adequate means of ingress and egress or does
14 not have adequate sanitary facilities available in the area.
15 (4) Greater compensation than is herein authorized has
16 been paid to or received by any person, or that a person or
17 persons other than those authorized in section 5 have been
18 involved in managing, setting up, operating or running the
19 game.
20 (b) The county treasurer may require the licensees to
21 produce their books, accounts and records in order to determine
22 whether a license should be revoked or renewal thereof denied.
23 Section 7. Penalty.
24 Any association violating the provisions of this act shall
25 be guilty of a summary offense, and upon conviction thereof
26 shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $500 and shall
27 forfeit any license issued to the association, and it shall be
28 ineligible for a license renewal for one year thereafter.
29 Section 8. Additional powers of the district attorney.
30 The district attorney, upon receipt of any information to the
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1 effect that the provisions of this act have been violated, may
2 require the licensee to produce their books, accounts and
3 records in order to determine whether criminal action should be
4 pursued.
5 Section 9. Repeal.
6 The provisions of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes (relating to crimes and offenses) are repealed to the
8 extent that they are inconsistent with this act.
9 Section 10. Effective date.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
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