Chapter 5.56
BINGO GAMES
Sections:
5.56.020 Organizations eligible to conduct bingo games.
5.56.040 Games open to public.
5.56.070 Place of conducting games.
5.56.090 Participant must be present.
5.56.100 Minors prohibited to participate.
5.56.140 Receipt of profit by a person—A misdemeanor under state law.
5.56.010 Definition.
As used in this chapter, “bingo” means a game of chance in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers or symbols on a card which conform to numbers or symbols selected at random. (Ord. 709 § 1(1), 1977)
5.56.020 Organizations eligible to conduct bingo games.
Bingo games may legally be conducted by organizations exempted from the payment of the Bank and Corporation Tax by Sections 23101(a), 23701(b), 23701(d), 23701(e), 23701(f), 23701(g), and 23701(i) of the Revenue and Taxation Code and by mobile home park associations and senior citizens organizations; provided, that the proceeds of such games are used only for charitable purposes. (Ord. 709 § 1(2), 1977)
5.56.030 License fee.
The city may impose a license fee on each organization which it authorizes to conduct bingo games. The fee is established at eighty dollars per year or twenty dollars per day, whichever is less. (Ord. 86-008 § 5(1), 1986: Ord. 709 § 1(11), 1977)
5.56.040 Games open to public.
All bingo games shall be open to the public, not just to the members of the authorized organization. (Ord. 709 § 1(7), 1977)
5.56.050 Prizes.
The total value of prizes awarded during the conduct of any bingo game shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars in cash or kind, or both, for each separate game which is held. (Ord. 709 § 1(13), 1977)
5.56.060 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 such bingo game. (Ord. 709 § 1(9), 1977)
5.56.070 Place of conducting games.
An organization authorized to conduct bingo games pursuant to this chapter shall conduct a bingo game only on property owned or leased by it, and which property is used for such organization for an office or for performance of the purposes for which the organization is organized. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that the property owned or leased by the organization be used or leased exclusively by such organization. (Ord. 709 § 1(6), 1977)
5.56.080 Hours.
No such game shall operate between the hours of two a.m. and six a.m. (Ord. 709 § 2, 1977)
5.56.090 Participant must be present.
No person shall be allowed to participate in a bingo game unless the person is physically present at the time and place in which the bingo game is being conducted. (Ord. 709 § 1(12), 1977)
5.56.100 Minors prohibited to participate.
No person under the age of eighteen years of age shall be allowed to participate in any bingo game. (Ord. 709 § 1(5), 1977)
5.56.110 Staffing.
A bingo game shall be operated and staffed only by members of the authorized organization which organized it. Such 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 game, or participate in the promotion, supervision, or any other phase of such game. (Ord. 709 § 1(8), 1977)
5.56.120 Special fund.
With respect to organizations exempt from payment of the Bank and Corporation Tax by Section 23701(d) of the Revenue and Taxation Code, 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. Such profits shall be used only for charitable purposes. With respect to other organizations authorized to conduct bingo games pursuant to this chapter, 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. Such proceeds shall be used only for charitable purposes, except as follows:
A. Such proceeds may be used for prizes.
B. A portion of such proceeds, not to exceed ten percent of the proceeds after the deduction for prizes, or five hundred dollars per month, whichever is less, may be used for rental property, overhead, and administrative expenses. (Ord. 709 § 1 (10), 1977)
5.56.130 Injunction.
The city is authorized to enjoin any bingo game which violates this chapter. (Ord. 709 § 1 (4), 1977)
5.56.140 Receipt of profit by a person—A misdemeanor under state law.
It is 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. A violation of said section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars, which fine shall be deposited in the general fund of the city, which enacted the ordinance authorizing the bingo game. A violation of any provision of this section, other than this paragraph is an infraction. (Ord. 709 § 1(3), 1977)