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2022 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 200
BY SENATOR JACKSON
CHARITABLE GAMING. Provides relative to electronic or video bingo machines and
licensed premises. (7/1/22)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 4:724(J) and (K) and to enact R.S. 4:724(L), relative to
3 electronic or video bingo; to allow for the replacement of certain machines; to
4 geographically restrict locations of licensed premises; and to provide for related
5 matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 4:724(J) and (K) are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
8 4:724(L) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง724. Use of electronic or video bingo games
10 * * *
11 J.(1) Any person who is licensed as a distributor shall be permitted to operate
12 electronic video bingo machines which are not in compliance with the provisions of
13 R.S. 4:724(B)(5) if either of the following occurs:
14 (a) The licensed distributor has purchased or has entered into a lease
15 agreement approved by the office for the total number of electronic video bingo
16 machines to be placed at a specific location and the electronic video bingo machines
17 have been permitted by the office and placed at a location which has been approved
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1 by the office on or prior to August 15, 2008; or
2 (b) The licensed distributor has delivered to the office or has sent by certified
3 mail an application with the required fees to have electronic video bingo machines
4 permitted, which application has been received, but not approved by the office on or
5 prior to August 15, 2008, and the application includes one of the following:
6 (i) Proof of purchase for the total number of video bingo machines to be
7 placed at a specific location.
8 (ii) A nonrefundable deposit of a minimum of twenty-five percent of the fair
9 market value of the wholesale purchase price of the total number of machines to be
10 placed at a specific location.
11 (iii) A nonrefundable deposit on a lease agreement which is equivalent in
12 value to a minimum of twenty-five percent of the fair market value of the wholesale
13 purchase price of the total number of machines to be placed at a specific location.
14 (2) Electronic video bingo machines authorized by the provisions of this
15 Subsection shall only be placed at one of the following locations:
16 (a) A location which has been approved by the office on or prior to August
17 15, 2008; or
18 (b) A location for which a completed application with the required fees for
19 the licensing to conduct charitable gaming at a specific location has been received
20 by the office on or prior to August 15, 2008. However, locations which have not
21 been approved by the office prior to August 15, 2008, but for which an application
22 has been timely filed as provided by this Subparagraph, shall have received final
23 approval from the office and must be occupied by August 15, 2009, in order to
24 operate electronic video bingo machines which are not in compliance with the
25 provisions of R.S. 4:724(B)(5). On and after July 1, 2022, no new license shall be
26 granted to any location to operate electronic video bingo machines within five
27 hundred feet of any property that is on the National Register of Historic Places,
28 any public playground, or a building used exclusively as a church, synagogue,
29 public library, or school.
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1 (2) In municipalities and in unincorporated areas that are divided into
2 subdivisions with streets, blocks, and sidewalks, the distance provided in
3 Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be measured as a person walks using the
4 sidewalk from the nearest point of the property line of the property on the
5 National Registry of Historic Places, public playground, church, synagogue,
6 public library, or school to the nearest point of the premises to be licensed.
7 (3) Outside of municipalities and in unincorporated areas that are not
8 divided into subdivisions with streets, blocks, or sidewalks, the measurement of
9 the distance required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be a straight line
10 from the nearest point of the property line of the property on the National
11 Registry of Historic Places, public playground, church, synagogue, public
12 library, or school to the nearest point of the premises to be licensed.
13 K. No license shall be granted to a location that is within a parish that
14 has approved a proposition authorizing video draw poker or in a location within
15 two miles of the border of a parish that has approved a proposition authorizing
16 video draw poker.
17 K.L. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, any
18 electronic video bingo machine authorized pursuant to Subsection J of this Section
19 which that is not in compliance with Paragraph (B)(5) of this Section and is
20 destroyed or rendered inoperable in any manner may be replaced by an electronic
21 video bingo machine of a similar make and model which is not in compliance with
22 the provisions of R.S. 4:724(B)(5) even if such replacement electronic video bingo
23 machine was purchased after August 15, 2008 at any location approved by the
24 office, provided however, no new permits for an additional number of electronic
25 video bingo machines that are not in compliance with Paragraph (B)(5) shall be
26 issued.
27 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2022; if vetoed by the governor
28 and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become effective on the day
29 following such approval by the legislature or July 1, 2022, whichever is later.
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Dawn Romero Watson.
DIGEST
SB 200 Original 2022 Regular Session Jackson
Present law provides several requirements for electronic bingo machines including that a
machine play and display only the game of bingo, except that a random number generator
in the machine shall replace the drawing of numbered objects from a receptacle, and may
play "cover-all bingo" in which all numbers of the card must be covered. Specifically
provides that an electronic video bingo machine not contain entertainment display features
simulating slot reels or card games.
Present law provides an exception to the requirements of the machine display for any person
who is licensed as a distributor to be permitted to operate electronic video bingo machines
that are not in compliance with present law if either of the following occurs:
(1)The licensed distributor has purchased or has entered into a lease agreement that was
approved by the office of charitable gaming for the total number of electronic video
bingo machines to be placed at a specific location and the electronic video bingo
machines have been permitted by the office and placed at a location that was
approved by the office on or prior to August 15, 2008; or
(2)The licensed distributor delivered to the office of charitable gaming or has sent by
certified mail an application with the required fees to have electronic video bingo
machines permitted and the application was received, but not approved by the office
on or prior to August 15, 2008, and the application includes: (a) proof of purchase
for the total number of video bingo machines to be placed at a specific location; or
(b) a nonrefundable deposit of a minimum of 25% of the fair market value of the
wholesale purchase price of the total number of machines to be placed at a specific
location; or (c) a nonrefundable deposit on a lease agreement which is equivalent in
value to a minimum of 25% of the fair market value of the wholesale purchase price
of the total number of machines to be placed at a specific location.
Present law provides that machines to which the exception is applicable may only be placed
at a location that was approved by the office of charitable gaming on or prior to August 15,
2008, or a location for which a completed application with the required fees for the licensing
to conduct charitable gaming at a specific location has been received by the office on or prior
to August 15, 2008. Specifically provides that locations that have not been approved by the
office prior to August 15, 2008, but for which an application has been timely filed shall have
received final approval from the office and must be occupied by August 15, 2009, in order
to operate electronic video bingo machines under the exception.
Proposed law deletes the present law exception to the requirements of the machine display.
Present law provides that notwithstanding any other provision of present law, any electronic
video bingo machine authorized pursuant to the exception in present law that is destroyed
or rendered inoperable in any manner may be replaced by an electronic video bingo machine
of a similar make and model even if such replacement electronic video bingo machine was
purchased after August 15, 2008.
Proposed law provides that notwithstanding any other provision of present law, any
electronic video bingo machine that does not comply with present law and is destroyed or
rendered inoperable in any manner may be replaced by an electronic video bingo machine
of a similar make and model at any location approved by the office of charitable gaming,
provided that no new permits for an additional number of electronic video bingo machines
that are not in compliance with present law shall be issued.
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Proposed law provides that on and after July 1, 2022, no new license shall be granted to any
location to operate electronic video bingo machines, within 500 feet of any property that is
on the National Register of Historic Places, any public playground, or a building used
exclusively as a church, synagogue, public library, or school. Provides that in municipalities
and in unincorporated areas that are divided into subdivisions with streets, blocks, and
sidewalks, the distance shall be measured as a person walks using the sidewalk from the
nearest point of the property line of the property on the National Registry of Historic Places,
public playground, church, synagogue, public library, or school to the nearest point of the
premises to be licensed. Provides that outside of municipalities and in unincorporated areas
that are not divided into subdivisions with streets, blocks, or sidewalks, the measurement of
the distance shall be a straight line from the nearest point of the property line of the property
on the National Registry of Historic Places, public playground, church, synagogue, public
library, or school to the nearest point of the premises to be licensed.
Proposed law provides that no license shall be granted to a location that is within a parish
that has approved video draw poker or in a location within two miles of the border of a
parish that has approved video draw poker.
Effective July 1, 2022.
(Amends R.S. 4:724(J) and (K); adds R.S. 4:724(L))
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