Regular and Special Bingo Licence Terms and Conditions
bingo means a lottery scheme where consideration is given for a chance to win a cash prize or prizes by being the first to complete a specified arrangement of numbers on bingo paper from numbers selected at random.
bingo hall means a type of gaming site where a charitable organization conducts and manages a lottery scheme under the authority of a licence issued by a municipality or by the Registrar.
bingo paper means a device of pre-printed numbers on disposable paper, cards or books or reusable hardboard or plastic cards.
Board of Directors means the individuals elected or appointed to manage the affairs of the licensee.
bona fide member means a member in good standing of the licensee who has other activities, beyond conducting lotteries, within the organization. "Members of convenience" whose only activity is to assist at bingo events are not considered bona fide members.
books and records means documents outlining financial details of lottery events and includes, but is not limited to, ledgers, sub ledgers, cheque books, cheque stubs, deposit books, deposit slips, bank statements, cancelled cheques, receipts, invoices and control sheets.
game schedule means a complete listing of all bingo games to be played during each bingo event, including the arrangement of numbers required to win each game, the prizes to be awarded for each game, the prices of the bingo paper being sold, the maximum prizes to be awarded for the bingo event, and the name and address of the premises where the bingo event is to be held. Game schedules may have any combination of fixed prize payouts and variable prize board type games. Variable prize board type games must indicate a maximum prize payout for each game.
gaming site means premises or an electronic channel maintained for the purpose of playing or operating a lottery scheme.
Hall Charities Association (HCA) means an association formed by all the licensees conducting bingo and other lotteries within a bingo hall.
hall rental means payment made by the licensee to an Operator of a bingo hall registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992 from event proceeds, calculated per these terms and conditions. For the hall rental received, the Operator provides goods and services to the licensee for the conduct of the event which includes, but is not limited to, bingo paper, security, storage, gaming equipment, office equipment, materials, space, utilities and employee services.
licensee means an organization which has been issued a licence to conduct a lottery under Section 207 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
licensing authority means a person or authority specified by Lieutenant Governor in Council as a licensing authority for purposes of section 207 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
Operator means a person who operates a gaming site.
personal bingo verifier (PBV) means a hand-held device that may be used by individual players to keep track of and verify numbers called by the bingo caller in the normal way. The bingo game must be played at all times through bingo paper with numbers dabbed by players in the conventional manner. Under no circumstances shall the device replace the use of bingo paper and dabbers.
Registrar means the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming.
Regular Bingo licence means a licence permitting the conduct of bingo where the total prizes for any one (1) event does not exceed $5,500.
Special (Monster) Bingo licence means a licence permitting the conduct of bingo where the total prizes to be awarded for any one (1) event is greater than $5,500.
Any bingo licence issued is subject to the following terms and conditions and to the Lottery Licence Terms and Conditions (4240) and may be subject to audit and investigation by a licensing authority. A breach of any term and condition can result in the cancellation or suspension of the licence or in prosecution.
It is a condition of each licence that:
1.1 The licensee is responsible and accountable for the overall management and conduct of the bingo.
1.2 The licensee must control and decide all operational, administrative and staffing requirements related to the conduct of the bingo.
1.3 The licensee must comply with all federal, provincial and municipal laws, includ­ing the Criminal Code of Canada and the Gaming Control Act, 1992.
1.4 The licensee must conduct the bingo in accordance with the information supplied on the application and approved by the licence.
1.5 The original licence must be displayed at the premises where the bingo is being conducted.
3.1 The licensee must designate at least three (3) bona fide, active members to be in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the bingo on behalf of the licensee. The designated members in charge must be at least 18 years of age, be present continu­ously during the conduct of the bingo and, on behalf of the licensee, be responsible for:
supervising all activities related to the conduct of the bingo;
completing and filing the required financial report on the results of the event;
ensuring that all terms and conditions of the licence and any additional conditions imposed by a licensing authority are com­plied with;
keeping all required records and depos­iting all monies into the designated lottery trust account;
reconciling all cash transactions and bingo paper sales, including accounting for all unsold bingo paper returned after each licensed bingo event.
3.2 Each licensee is responsible for deciding how its bingo events will be staffed. The licensee has the option of:
using bona fide members and full-time employees of the licensee, who are volun­teering their services to act as runners or the caller on behalf of the licensee; or
using employees of the Operator of the bingo hall to act as runners or the caller; or
using runners employed by the Operator on a cost-sharing basis with the Operator.
Where the staffing costs of runners are shared between the licensee and the Operator:
a "Memorandum of Understanding" in accordance with the requirements of the licensing author­ity must be entered into between the licensee and the Operator and must be approved in writing by the licensing authority prior to implementation;
the licensee's share of the staff­ing costs is paid from the amount allowed for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, which is a maximum, including GST, of three (3) per cent of the Regular Bingo prize board for that event.
using volunteers, who may be mem­bers of the licensees in the Hall CharitiesAssociation or may be family, friends or volunteers from other organizations, and who receive no remuneration or reimburse­ment for out-of-pocket expenses;
any combination of (a), (b), (c), or (d).
3.3 The licensee must not pay the wages of the employees of the Operator.
3.4 The licensee must ensure that the runners' only duties are to verify winners, award prizes obtained from the licensee and sell bingo paper for Special games to bingo patrons.
3.5 Where the licensee uses an employee of the bingo hall to act as the caller for the bingo event, he/she must be registered as a Gaming Assistant under the Gaming Control Act, 1992.
3.6 The licensee must not allow any person who has had a registration under the Gaming Control Act, 1992 revoked, sus­pended or refused to participate in any way in the conduct of the event.
The licensee must purchase, lease or rent bingo paper, supplies and equipment that comply with the requirements and standards for the devices only from Gaming-Related Suppliers registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992.
The conduct of bingo must include the following equipment:
a bingo blower or other device from which balls are withdrawn at random;
a set of 75 balls bearing the numbers from one (1) to 75 and the letters B, I, N, G, O, or a set of 90 balls bearing the numbers one (1) to 90, or a set of 80 balls bearing the numbers one (1) to 80, and;
bingo paper.
All equipment used in the conduct of a bingo event must be kept in good working order.
4.2 The licensee must ensure that the set of bingo balls is complete, in operating condition and in their receptacle prior to the commencement of each event. The set of bingo balls must be made available for inspection upon request.
Bingo paper must not contain any coupon, promotional or advertising material unless it is promoting the licensee and is approved by the licensee.
All bingo paper must remain in the manufacturer's labeled cartons while in inventory at a bingo hall.
4.4 The licensee may choose to offer the use of hand-held personal bingo verifiers, so long as;
the maximum number of cards that may be played with a hand-held personal bingo verifier shall be 36;
a maximum of one (1) hand-held personal bingo verifier may be used per player, per session;
where a licensee is using the services of an Operator of a bingo hall, as per Section9.3(a), a cost-sharing agreement must exist between the licensee and the Operator of the bingo hall.
5.1 The licensee must conduct only those games in the game schedule approved in the application for licence.
5.2 The licensee must make the approved game schedule available to players attending the bingo.
5.3 Changes to the game schedule, including bingo paper prices, must be approved by a licensing authority.
6.1 The licensee must ensure that no person directly involved in or responsible for the conduct of the bingo event or selling or involved in the sales of bingo paper purchases bingo paper or plays bingo during that event. The licensee must also ensure that none of these persons pays consideration for or plays a lottery scheme which is licensed within the bingo hall for which the licensee provides services and held in conjunction with the bingo event.
6.2 The licensee must not allow any person apparently under the age of 18 to participate as a player in any bingo game.
6.3 A fee must not be charged for admission into the bingo hall.
6.4 A licensee may require the purchase of a minimum amount of bingo paper as a condition of playing in the bingo hall.
6.5 Free bingo paper must not be given to any player. Any discounts must be approved by a licensing authority as part of the game schedule submitted with the licence application.
6.6 The licensee must sell bingo paper to a player by a cash transaction only.
The licensee must sell bingo paper for any Regular Bingo event only on the day of the event.
The licensee may, however, offer advance sales for special occasions provided it is approved by a licensing authority and the sales are managed and conducted by the licensee.
6.8 The licensee must ensure that bingo paper is used only for the event for which it is sold.
Where the number of persons who may attend at the commencement of a bingo event is, or would be, insufficient to provide enough revenue to cover the cost of prizes and other expenses incurred in connection with the operation of the bingo game because of an Act of God situation or such other extreme condition which is beyond the control of the licensee, the licensee has the option of proceeding with the event or cancelling the event.
Insufficient attendance of players alone does not constitute authority to cancel a bingo occasion. If the bingo event has commenced and is cancelled due to an Act of God situation, the licensee must issue refunds to all persons who have purchased bingo paper, prorated based on the number of games which have been played.
Once the bingo event has commenced, the licensee must conduct the event in accordance with the licence and approved game schedule. All prizes must be awarded.
The bingo event has commenced when the first game on the game schedule is announced and the number on the first ball is called. This includes any early bird or bonanza games.
6.11 Revoked
6.12 All bingo games must be operated on the basis of the Rules of Play outlined in Section 14 of these terms and conditions.
7.1 No licensee shall provide or allow to be provided, by contract or otherwise, transportation of patrons to or from the place where any bingo occasion is conducted unless prior written authorization is obtained from a licensing authority. Application for this authorization must be in writing and must establish a need to the satisfaction of a licensing authority. Any authorization granted may be suspended or revoked by a licensing authority or the Registrar.
8.1 All advertising and promotional activities in a bingo hall must comply with all rules and policies established by the Registrar.
8.2 Licensees who conduct Regular Bingos at the same bingo hall may advertise events in a cooperative manner through a HallCharities Association. A coordinator who is a bona fide member of one of the member organizations of the association must be appointed by the association to coordinate any advertising. The licence number issued to the coordinator's member organization must appear on all licensee advertising. Bingo advertisements may contain the monetary prize value to be awarded for each event but must not combine prize values for more than one (1) event to create the impression of a large single prize board.
8.3 The licensee or Hall Charities Associationmust supply samples of advertising and promotional materials to be used in connection with the bingo if requested to do so for approval by a licensing authority.
The net proceeds derived from the conduct of the bingo must be used for the charitable or religious objects or purposes in Ontario as approved in the application for licence.
All prizes and expenses incurred as a result of conducting the bingo must be deducted and paid out from the gross receipts derived from the bingo. The licensee must not use monies from any other source to pay for expenses related to the bingo.
Expenses must be directly related to the conduct of the bingo.
Each expense must be individually calculated and paid by cheque, in Canadian funds, drawn on the designated lottery trust account as described in Section 12. The licensee must pay separately each Gaming-Related Supplier registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992.
The licensee must make timely payment for goods and/or services received from Gaming-Related Suppliers registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992.
9.2 Expenses, advertising and gestures of player appreciation
Bona fide members of the licensee, including a bona fide member acting as the caller on behalf of the licensee, and designated members in charge acting on behalf of the licensee who are present and assist at the event may be reimbursed for actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred which shall not exceed $20 per person per event. The maximum amount which can be spent on bona fide member expenses for each bingo event must not exceed three (3) per cent of the prize board for that event.
Bona fide member expenses must not be paid where it would result in a loss or no profit for the bingo event.
Bona fide member expenses may be paid by cash provided they are supported by a receipt.
Advertising and promotional costs incurred by the licensee must not exceed two (2) per cent of the licensed prize board at a given bingo hall.
9.3 Licensees using the services of an Operator of a bingo hall registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992:
Where the Operator of the bingo hall provides the licensee with both runners andthe caller, the gross receipts from the bingo must be distributed in accordance with the Registrar's policies and as follows:
The payment of prizes, licencefee, expenses of bona fide members, runners employed by the Operator as set out in Section 3.2(c), hand-held personal bingo verifiers as set out in Section 4.4(c), advertising and promotional costs and transportation costs, as authorized in Section 7.1, must be deducted first from the gross receipts.
The licensee must retain a minimum of 60 per cent of the remaining proceeds.
The licensee may pay the Operator a maximum of 40 per cent of the remaining proceeds after calculating paragraph 9.3(a)(i) up to a maximum of 15 per cent of the gross receipts, whichever is less, as hall rental.
If, after calculating paragraph 9.3(a)(i), the event results in a loss, the licensee is responsible for a maximum 50 per cent of the loss incurred. The licensee must receive the remainder in payment from the Operator.
Cash shortages incurred as a result of an error on the part of the licensee must be deducted from their share of proceeds. Cash shortages incurred as a result of an error on the part of the Operator or its employees must be deducted from the hall rental paid to the Operator. In the event of a loss, the licensee must receive the shortage in payment from the Operator.
The Goods and Services Tax onhall rental, as calculated in paragraph 9.3 (a)(iii), must be paid from the proceeds retained by the licensee.
All other expenses of the Operator must not be paid by the licensee.
Where the Operator does not providethe licensee with both runners and the caller, the gross receipts from the bingo must be distributed in the same manneras paragraph (a) except for the followingchange: The licensee may pay the Operator a maximum of 40 per cent of the proceeds remaining after calculating paragraph (a)(i)up to a maximum of 14 per cent of thegross receipts, whichever is less, as hall rental.
9.4 Licensees not using the services of an Operator registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992:
Total expenses, not including the Goods and Services Tax, incurred in the conduct of the bingo must not exceed 15 per cent of the gross receipts. Allowable expenses include, but are not limited to, licence fee, expenses of bona fide members, hand-held personal bingo verifiers, advertising and promotions, transportation, as authorized in Section 7.1, shortages, bingo paper, security, storage, equipment and building lease/rent.
9.5 Licensees operating a Special (Monster) Bingo event from a premises which is exempt from registration under the Gaming Control Act, 1992:
Total expenses, not including the Goods and Services Tax, incurred in the conduct of the bingo must not exceed 15 per cent of the gross receipts or such other limit as may be approved by the Registrar. Allowable expenses include, but are not limited to, licence fee, expenses of bona fide members, hand-held personal bingo verifiers, advertising and promotions, transportation, as authorized in Section 7.1, shortages, bingo paper, security, storage, equipment and building lease/rent.
(10) American Currency
10.1 Only licensees which conduct bingos from border cities where the majority of bingo players are American may accept American currency for the payment of bingo paper.
A licensee which accepts American currency must maintain a second lottery trust account in American funds for the purpose of depositing all funds received in American currency and replenishing the float required in American funds. The account must be operated as outlined in Section 12, except as stated otherwise in this section, American Currency.
No withdrawals, by cheque or otherwise, may be made from this account, except as provided for in paragraphs10.2(a), 10.3(b), 10.9 or unless written permission has been granted by a licensing authority.
The maximum amount which may be on deposit in the American account at any time must not exceed the licensee's licensed prize board.
Deposits in excess of the licensed prize board (including interest) must be withdrawn by cheque and deposited into the Canadian designated lottery trust account.
10.4 The distribution of gross receipts must be calculated in accordance with Sections 9.3(a), 9.3(b), 9.4 or 9.5. For licensees which accept American currency, gross receipts referred to in these paragraphs shall refer to the adjusted gross receipts which is calculated as follows:
Total gross receipts in Canadian dollars (+) total gross receipts in American dollars (+) the premium paid on American dollars (-) the premium on the prizes paid out in American dollars.
When deducting prizes from the adjusted gross receipts, the licensee must not include any premium which may have been applicable to the prizes paid in American currency.
Profit and expense calculations must be based on the adjusted gross receipts.
All expenses must be paid by cheque, in Canadian currency only, drawn on the Canadian designated lottery trust account.
10.6 For the purposes of calculating the adjusted gross receipts, the licensee must use the daily "buying" exchange rate set by the chartered banks. The licensee must obtain this information from the Operator of the bingo hall on a daily basis.
10.7 All bingo paper sold in the lower-valued currency must be distinguished with a hole punch. The licensee must receive the bingo paper pre-punched from the Operator of the bingo hall.
10.8 All players purchasing bingo paper in Canadian currency must be paid prizes in Canadian currency.
10.9 All players purchasing bingo paper in American currency must be paid prizes in American currency and may be paid from the cash proceeds or by cheque from the American account.
(11) Books and records
11.1 The licensee must obtain receipts for each expense incurred.
11.2 The licensee shall maintain detailed records of the disbursement of all proceeds derived from the conduct and management of the lottery schemes.
11.3 The licensee must maintain books, records and other documents in support of all financial reports or statements. These records must be kept up to date and be retained for no less than four (4) years from the date of the bingo.
11.4 The licensee must:
provide unencumbered access to the licensee's books, records and other documents including, but not limited to, those related to the conduct and management of lottery schemes and the use of proceeds from those lottery schemes to persons appointed by a licensing authority and to all peace officers; and
deliver to a licensing authority within the time period specified by a licensing authority the licensee's books, records and other documents including, but not limited to, those related to the conduct and management of lottery schemes and the use of proceeds from those lottery schemes and such other materials as required by a licensing authority for audit and investigation purposes.
hold all proceeds from the conduct and management of the lottery schemes intrust.
open and maintain a separate lottery trust account designated as a trust account by the branch of a financial institution to administer all these proceeds. The licensee has the option of:
opening and maintaining one (1)designated lottery trust account to administer the proceeds; or
opening and maintaining separate designated lottery trust accounts for each type of lottery scheme conducted and managed by the licensee.
12.2 Each designated lottery trust account must be maintained in the name of the licensee, in trust and must have the following features:
cheque writing privileges and monthly statements issued;
all cheques or electronic images of backs and fronts of cheques returned with monthly statement.
12.3 Any interest accrued on the lottery trust account must be used for the charitable purposes of the licensee.
12.4 In administering the lottery trust account, the licensee must:
appoint a minimum of two (2) signing officers, who must be bona fide members of the licensee, to administer the account and write cheques on behalf of the licensee;
deposit into the account all monies derived from the operation of the bingo(s). Monies must be deposited by deposit slip only and as soon as it is practical to do so;
ensure all withdrawals are made by cheque;
ensure cheques are written only for the payment of the expenses incurred in the conduct of the lottery, the payment of prizes and the donation of net proceeds for the charitable purposes approved on the application for licence.
12.5 The licensee must not:
where only one (1) designated lottery trust account is maintained, deposit monies received from any source other than lottery events conducted by the licensee into the designated trust account; or
where a separate designated bingo trust account has been established, deposit monies received from any other source, except proceeds received from participating in super jackpots and break open ticket lotteries held in conjunction with bingos, into the designated bingo trust account;
move funds by any means from the designated lottery trust account into an operating or general account of the licensee;
close the designated lottery trust account until all monies have been donated to approved charitable purposes and a report has been submitted to a licensing authority.
12.6 Where one (1) designated lottery trust account is maintained for proceeds from more than one (1) type of lottery event, the licensee must maintain separate ledgers outlining financial details for each type of lottery event conducted, by game and licence, including proceeds derived from each, expenses paid in the conduct of each and a list of how proceeds have been disbursed.
(13) Reporting requirements
13.1 The licensee must provide a licensing authority with a financial report outlining the results of the bingo on the prescribed form. Copies of all deposit slips related to the events, verified (stamped) by the bank, must accompany the financial report.
13.2 The financial report must be filed within 15 days of the date of the bingo. A licensing authority may request additional documents deemed necessary to substantiate the particulars of the event which may include receipts for each expense incurred.
13.3 The licensee must provide, within 180 days of its fiscal year end, each licensing authority that issued it a licence with:
financial statements prepared in accordance with paragraph 13.4. The financial statements must include a summary of the financial information with respect to the receipt and use of lottery proceeds from all lottery schemes for which it is licensed. In addition, if not shown in a clear and concise manner in the body of the financial statements or in the notes to the financial statements, supplementary information providing by licence all expenses, disbursements, net proceeds and use of net proceeds for all lottery schemes for which it is licensed;
a report on the licensee's compliance with the terms and conditions of the licences prepared in accordance with paragraph 13.4.
13.4 A licensee that receives:
less than $250,000 in gross annual revenues from all sources must prepare financial statements in accordance with the standards set out in the CICA Handbook;
$250,000 or more in gross annual revenues from all sources must prepare financial statements in accordance with the standards set out in the CICA Handbook which have been audited by a public accountant.
13.5 The licensee must provide to a licensing authority within the time period specified by a licensing authority any information, materials, financial statements, audited financial statements, review engagement reports, compliance reports or auditor's reports on compliance as a licensing authority may require.
13.6 The licensee may use lottery proceeds to pay the expenses of the financial statements and reports required by paragraph 13.4 or, with the approval of licensing authority, by paragraph 13.5. This expense shall not be included in any expense maximum within these terms and conditions.
14.1 The arrangement of numbers required to be covered on bingo paper in order to win the game and the amount of the prize for each game must be announced to the players immediately before each game begins.
A player must be declared the winner of a game if they have covered all of the numbers in the required arrangement.
A player does not need to have the last number called in order to be declared a winner.
14.3 A licensee must verify, at the time a player claims to have won and before a prize is paid out, that the numbers covered on the bingo paper are a winning arrangement:
by audible call-back of the numbers covered on the bingo paper in the immediate presence of one (1) or more neutral players; or
through the use of the bingo caller's electronic verification system and by confirming visually the numbers covered on the bingo paper. The licensee must purchase, lease or rent electronic bingo verifying equipment that complies with the requirements and standards for the devices only from Gaming-Related Suppliers registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992.
After a winner has been declared, the licensee must ensure that the caller inquires clearly and audibly three (3) times of the players whether there are any other players claiming to be a winner of that game. If there are no other winners, the licensee must ensure the caller declares the game to be closed.
No claim of a player to have won a game is valid if made after the game has been declared closed.
The total prize, as announced prior to the commencement of the bingo game, must be paid to a winner or winners. The caller must announce the number of winners for each game and the amount paid to each winner.
Where there is more than one (1)winner of a bingo game, the prize offered must be divided equally amongst all players having obtained a valid bingo. The licensee may set a minimum prize payout not to exceed five (5) dollars. The total amount awarded in prizes must not exceed the licensee's licensed prize board.
14.6 In the event that the number on a ball is miscalled, the actual number on the ball and not the called number must be the official number for the game. Any claim by a player to have won a bingo using a miscalled number must be disallowed.
The designated member in charge of the bingo occasion, acting on behalf of the licensee, must provide a handwritten, electronic or videotaped record for each bingo game played outlining the order in which the numbers were called for each game held during the bingo event. This is the official record of the games.
In the event of an error in verification of bingo paper, resulting in a game being declared closed, the game must be reconstructed using the official record to identify the numbers previously called and the game must continue until won by a player. The record and winning bingo paper must be retained for 30 days following the bingo event.
14.8 If it should be determined that a game has been closed as the result of a miscalled number and there is not a valid winner for the game, the game must be reconstructed using the official record to identify the numbers previously called and the game must continue until won by a player.
14.9 The licensee may establish House Rules governing the conduct of the bingo. House Rules must be displayed at the premises where the bingo is being conducted. In the event that a House Rule conflicts with these terms and conditions or any other regulation, the terms and conditions or regulation will take precedence.
14.10 Additional bingo games approved by the Registrar must be operated in compliance with the approved Rules of Play as specified by the Registrar.