Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. Each
organization shall adopt "house rules" regarding conduct of the session. The
"house rules" for the network bingo game shall be adopted by a mutual agreement
among all of the organizations participating in a particular network bingo or
by the network bingo provider. Such rules shall be consistent with the
provisions of the Charitable Gaming Law and regulations adopted pursuant
thereto. "House rules" shall be conspicuously posted or printed on the game
program.
B. All players shall be
physically present at the location where the bingo numbers for a bingo game are
drawn to play the game or to claim a prize, except when the player, who has
purchased a network bingo card, is participating in network bingo. Seal card
prizes that can only be determined after a seal is removed or opened must be
claimed within 30 days of the close of a deal. All other prizes, except prizes
for electronic gaming, must be claimed on the game date.
C. The following rules of play shall govern
the sale of instant bingo, pull-tabs, and seal cards:
1. No cards that have been marked, defaced,
altered, tampered with, or otherwise constructed in a manner that tends to
deceive the public or affect the chances of winning or losing shall be placed
into play.
2. Winning cards shall
have the winning symbol or number defaced or punched immediately after
redemption by the organization's authorized representative.
3. An organization may commingle unsold
instant bingo cards and pull-tabs with no more than one additional deal. The
practice of commingling deals shall be disclosed to the public via house rules
or in a similar manner. Seal card deals shall not be commingled.
4. If a deal is not played to completion and
unsold cards remain, the remaining cards shall be sold at the next session the
same type of ticket is scheduled to be sold. If no future date is anticipated,
the organization shall, after making diligent efforts to sell the entire deal,
consider the deal closed or completed. The unsold cards shall be retained for a
minimum of three years following the close of the fiscal year and shall not be
opened.
5. All seal card games
purchased shall contain the sign-up sheet, the seals, and the cards packaged
together in each deal.
6.
Progressive seal card prizes not claimed within 30 days shall be carried
forward to the next progressive seal card game in progress and paid to the next
progressive seal card game prize winner.
D. No one involved in the conduct of bingo
may play bingo, play network bingo, or purchase network bingo cards at any
session they have worked or intend to work. No one involved in the sale or
redemption of any instant bingo, pull-tabs, seal cards, or electronic gaming
may purchase directly or through others instant bingo, pull-tab, seal card, or
electronic gaming products from organizations they assist on the day they have
worked or from any deal they have helped sell or redeem, whichever occurs
later.
E. Electronic bingo.
1. Electronic bingo devices may be used by
bingo players in the following manner:
a.
Players may input into the device each number called or the device may
automatically daub each number as the number is called;
b. Players must notify the game operator or
caller of a winning pattern of bingo by a means other than use of the
electronic bingo device;
c. Players
are limited to playing a maximum of 54 card faces per device per
game;
d. Electronic bingo devices
shall not be reserved for players. Each player shall have an equal opportunity
to use the available electronic bingo devices on a first come, first served
basis;
e. Each electronic bingo
device shall produce a player receipt with the organization name, date, time,
location, sequential transaction or receipt number, number of electronic bingo
cards loaded, cost of electronic bingo cards loaded, and date and time of the
transaction. Images of cards or faces stored in an electronic bingo device must
be exact duplicates of the printed faces if faces are printed;
f. Department agents may examine and inspect
any electronic bingo device and related system. Such examination and inspection
shall include immediate access to the electronic bingo device and unlimited
inspection of all parts and associated systems and may involve the removal of
equipment from the game premises for further testing;
g. All electronic bingo devices must be
loaded or enabled for play on the premises where the game will be
played;
h. All electronic bingo
devices shall be rented or otherwise provided to a player only by an
organization and no part of the proceeds of the rental of such devices shall be
paid to a landlord or the landlord's employee, agent, or member of the
landlord's immediate family; and
i.
If a player's call of a bingo is disputed by another player or if a department
agent makes a request, one or more cards stored on an electronic bingo device
shall be printed by the organization.
2. Players may exchange a defective
electronic bingo device for another electronic bingo device provided a
disinterested player verifies that the device is not functioning. A
disinterested player shall also verify that no numbers called for the game in
progress have been keyed into the replacement electronic bingo device prior to
the exchange.
F. The
following rules of play shall govern the conduct of raffles:
1. Before a prize drawing, each stub or other
detachable section of each ticket sold shall be placed into a receptacle from
which the winning tickets shall be drawn. The receptacle shall be designed so
that each ticket placed in it has an equal chance to be drawn.
2. All prizes shall be valued at fair market
value.
G. The following
rules shall apply to decision bingo games:
1.
Decision bingo shall be played on bingo cards in the conventional
manner.
2. Players shall enter a
game by paying a predetermined amount for each card face in play.
3. Players shall pay a predetermined fee for
each set of three bingo numbers called for each card in play.
4. The prize amount shall be the total of all
fees not to exceed the prize limit set forth for regular bingo in §
18.2-340.33 of the Code of Virginia. Any excess funds shall be retained by the
organization.
5. The predetermined
amounts in subdivisions 2 and 3 of this subsection shall be printed in the game
program. The prize amount for a game shall be announced before the prize is
paid to the winner.
H.
The following rules shall apply to treasure chest games:
1. The organization shall list the treasure
chest game on the bingo game program as a "Treasure Chest Raffle."
2. The organization shall have house rules
posted that describe how the game is to be played.
3. The treasure chest participant shall only
be selected through some other authorized charitable game at the same bingo
session.
4. The organization shall
account for all funds as treasure chest/raffle sales on the session
reconciliation form.
5. If the
player does not open the lock on the treasure chest, the game manager or the
game manager's designee shall proceed to try every key until the correct key
opens the treasure chest lock to show all players that one of the keys will
open the lock.
I. The
following rules shall apply to progressive bingo games:
1. Bingo paper sold for use in progressive
bingo games shall conform to the standards set forth in
11VAC20-20-140.
2. Organizations shall not include in
admission packs the bingo paper intended for use in progressive bingo
games.
3. Any progressive bingo
game, its prize, and the number of bingo numbers to be called shall be clearly
announced before the progressive bingo game is played and shall be posted on
the premises where the progressive bingo game is played during each session
that a progressive bingo game is played.
4. Pricing for a progressive bingo game card
or sheet shall be listed on the game program.
5. If the predetermined pattern is not
covered within the predetermined number of bingo numbers to be called, then the
number of bingo numbers called will increase by one number for each subsequent
session the progressive bingo game is played.
6. If the predetermined pattern is not
covered within the predetermined number of bingo numbers to be called for that
progressive bingo game, then the game will continue as a regular bingo game
until the predetermined pattern is covered and a regular bingo prize is
awarded.
7. The prize for any
progressive bingo game shall be in accordance with the provisions of
subdivision 8 of § 18.2-340.33 of the Code of Virginia.
J. The following rules shall apply
to WINGO:
1. WINGO shall be played only for
the hearing-impaired players.
2.
WINGO shall utilize a visual device such as an oversized deck of cards in place
of balls selected from a blower.
3.
A caller must be in an area visible to all players and shall randomly select
cards or other visual devices one at a time and display them so that all
players can see them.
4. The
organization must have house rules for WINGO, and the rules shall identify how
players indicate that they have won.
5. All financial reporting shall be
consistent with reporting for a traditional bingo game.
K. The following rules of play shall apply to
event games:
1. No instant bingo cards or
pull-tabs that have been marked, defaced, altered, tampered with, or otherwise
constructed in a manner that tends to deceive the public or affect the chances
of winning or losing shall be placed into play.
2. Instant bingo cards and pull-tabs used in
an event game shall not be offered for sale or sold at a purchase price other
than the purchase price indicated on the flare for that particular
deal.
3. The maximum prize amount
for event games shall not exceed the amount set forth in subdivision 8 of
§ 18.2-340.33 of the Code of Virginia for instant bingo, pull-tab, or seal
card.
4. A sign-up sheet is not
required for event games in which the winners are determined using a seal
card.
5. Organizations shall
determine the winners of event games during the same bingo session in which the
instant bingo cards or pull-tabs are sold.
6. An authorized representative of the
organization shall deface or punch the winning instant bingo cards or winning
pull-tabs immediately after redemption.
7. If unsold bingo cards or unsold pull-tabs
remain, the unsold cards shall be retained for a minimum of three years
following the close of the fiscal year and shall not be opened.
Statutory Authority: § 18.2-340.15 of the Code of
Virginia.
