Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

Chapter 349

Section 349.12

Topics

Recent History

349.12 Definitions.

Subdivision 1. Scope. As used in sections 349.11 to 349.23 the terms in this section have the meanings given them.

Subd. 2. Active member. "Active member" means a member who has paid all dues to the organization, who is 18 years of age or older, who has equal voting rights with all other members, who has equal opportunity to be an elected officer, who has equal right and responsibilities of attendance at the regularly scheduled meetings of the organization, whose name and membership origination date appear with the member's knowledge and consent on a list of members of the organization, and who has been a member of the organization for at least six months.

Subd. 3. Affiliate. "Affiliate" is any person or entity directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control or ownership with a licensee of the board or any officer or director of a licensee of the board.

Subd. 3a. Allowable expense. "Allowable expense" means the percentage of the total cost incurred by the organization in the purchase of any good, service, or other item which corresponds to the proportion of the total actual use of the good, service, or other item that is directly related to conduct of lawful gambling. Allowable expense includes the advertising of the conduct of lawful gambling, provided that the amount expended does not exceed five percent of the annual gross profits of the organization or $5,000 per year per organization, whichever is less. The board may adopt rules to regulate the content of the advertising to ensure that the content is consistent with the public welfare.

Subd. 4. Bingo. "Bingo" means a game where each player has a bingo hard card or bingo paper sheet, for which a consideration has been paid, and played in accordance with this chapter and with rules of the board for the conduct of bingo.

Subd. 5. Bingo occasion. "Bingo occasion" means a single gathering or session at which a series of one or more successive bingo games is played.

Subd. 6. Board. "Board" is the gambling control board.

Subd. 7. Capital assets. "Capital assets" means property, real or personal, except gambling equipment, with an expected useful life of at least one year.

Subd. 8. Checker. "Checker" means a person who records the number of bingo hard cards purchased and played during each game and records the prizes awarded to the recorded hard cards, but does not collect the payment for the hard cards.

Subd. 9. Deal. "Deal" means each separate package, or series of packages, consisting of one game of pull-tabs or tipboards with the same serial number.

Subd. 10. Director. "Director" is the director of the gambling control board.

Subd. 11. Distributor. "Distributor" is a person who sells gambling equipment for use within the state to licensed organizations, or to organizations conducting excluded or exempt activities under section 349.166.

Subd. 12. Repealed, 1991 c 233 s 110

Subd. 13. Face value. "Face value" means the price per ticket printed on the ticket or the flare.

Subd. 14. Repealed, 2002 c 386 art 1 s 12

Subd. 15. 501(c)(3) organization. "501(c)(3) organization" is an organization exempt from the payment of federal income taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Subd. 15a. Festival organization. "Festival organization" is an organization conducting a community festival that is exempt from the payment of federal income taxes under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Subd. 16. Flare. "Flare" is the posted display, with registration stamp affixed or bar code imprinted or affixed, that sets forth the rules of a particular game of pull-tabs or tipboards and that is associated with a specific deal of pull-tabs or grouping of tipboards.

Subd. 17. Free play. "Free play" means a winning ticket that is labeled as a free play or its equivalent.

Subd. 18. Gambling equipment. "Gambling equipment" means: bingo hard cards or paper sheets, devices for selecting bingo numbers, pull-tabs, jar tickets, paddlewheels, paddlewheel tables, paddletickets, paddleticket cards, tipboards, tipboard tickets, and pull-tab dispensing devices.

Subd. 19. Gambling manager. "Gambling manager" means a person who has been designated by the organization to supervise the lawful gambling conducted by it and who:

(1) has been an active member of the organization for at least two years; or

(2) meets other qualifications as prescribed by the board by rule.

Subd. 20. Gross profit. "Gross profit" means the gross receipts collected from lawful gambling, less reasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for prizes.

Subd. 21. Gross receipts. "Gross receipts" means all receipts derived from lawful gambling activity including, but not limited to, the following items:

(1) gross sales of bingo hard cards and paper sheets before reduction for prizes, expenses, shortages, free plays, or any other charges or offsets;

(2) the ideal gross of pull-tab and tipboard deals or games less the value of unsold and defective tickets and before reduction for prizes, expenses, shortages, free plays, or any other charges or offsets;

(3) gross sales of raffle tickets and paddletickets before reduction for prizes, expenses, shortages, free plays, or any other charges or offsets;

(4) admission, commission, cover, or other charges imposed on participants in lawful gambling activity as a condition for or cost of participation; and

(5) interest, dividends, annuities, profit from transactions, or other income derived from the accumulation or use of gambling proceeds.

Gross receipts does not include proceeds from rental under section 349.164 or 349.18, subdivision 3.

Subd. 22. Ideal gross. "Ideal gross" means the total amount of receipts that would be received if every individual ticket in the pull-tab or tipboard deal was sold at its face value. In the calculation of ideal gross and prizes, a free play ticket shall be valued at face value.

Subd. 23. Ideal net. "Ideal net" means the pull-tab or tipboard deal's ideal gross, as defined under subdivision 22, less the total predetermined prize amounts available to be paid out. When the prize is not entirely a monetary one, the ideal net is 50 percent of the ideal gross.

Subd. 24. Lawful gambling. "Lawful gambling" is the operation, conduct or sale of bingo, raffles, paddlewheels, tipboards, and pull-tabs.

Subd. 25. Lawful purpose. (a) "Lawful purpose" means one or more of the following:

(1) any expenditure by or contribution to a 501(c)(3) or festival organization, as defined in subdivision 15a, provided that the organization and expenditure or contribution are in conformity with standards prescribed by the board under section 349.154, which standards must apply to both types of organizations in the same manner and to the same extent;

(2) a contribution to an individual or family suffering from poverty, homelessness, or physical or mental disability, which is used to relieve the effects of that poverty, homelessness, or disability;

(3) a contribution to an individual for treatment for delayed posttraumatic stress syndrome or a contribution to a program recognized by the Minnesota department of human services for the education, prevention, or treatment of compulsive gambling;

(4) a contribution to or expenditure on a public or private nonprofit educational institution registered with or accredited by this state or any other state;

(5) a contribution to a scholarship fund for defraying the cost of education to individuals where the funds are awarded through an open and fair selection process;

(6) activities by an organization or a government entity which recognize humanitarian or military service to the United States, the state of Minnesota, or a community, subject to rules of the board, provided that the rules must not include mileage reimbursements in the computation of the per occasion reimbursement limit and must impose no aggregate annual limit on the amount of reasonable and necessary expenditures made to support:

(i) members of a military marching or color guard unit for activities conducted within the state;

(ii) members of an organization solely for services performed by the members at funeral services; or

(iii) members of military marching, color guard, or honor guard units may be reimbursed for participating in color guard, honor guard, or marching unit events within the state or states contiguous to Minnesota at a per participant rate of up to $35 per occasion;

(7) recreational, community, and athletic facilities and activities intended primarily for persons under age 21, provided that such facilities and activities do not discriminate on the basis of gender and the organization complies with section 349.154;

(8) payment of local taxes authorized under this chapter, taxes imposed by the United States on receipts from lawful gambling, the taxes imposed by section 297E.02, subdivisions 1, 4, 5, and 6, and the tax imposed on unrelated business income by section 290.05, subdivision 3;

(9) payment of real estate taxes and assessments on permitted gambling premises wholly owned by the licensed organization paying the taxes, or wholly leased by a licensed veterans organization under a national charter recognized under section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code, not to exceed:

(i) for premises used for bingo, the amount that an organization may expend under board rules on rent for bingo; and

(ii) $35,000 per year for premises used for other forms of lawful gambling;

(10) a contribution to the United States, this state or any of its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality thereof other than a direct contribution to a law enforcement or prosecutorial agency;

(11) a contribution to or expenditure by a nonprofit organization which is a church or body of communicants gathered in common membership for mutual support and edification in piety, worship, or religious observances;

(12) payment of the reasonable costs of an audit required in section 297E.06, subdivision 4, provided the annual audit is filed in a timely manner with the department of revenue;

(13) a contribution to or expenditure on a wildlife management project that benefits the public at-large, provided that the state agency with authority over that wildlife management project approves the project before the contribution or expenditure is made;

(14) expenditures, approved by the commissioner of natural resources, by an organization for grooming and maintaining snowmobile trails and all-terrain vehicle trails that are (1) grant-in-aid trails established under section 85.019, or (2) other trails open to public use, including purchase or lease of equipment for this purpose; or

(15) conducting nutritional programs, food shelves, and congregate dining programs primarily for persons who are age 62 or older or disabled;

(16) a contribution to a community arts organization, or an expenditure to sponsor arts programs in the community, including but not limited to visual, literary, performing, or musical arts;

(17) payment of heat, water, sanitation, telephone, and other utility bills for a building owned or leased by, and used as the primary headquarters of, a veterans organization; or

(18) expenditure by a veterans organization of up to $5,000 in a calendar year in net costs to the organization for meals and other membership events, limited to members and spouses, held in recognition of military service.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), "lawful purpose" does not include:

(1) any expenditure made or incurred for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of a candidate for public office or for the purpose of promoting or defeating a ballot question;

(2) any activity intended to influence an election or a governmental decision-making process;

(3) the erection, acquisition, improvement, expansion, repair, or maintenance of real property or capital assets owned or leased by an organization, unless the board has first specifically authorized the expenditures after finding that (i) the real property or capital assets will be used exclusively for one or more of the purposes in paragraph (a); (ii) with respect to expenditures for repair or maintenance only, that the property is or will be used extensively as a meeting place or event location by other nonprofit organizations or community or service groups and that no rental fee is charged for the use; (iii) with respect to expenditures, including a mortgage payment or other debt service payment, for erection or acquisition only, that the erection or acquisition is necessary to replace with a comparable building, a building owned by the organization and destroyed or made uninhabitable by fire or natural disaster, provided that the expenditure may be only for that part of the replacement cost not reimbursed by insurance; (iv) with respect to expenditures, including a mortgage payment or other debt service payment, for erection or acquisition only, that the erection or acquisition is necessary to replace with a comparable building a building owned by the organization that was acquired from the organization by eminent domain or sold by the organization to a purchaser that the organization reasonably believed would otherwise have acquired the building by eminent domain, provided that the expenditure may be only for that part of the replacement cost that exceeds the compensation received by the organization for the building being replaced; or (v) with respect to an expenditure to bring an existing building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act under item (ii), an organization has the option to apply the amount of the board-approved expenditure to the erection or acquisition of a replacement building that is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act;

(4) an expenditure by an organization which is a contribution to a parent organization, foundation, or affiliate of the contributing organization, if the parent organization, foundation, or affiliate has provided to the contributing organization within one year of the contribution any money, grants, property, or other thing of value;

(5) a contribution by a licensed organization to another licensed organization unless the board has specifically authorized the contribution. The board must authorize such a contribution when requested to do so by the contributing organization unless it makes an affirmative finding that the contribution will not be used by the recipient organization for one or more of the purposes in paragraph (a); or

(6) a contribution to a statutory or home rule charter city, county, or town by a licensed organization with the knowledge that the governmental unit intends to use the contribution for a pension or retirement fund.

Subd. 26. Manufacturer. "Manufacturer" means a person or entity who assembles from raw materials or subparts a completed piece of gambling equipment, and who sells or furnishes the equipment for resale or for use in the state. The term includes a person who converts, modifies, adds to, or removes parts or a portion from an item, device, or assembly to further its promotion, sale, or use as gambling equipment in this state. A person only adding or modifying promotional flares to advise the public of the prizes available, the rules of play, and the consideration required is not a manufacturer.

Subd. 26a. Master flare. "Master flare" is the posted display, with registration stamp affixed or bar code imprinted or affixed, that is used in conjunction with sealed groupings of 100 or fewer sequentially numbered paddleticket cards.

Subd. 27. Net profit. "Net profit" means gross profit less reasonable sums actually expended for allowable expenses.

Subd. 28. Organization. "Organization" means any fraternal, religious, veterans, or other nonprofit organization.

Subd. 28a. Paddleticket. "Paddleticket" means a preprinted ticket that can be used to place wagers on the spin of a paddlewheel.

Subd. 28b. Paddleticket card. "Paddleticket card" means a card to which detachable paddletickets are attached.

Subd. 28c. Paddleticket card number. "Paddleticket card number" means the unique serial number preprinted by the manufacturer on the stub of a paddleticket card and the paddletickets attached to the card.

Subd. 29. "Paddlewheel" means a wheel marked off into sections containing one or more numbers, and which, after being turned or spun, uses a pointer or marker to indicate winning chances.

Subd. 30. Person. "Person" is an individual, organization, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, trustee, or legal representative.

Subd. 30a. Profit carryover. "Profit carryover" means cumulative net profit less cumulative lawful purpose expenditures.

Subd. 31. Promotional ticket. A pull-tab or tipboard ticket with the words "no purchase necessary" and "for promotional use only" and for which no consideration is given is a promotional ticket.

Subd. 32. Pull-tab. "Pull-tab" means a single folded or banded ticket or a multi-ply card with perforated break-open tabs, the face of which is initially covered to conceal one or more numbers or symbols, where one or more of each set of tickets or cards has been designated in advance as a winner.

Subd. 32a. Pull-tab dispensing device. "Pull-tab dispensing device" means a mechanical device that dispenses paper pull-tabs and has no additional function as an amusement or gambling device.

Subd. 33. Raffle. "Raffle" means a game in which a participant buys a ticket for a chance at a prize with the winner determined by a random drawing to take place at a location and date printed upon the ticket.

Subd. 34. Tipboard. "Tipboard" means a board, placard or other device containing a seal that conceals the winning number or symbol, and that serves as the game flare for a tipboard game.

Subd. 35. Tipboard ticket. "Tipboard ticket" is a single folded or banded ticket, or multi-ply card, the face of which is initially covered or otherwise hidden from view to conceal a number, symbol, or set of symbols, some of which have been designated in advance and at random as prize winners.

HIST: 1976 c 261 s 2; 1984 c 502 art 12 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 467 s 4-6; 1987 c 327 s 2-5; 1988 c 596 s 1; 1988 c 719 art 9 s 1-3; 1989 c 203 s 1; 1989 c 334 art 2 s 2-15,51; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 13 s 1-6; 1990 c 590 art 1 s 4-9; 1991 c 199 art 2 s 1; 1991 c 233 s 100; 1991 c 336 art 2 s 10-12; 1993 c 244 art 5 s 1; 1994 c 633 art 2 s 19; art 5 s 1-20; 1995 c 186 s 68; 1995 c 261 s 20,21; 1995 c 264 art 9 s 9; 1997 c 155 s 2,3; 1998 c 322 s 1; 2000 c 300 s 1,2; 2000 c 336 s 3; 2001 c 96 s 6; 2002 c 377 art 12 s 14; 2002 c 386 art 3 s 1

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes