This bill authorizes the dispensing of instant bingo tickets by electronic or mechanical devices. The increase in speed with which a ticket is dispensed could result in addictive behavior.
Florida Attorney General McCollum has opined15 that dispensing instant bingo tickets through an electronic machine would violate s. 849.15, F.S., as an unlawful slot machine, because the machine would dispense an object that would result in the user becoming eligible
for a thing of value by chance.16 It
Organizations that are authorized to conduct bingo games include:
Charitable, nonprofit, and veterans’ organizations which are defined as tax-exempt under 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, or s. 528 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; which are engaged in charitable, civic, community, benevolent, religious, or scholastic works or similar activities; and which have been in existence and active for at least three years;
Condominium associations, cooperative associations, homeowners’ associations, mobile home owners’ associations, and a group of residents of a mobile home park or recreational vehicle park.
These organizations must be directly involved in the operations of the bingo game and may not act merely as sponsors. Members of the organization must conduct the game and cannot be compensated in any way for this role.
Favorable by Judiciary; YEAS 9 NAYS 0 on Friday, March 26, 2010 12:14 PM
House Version of Bill - HB 815
HB 815 passed the Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Policy Committee by a vote of 8 to 6 with Rep. Anitere Flores opposing.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment