Ohio Code 2915.10 – Bingo records retention
(A) No charitable organization that conducts bingo or a game of chance pursuant to division (D) of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code shall fail to maintain the following records for at least three years from the date on which the bingo or game of chance is conducted:
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Misdemeanor of the first degree | up to 180 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 2915.10
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Bingo: means either of the following:
(1) A game with all of the following characteristics:
(a) The participants use bingo cards or sheets, including paper formats and electronic representation or image formats, that are divided into twenty-five spaces arranged in five horizontal and five vertical rows of spaces, with each space, except the central space, being designated by a combination of a letter and a number and with the central space being designated as a free space. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Bingo session: means a period that includes both of the following:
(1) Not to exceed five continuous hours for the conduct of one or more games described in division (O)(1) of this section, instant bingo, and electronic instant bingo;
(2) A period for the conduct of instant bingo and electronic instant bingo for not more than two hours before and not more than two hours after the period described in division (S)(1) of this section. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Bingo supplies: means bingo cards or sheets; instant bingo tickets or cards; electronic bingo aids; raffle tickets; punch boards; seal cards; instant bingo ticket dispensers; electronic instant bingo systems; and devices for selecting or displaying the combination of bingo letters and numbers or raffle tickets. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- charitable organization: means either of the following:
(1) An organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2) A volunteer rescue service organization, volunteer firefighter's organization, veteran's organization, fraternal organization, or sporting organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(c)(4), (c)(7), (c)(8), (c)(10), or (c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Conduct: means to back, promote, organize, manage, carry on, sponsor, or prepare for the operation of bingo or a game of chance, a scheme of chance, or a sweepstakes. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Distributor: means any person who purchases or obtains bingo supplies and who does either of the following:
(1) Sells, offers for sale, or otherwise provides or offers to provide the bingo supplies to another person for use in this state;
(2) Modifies, converts, adds to, or removes parts from the bingo supplies to further their promotion or sale for use in this state. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Electronic instant bingo: means a form of bingo that consists of an electronic or digital representation of instant bingo in which a participant wins a prize if the participant's electronic instant bingo ticket contains a combination of numbers or symbols that was designated in advance as a winning combination, and to which all of the following apply:
(a) Each deal has a predetermined, finite number of winning and losing tickets and a predetermined prize amount and deal structure, provided that there may be multiple winning combinations in each deal and multiple winning tickets. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Expenses: means the reasonable amount of gross profit actually expended for all of the following:
(1) The purchase or lease of bingo supplies;
(2) The annual license fee required under section 2915. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Game of chance: means poker, craps, roulette, or other game in which a player gives anything of value in the hope of gain, the outcome of which is determined largely by chance, but does not include bingo. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Gross profit: means gross receipts minus the amount actually expended for the payment of prize awards. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Gross receipts: means all money or assets, including admission fees, that a person receives from bingo without the deduction of any amounts for prizes paid out or for the expenses of conducting bingo. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Instant bingo: means a form of bingo that shall use folded or banded tickets or paper cards with perforated break-open tabs, a face of which is covered or otherwise hidden from view to conceal a number, letter, or symbol, or set of numbers, letters, or symbols, some of which have been designated in advance as prize winners, and may also include games in which some winners are determined by the random selection of one or more bingo numbers by the use of a seal card or bingo blower. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Manufacturer: means any person who assembles completed bingo supplies from raw materials, other items, or subparts or who modifies, converts, adds to, or removes parts from bingo supplies to further their promotion or sale. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Net profit: means gross profit minus expenses. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Punch board: means a form of instant bingo that uses a board containing a number of holes or receptacles of uniform size in which are placed, mechanically and randomly, serially numbered slips of paper that may be punched or drawn from the hole or receptacle. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- Raffle: means a form of bingo in which the one or more prizes are won by one or more persons who have purchased a raffle ticket. See Ohio Code 2915.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02
(1) An itemized list of the gross receipts of each bingo session, each game of instant bingo by serial number, each electronic instant bingo game by serial number, each raffle, each punch board game, and each game of chance, and an itemized list of the gross profits of each game of instant bingo by serial number and each electronic instant bingo game by serial number;
(2) An itemized list of all expenses, other than prizes, that are incurred in conducting bingo, the name of each person to whom the expenses are paid, and a receipt for all of the expenses;
(3) A list of all prizes awarded during each bingo session, each raffle, each punch board game, and each game of chance conducted by the charitable organization, the total prizes awarded from each game of instant bingo by serial number and each electronic instant bingo game by serial number, and the name, address, and social security number of all persons who are winners of prizes of six hundred dollars or more in value;
(4) An itemized list of the recipients of the net profit of the bingo or game of chance, including the name and address of each recipient to whom the money is distributed, and if the organization uses the net profit of bingo, or the money or assets received from a game of chance, for any charitable or other purpose set forth in division (V) of section 2915.01, division (D) of section 2915.02, or section 2915.101 of the Revised Code, a list of each purpose and an itemized list of each expenditure for each purpose;
(5) The number of persons who participate in any bingo session or game of chance that is conducted by the charitable organization;
(6) A list of receipts from the sale of food and beverages by the charitable organization or one of its auxiliary units or societies, if the receipts were excluded from gross receipts under division (T) of section 2915.01 of the Revised Code;
(7) An itemized list of all expenses incurred at each bingo session, each raffle, each punch board game, or each game of instant bingo or electronic instant bingo conducted by the charitable organization in the sale of food and beverages by the charitable organization or by an auxiliary unit or society of the charitable organization, the name of each person to whom the expenses are paid, and a receipt for all of the expenses.
(B) A charitable organization shall keep the records that it is required to maintain pursuant to division (A) of this section at its principal place of business in this state or at its headquarters in this state and shall notify the attorney general of the location at which those records are kept.
(C) The gross profit from each bingo session or game described in division (O)(1) or (2) of section 2915.01 of the Revised Code shall be deposited into a checking account devoted exclusively to the bingo session or game. Payments for allowable expenses incurred in conducting the bingo session or game and payments to recipients of some or all of the net profit of the bingo session or game shall be made only by checks or electronic fund transfers drawn on the bingo session or game account.
(D) Each charitable organization shall conduct and record an inventory of all of its bingo supplies as of the first day of November of each year.
(E) The attorney general may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code that establish standards of accounting, record keeping, and reporting to ensure that gross receipts from bingo or games of chance are properly accounted for.
(F) A distributor shall maintain, for a period of three years after the date of its sale or other provision, a record of each instance of its selling or otherwise providing to another person bingo supplies for use in this state. The record shall include all of the following for each instance:
(1) The name of the manufacturer from which the distributor purchased the bingo supplies and the date of the purchase;
(2) The name and address of the charitable organization or other distributor to which the bingo supplies were sold or otherwise provided;
(3) A description that clearly identifies the bingo supplies;
(4) Invoices that include the nonrepeating serial numbers of all paper bingo cards and sheets and all instant bingo deals sold or otherwise provided to each charitable organization.
(G) A manufacturer shall maintain, for a period of three years after the date of its sale or other provision, a record of each instance of its selling or otherwise providing bingo supplies for use in this state. The record shall include all of the following for each instance:
(1) The name and address of the distributor to whom the bingo supplies were sold or otherwise provided;
(2) A description that clearly identifies the bingo supplies, including serial numbers;
(3) Invoices that include the nonrepeating serial numbers of all paper bingo cards and sheets and all instant bingo deals sold or otherwise provided to each distributor.
(H) The attorney general or any law enforcement agency may do all of the following:
(1) Investigate any charitable organization, distributor, or manufacturer or any officer, agent, trustee, member, or employee of the organization, distributor, or manufacturer;
(2) Examine the accounts and records of the charitable organization, distributor, or manufacturer or of any officer, agent, trustee, member, or employee of the organization, distributor, or manufacturer;
(3) Conduct inspections, audits, and observations of bingo or games of chance;
(4) Conduct inspections of the premises where bingo or games of chance are conducted or where bingo supplies are manufactured or distributed;
(5) Take any other necessary and reasonable action to determine if a violation of any provision of this chapter has occurred and to determine whether section 2915.11 of the Revised Code has been complied with.
If any law enforcement agency has reasonable grounds to believe that a charitable organization, distributor, or manufacturer or an officer, agent, trustee, member, or employee of the organization, distributor, or manufacturer has violated any provision of this chapter, the law enforcement agency may proceed by action in the proper court to enforce this chapter, provided that the law enforcement agency shall give written notice to the attorney general when commencing an action as described in this division.
(I) No person shall destroy, alter, conceal, withhold, or deny access to any accounts or records of a charitable organization, distributor, or manufacturer that have been requested for examination, or obstruct, impede, or interfere with any inspection, audit, or observation of bingo or a game of chance, of premises where bingo or a game of chance is conducted, or of premises where bingo supplies are manufactured or distributed, or refuse to comply with any reasonable request of, or obstruct, impede, or interfere with any other reasonable action undertaken by, the attorney general or a law enforcement agency pursuant to division (H) of this section.
(J) Whoever violates division (A) or (I) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Last updated August 4, 2021 at 4:34 PM