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Bingo & Raffle Newsletter

Quarterly Reports Due July 31

If you hold a 2015 license, you MUST submit your LE-21 Quarterly Report form by July 31. The report covers the period for April through June. Reports filed after this date will be assessed a $50 late filing fine.

Please make sure you download and use the correct forms from our website, or use the online system.

In addition, please make sure to provide copies of daily forms for progressive bingo (LE-34a/LE-34b), progressive pull tabs (LE-31a), and progressive raffles (LE-34c). The progressive bingo forms should be updated after each bingo occasion and the pull tab and raffle forms should be updated regularly.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Lisa Marty at lisa.marty@coloradosos.gov.

Quarterly Bank Forms

Starting in the first quarter of 2015, we are requiring all licensees submit segregated bank information (Form LE-21a) with each quarterly report.

Please note that the bank form contains beginning and ending balances for the quarter. The form must be complete and must be submitted with each report filed.

Who Can Be Your Games Manager

We have recently been getting numerous questions regarding who can be the games manager for a licensed organization. Per CRS 12-9-105(2)(b), the person designated as a games manager for a licensed organization must be a member of that organization and have been a member for at least six months prior to their designation. The Bingo-Raffle law does allow for “Auxiliary” organizations (as defined in Rule 3.1.8), to ASSIST with games of chance activities, but that does not include being the games manager. Also, any member or auxiliary member who will be assisting with games must be on the licensee’s roster of members within our office before they can begin helping. Games managers from other organizations cannot be the games manager for another licensee UNLESS they are members of both organizations and have been members of each for at least 6 months. There are restrictions on the number of organizations a games manager can represent (maximum of 3 and must be a member of each). Please feel free to contact our office with any questions.

Bingo/Raffle Advisory Board

The Colorado Bingo-Raffle Advisory Board makes recommendations to the Secretary of State's office in its regulation of the charitable gaming sector. All members of the public are encouraged to attend and contribute to this important dialogue. The next Advisory Board meeting is currently scheduled for September.

When: Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 10:00am

Where: Currently, the location is pending. Please check our website for updates.

Come join the meeting to share your thoughts on bingo and raffle activities in our state.

If you have any questions, please feel free to write us an email at public.licensing@coloradosos.gov.

Bingo/Raffle Financial Reports

Our office is committed to using our state-wide reach to provide timely and accurate data to the bingo/raffle community. We use the information you provide on quarterly reports to publish two informative datasets on our website.

Aggregate revenue report: this report contains a "roll-up" of total revenue, expense, and profit data for charitable gaming in the state.

Revenue by licensee: this report contains similar information broken down by individual bingo/raffle licensees. We began publishing this report in response to a request from our Bingo/Raffle Advisory Board.

Our website currently contains reports for calendar years 2013 and 2014 and for the first quarter of 2015. We will update the reports on a quarterly basis.

Remember Now You Can File Your Quarterly Report Online!

Remember the bingo-raffle program now will accept electronic filing. All nonprofit licensees can submit and pay for quarterly report filings online.

Electronic filing reduces the time necessary to submit and process required forms. It will also streamline the communications process between the Department of State and your organization. Filing fees will be reduced for licensees who file online, and e-filing may save you up to 10% on your quarterly fees.

You may have received an email with instructions for accessing the online filing system and setting up your organization’s account. You can also access the system and set up your account from our “Forms” page at https://coloradosos.gov/pubs/bingo_raffles/bingoForms.html.

You will find quarterly filing instructions on our website at https://coloradosos.gov/pubs/bingo_raffles/instructions/QRe-file.pdf.

If you have already created your online account, you just need to access your file. Your 2nd quarter 2015 report should be available for filing and will be prefilled with some of the prior information from your 1st quarter 2015 electronic filing, which will help save you time.

Investigator Tips

Each quarter, we include a few tips from our Bingo/Raffle Investigators. They gather a lot of information in the field on where licensees have trouble complying with the law, and this is one strategy for using that information to help you. We'll include rule and statute citations with these tips so you can do more research.

You can access all bingo/raffle laws using our Bingo-Raffles Law Handbook. Here are this quarter's tips:

Please ensure that your records are available for an inspection. Rule 10.2.5 states that all required daily records for the current quarter and the quarter immediately preceding be available for inspection on the premises where games are being conducted, on forms prescribed or approved by the Secretary of State. If that information is maintained on a computer, you must be able to print the records upon request of the investigator. Don’t keep these current and previous quarter records at your house, they belong at the venue with the games. And remember, according to Rule 10.2.1, you must retain all your records for two years following the calendar year in which the bingo, pull tabs, or raffle was conducted.

In addition, per Rule 8.1.4, be sure to retain all raffle ticket stubs and unsold tickets for six months following the end of the quarter in which the raffle was held.

Feel free to contact Investigator Darleen Herrera with questions at darleen.herrera@coloradosos.gov.

Quarterly Data Points: Annual Profits

As in the past the 1st quarter of 2015 is starting off strong. The figure below shows profits increased in three of the five major types of charitable games in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2014. Most notably, progressive bingo profits are up 7%. Raffles and pulltabs at bingo also saw healthy upticks in the first quarter. Compared to 2013/2014 bingo is up significantly showing a more profitable figure of -2% compared to -9% in 2013/14.

The exception to this favorable picture is pulltabs at bar/clubrooms which saw a nearly 10% decrease in quarterly profit. Still, this drop was not enough to weigh down overall charitable gaming profitability, which gained a little over 1% from last year. Of course, the year is still young, but let's hope this positive trend continues!

Games Manager Training

Remember, your organization must have at least one certified Games Manager in order to run charitable games, and we recommend licensees maintain more than one. We continue to offer in-person and online Games Manager training courses.

For in-person classes, visit our Games Manager Training page and follow the instructions to sign up for a scheduled class.

Here are the dates/times/places of upcoming scheduled Games Manager training classes:

7/18, 8:30 am, Grand Junction, VFW Post 1247, 1404 Ute Ave

8/8, 8:30 am, Denver, VFW 5061, 5220 W Warren

8/29, 8:30 am, Green Mountain Falls, Joyland Church, 10605 Green Mountain Falls Rd

9/3, 5:30 pm, Pueblo, FO Eagles 145, 1615 S Prairie Ave

You can also sign up to host a Games Manager training course. Follow this link to provide us with a few details about you and your organization, and host a class soon.

Please note that the Games Manager mail-in certification exam is no longer available.

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