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.
2.1 Licensees which conduct bingo under a Regular Bingo licence at bingo halls where four (4) or more bingo events are conducted in any seven-day period (formerly Class A and Class B bingo halls) must be a member organization of a Hall Charities Association.
2.2 The Hall Charities Association, in consultation with the Operator of the bingo hall, is responsible for:
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:
3.2 Each licensee is responsible for deciding how its bingo events will be staffed. The licensee has the option of:
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.
4.1
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.
4.3
4.4 The licensee may choose to offer the use of hand-held personal bingo verifiers, so long as;
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.
6.7
6.8 The licensee must ensure that bingo paper is used only for the event for which it is sold.
6.9
6.10
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.
9.1 General
9.2 Expenses, advertising and gestures of player appreciation
9.3 Licensees using the services of an Operator of a bingo hall registered under the Gaming Control Act, 1992:
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.
10.1 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.
10.2
10.3
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.
10.5
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.
11.1 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:
12.1 The licensee must:
12.2 Each designated lottery trust account must be maintained in the name of the licensee, in trust and must have the following features:
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:
12.5 The licensee must not:
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.
13.1 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:
13.4 A licensee that receives:
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.
14.2
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:
14.4
14.5
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.
14.7
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.