State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB4169

 
                                               LRB9213637LDtm

 1        AN ACT in relation to gambling.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.  The Bingo License and Tax Act is  amended  by
 5    changing Section 1 as follows:

 6        (230 ILCS 25/1) (from Ch. 120, par. 1101)
 7        Sec.   1.    The   Department   of  Revenue  shall,  upon
 8    application therefor on forms prescribed by such  Department,
 9    and  upon  the  payment  of an annual fee of $200, and upon a
10    determination by the Department that the applicant meets  all
11    of  the  qualifications  specified  in  this Section, issue a
12    license  for  the  conducting  of  bingo  to  any  bona  fide
13    religious,  charitable,  labor,  fraternal,  youth  athletic,
14    senior  citizen,  educational   or   veterans'   organization
15    organized  in  Illinois  which operates without profit to its
16    members, which has been in existence in Illinois continuously
17    for a period of 5 years immediately before making application
18    for a license and which has had during  that  entire  5  year
19    period  a  bona  fide membership engaged in carrying  out its
20    objects.  However, the 5 year requirement shall be reduced to
21    2  years,  as  applied  to  a  local  organization  which  is
22    affiliated with and  chartered  by  a  national  organization
23    which  meets the 5 year requirement.  Each license expires at
24    midnight, June 30 following  its  date  of  issuance,  except
25    that, beginning with applicants whose licenses expire on June
26    30,  1983,  the  Department  shall stagger license expiration
27    dates by dividing the applicants  into  4  groups  which  are
28    substantially  equal  in number.  Licenses issued and license
29    fees  charged  to  applicants  in  each  group  shall  be  in
30    accordance with the following schedule:
31    Group No.          License Expiration Date                Fee
 
                            -2-                LRB9213637LDtm
 1      1                December 31, 1983                     $100
 2      2                March 31, 1984                        $150
 3      3                June 30, 1984                         $200
 4      4                September 30, 1984                    $250
 5    Following  expiration  under  this  schedule,  each   renewed
 6    license  shall  be  in  effect  for one year from its date of
 7    issuance unless suspended or  revoked  by  Department  action
 8    before  that  date.   After  June 30, 1983, every new license
 9    shall expire one  year  from  the  date  of  issuance  unless
10    suspended  or  revoked.  A licensee may hold only one license
11    and that license is valid for only one location.
12        For purposes  of  this  Act,  the  following  definitions
13    apply:  "Organization":  A  corporation, agency, partnership,
14    association, firm or other entity consisting  of  2  or  more
15    persons  joined by a common interest or purpose.  "Non-profit
16    organization": An organization or institution  organized  and
17    conducted  on  a not-for-profit basis with no personal profit
18    inuring to any one as a result of the operation.  "Charitable
19    organization": An organization or institution  organized  and
20    operated  to  benefit  an  indefinite  number  of the public.
21    "Educational organization": An  organization  or  institution
22    organized  and  operated to provide systematic instruction in
23    useful branches of learning by methods common to schools  and
24    institutions  of  learning  which  compare favorably in their
25    scope and intensity with the course  of  study  presented  in
26    tax-supported  schools. "Religious organization": Any church,
27    congregation,  society,  or  organization  founded  for   the
28    purpose  of  religious worship.  "Fraternal organization": An
29    organization of persons, including but not limited to  ethnic
30    organizations,   having  a  common  interest,  organized  and
31    operated exclusively to promote the welfare  of  its  members
32    and  to  benefit  the  general  public  on  a  continuing and
33    consistent basis. "Veterans  organization":  An  organization
34    comprised   of   members   of  which  substantially  all  are
 
                            -3-                LRB9213637LDtm
 1    individuals who are veterans or spouses, widows, or  widowers
 2    of  veterans,  the primary purpose of which is to promote the
 3    welfare of its members  and  to  provide  assistance  to  the
 4    general  public  in such a way as to confer a public benefit.
 5    "Labor  organization":  An  organization  composed  of  labor
 6    unions or workers organized with the objective of  betterment
 7    of  the  conditions  of those engaged in such pursuit and the
 8    development  of  a  higher  degree  of  efficiency  in  their
 9    respective occupations.  "Youth  athletic  organization":  An
10    organization  having  as  its exclusive purpose the promotion
11    and provision of athletic activities for youth  aged  18  and
12    under.   "Senior  citizens  organization": An organization or
13    association comprised of members of which  substantially  all
14    are  individuals  who  are  senior  citizens,  as  defined in
15    Section 3.05 of the Illinois Act on the  Aging,  the  primary
16    purpose of which is to promote the welfare of its members.
17        Licensing  for  the conducting of bingo is subject to the
18    following restrictions:
19             (1)  The license application, when submitted to  the
20        Department  of  Revenue,  must  contain a sworn statement
21        attesting  to  the  not-for-profit   character   of   the
22        prospective   licensee   organization,   signed   by  the
23        presiding officer and the secretary of that organization.
24             (2)  The application for license shall  be  prepared
25        in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  Department  of
26        Revenue.
27             (3)  Each  license shall state which day of the week
28        and at what location the licensee is permitted to conduct
29        bingo.  The Department may, on special  application  made
30        by  any  organization  having  a  bingo  license, issue a
31        special operator's permit for conducting bingo  at  other
32        premises  and  on  other days not exceeding 7 consecutive
33        days, except that a licensee may  conduct  bingo  at  the
34        Illinois  State  Fair or any county fair held in Illinois
 
                            -4-                LRB9213637LDtm
 1        during each day that the fair is in  effect;  such  bingo
 2        games  conducted  at  the Illinois State Fair or a county
 3        fair shall not require a special operator's permit.    No
 4        more  than  2 special operator's permits may be issued in
 5        one year to  any  one  organization.   Any  organization,
 6        qualified  for  a  license  but  not  holding  one,  upon
 7        application  and  payment  of  a  $50  fee  may receive a
 8        limited license to conduct bingo at no more than 2 indoor
 9        or outdoor festivals in a year for a maximum of 5 days on
10        each occasion.  Such limited license shall be prominently
11        displayed at the site of the bingo games.
12             (4)  The licensee  shall  display  a  license  in  a
13        prominent place in the area where it is to conduct bingo.
14             (5)  The  proceeds  from  the license fee imposed by
15        this Act shall be paid into the General Revenue  Fund  of
16        the State Treasury.
17             (6)  A  license  authorizes  the licensee to conduct
18        the game commonly known as bingo,  in  which  prizes  are
19        awarded  on the basis of designated numbers or symbols on
20        a card conforming  to  numbers  or  symbols  selected  at
21        random.
22             (7)  The  Director  has  the  power  to  issue or to
23        refuse to issue a license permitting a  person,  firm  or
24        corporation to provide premises for the conduct of bingo;
25        provided,  however,  that  a  municipality  shall  not be
26        required to obtain a license to  provide  such  premises.
27        The  fee  for  such providers' license is $200. A person,
28        firm or corporation holding such a  license  may  receive
29        reasonable expenses for providing premises for conducting
30        bingo.   Reasonable  expenses  shall  include  only those
31        expenses defined as reasonable by  rules  promulgated  by
32        the Department.
33             (8)  The Department may issue restricted licenses to
34        senior  citizens organizations.  The fee for a restricted
 
                            -5-                LRB9213637LDtm
 1        license is $10 per year.  Restricted  licenses  shall  be
 2        subject to the following conditions:
 3                  (A)  Bingo   shall   be  conducted  only  at  a
 4             facility  which  is  owned  by  a  unit   of   local
 5             government  to  which the corporate authorities have
 6             given their approval and which is  used  to  provide
 7             social   services  or  a  meeting  place  to  senior
 8             citizens, or in common areas in multi-unit federally
 9             assisted rental housing maintained  solely  for  the
10             elderly and handicapped;
11                  (B)  The price paid for a single card shall not
12             exceed $1 5 cents;
13                  (C)  The  aggregate  retail value of all prizes
14             or merchandise awarded in  any  one  game  of  bingo
15             shall not exceed $20 $1;
16                  (D)  No    person    or    organization   shall
17             participate in the management or operation of  bingo
18             under   a   restricted  license  if  the  person  or
19             organization would be ineligible for a license under
20             this Section;
21                  (E)  No license is required to provide premises
22             for bingo conducted under a restricted license; and
23                  (F)  The  Department  may,  by   rule,   exempt
24             restricted  licensees from such requirements of this
25             Act as the Department may deem appropriate.
26        The Director has the power to issue a license  permitting
27    an  Illinois  person,  firm  or corporation to sell, lease or
28    distribute to any  organization  licensed  to  conduct  bingo
29    games  or  to  any licensed bingo supplier all cards, boards,
30    sheets, markers, pads and all  other  supplies,  devices  and
31    equipment  designed  for use in the play of bingo. No person,
32    firm or corporation shall sell,  lease  or  distribute  bingo
33    supplies or equipment without having first obtained a license
34    therefor  upon  written  application made, verified and filed
 
                            -6-                LRB9213637LDtm
 1    with the Department in the form prescribed by the  rules  and
 2    regulations  of  the  Department. The fee for such license is
 3    $200.
 4        Applications for providers' and suppliers' licenses shall
 5    be made in writing in accordance with Department rules.  Each
 6    providers'  or  suppliers' license is valid for one year from
 7    date of issuance, unless suspended or revoked  by  Department
 8    action before that date.
 9        The  following  are ineligible for any license under this
10    Act:
11             (a)  any person who has been convicted of a felony;
12             (b)  any  person  who  has  been  convicted   of   a
13        violation of Article 28 of the "Criminal Code of 1961";
14             (c)  any  person  found  gambling,  participating in
15        gambling or knowingly  permitting  gambling  on  premises
16        where bingo is being conducted;
17             (d)  any  firm  or  corporation  in  which  a person
18        defined in (a), (b) or (c) has a  proprietary,  equitable
19        or  credit interest, or in which such person is active or
20        employed;
21             (e)  any organization in which a person  defined  in
22        (a),  (b)  or  (c)  is an officer, director, or employee,
23        whether compensated or not;
24             (f)  any organization in which a person  defined  in
25        (a),  (b)  or  (c) is to participate in the management or
26        operation of a bingo game.
27    (Source: P.A. 87-758.)

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