Meeting details

Date:  July 10, 2013

Location:  Secretary of State’s Office, Blue Spruce Conference Room, 1700 Broadway, Denver, CO

Board members present:  Dan Gincig, Beau Williams, Tom Bednark, Rick Johnson, Vera Craven, Meredith Edwards, Donivon Glassburn and Perry Jultak.

Secretary of State officials present:  Mike Hardin, Greg Lestikow, Shannon Bee, Lisa Marty, Larry Runn and Carla Hoke.

The meeting was called to order at 10:05 AM.

The pledge of allegiance was conducted.  

A motion was made by Beau Williams to approve the minutes of the April 17, 2013 meeting.  The motion was seconded by Donny Glassburn and approved by a unanimous vote of the Board.

Introductions

The three new members of the Board were introduced. 

Meredith Edwards is a member of Colorado Storm and has worked with the organization of nearly 6,000 members for over 6 years.

Doni Glassburn has been involved in bingo since 1991.  He owns the Bingo Planet in Loveland, is a Past President of the Colorado Charitable Bingo Association and is also active in bingo in Alabama and South Carolina.

Perry Jultak is a member of BMH-BJ Congregation and has done their books for 2 years.  With his 35 years of experience in retail he brings a lot to the Bingo Raffle Advisory Board.

It was announced that Tom Bednark was reappointed to the board.

Tipping volunteers

At the April 17, 2013 meeting the process of tipping a volunteer was mentioned.  After review by the Secretary of State’s office it has been determined that it is against the Rules and the Constitution to tip a volunteer worker.   You can however give the money to the organization as a whole.  The Secretary of State is looking into adjusting the rules and statutes to allow for more options in the future.

Financial reports

Greg Lestikow from the Secretary of State’s office gave an overview of the financial reporting since the April 2013 meeting. 

Greg Lestikow also presented graphs to show the trends in bingo, pulltabs and raffles from 2010, 2011 and 2012. 

The numbers show raffles are up over $2,000,000 mainly due to several house raffles. The Secretary of State anticipates the raffle numbers will continue to grow with 50/50 raffles being held at sporting events.

Bingo revenues are up slightly in 2012 over the 2011 numbers but still remain below the 2010 numbers.

Pulltab revenue continues to drop.  From the information it is unclear as to whether it is at bingo or at bar/clubrooms that the decrease is being seen.  This is something the Secretary of State will look into.

Even with declining numbers profit in bingo, progressive bingo and all pulltab activity has grown slightly.

It was mentioned by Dan Gincig, Board Chairman that there have been fewer players spending less money in recent years, but with the economy improving there is anticipation that charitable gaming will increase. 

HB 1101:  Progressive raffles rules discussion

The Progressive Raffles Bill passed the legislature last session and will become effective 1-1-2014.  As the Secretary of State’s office prepares the rules and regulations for this new game, they have reviewed rules and regulations in other states (including NY, NJ, IL, MA, MI, and AK) to find out what has worked and what has not worked for them with regard to progressive raffles.   A draft of the rules was sent to the board for their thoughts and copies were available to the audience so there could be a discussion regarding the draft at this meeting. 

Rick Johnson submitted written comments to the Secretary of State and other questions at the meeting, including:

• The expense of the sealed envelope requirement.
  • The Secretary of State’s thinking is that other states use this procedure and with a sealed envelope there is less opportunity for tampering

• The options listed appear to limit the creativity of the groups. 
  • Many states use these procedures and it is the thought within the Secretary of State’s office that we will start narrow and allow for innovation later.

• Progressive raffles have a prize limit of $15,000.  Why limit when progressive raffles when there are raffles for $2,000,000 houses?
  • The progressive raffle game is consistent with other progressive games.  The context is much different than that of a house raffle.

• 52 card raffle?
  • Yes

• Will there be a restriction on seed money to expedite winning?
  • This progressive game will likely mirror progressive bingo which allows seed money up to $500 or the total amount of a secondary jackpot from a prior progressive.

• Will there be a form such as the LE-33 for progressive bingo?
  • There will be a similar form

• Can a member purchase more than one ticket?
  • Yes

• Does the drawing have to be that day?
  • Yes, according to 8.4.5(A). The SOS will discuss this provision before releasing rules for public comment.

• If the raffle prize exceeds $1,000 will a special ticket be needed?
  • There will be an exception for these games as they will be “same day same location” events.

• Having the ability to sell tickets over a period of time would make it more compelling for members to attending.
  • Progressive raffles are “that day only”.

• Can raffles extend over into the next year?
  • As this game will mirror progressive bingo it will be able to extend into the next year with similar requirements.

• Can progressive raffles and other raffles be held at same bingo occasion?
  • The rule regarding only one raffle per bingo occasion will remain in effect.  Other raffle tickets will not be able to be sold if progressive raffle tickets are sold.

• Organizations with large memberships but very limited active members make the members only progressive raffles possibly problematic. 
  • The Secretary of State will research this issue to better define.

There will be an official rulemaking hearing in August 2013 for progressive raffles.

HB 1260:  Unlimited bingo games

This bill allows unlimited games per occasion.  This bill goes to the legislature on 8-7-2013.

Task force

After the Runge presentation and the great recommendations from the study, the Secretary of State is looking at statutory and regulatory requirements.  The task will include many individuals from various stakeholder groups.  They will be asked to come up with new ideas for bingo, raffle and pulltabs.  The legislative task force includes:

There was a discussion that the Colorado Gaming Association should not be included as it is a conflict of interest for them to be involved in charitable gaming.  The Gaming Association has been included in an advisory role as it is necessary for there to be communication between the Gaming Association and Charitable Gaming to work out disagreements.  The state is also looking for opinions from new and long-time players to be included on the task force. 

Success stories

The Secretary of State is looking for success stories.  The recent bingo/raffle newsletter mentioned the Kroenke Sports Charities and the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association’s recent success with their 50/50 raffles.  Anyone willing to share their success story with the Secretary of State could earn a discount on their next licensing fee or 3rd or 4th quarter reporting fee (up to $250).  Please contact Jordan Sauers at Jordan.sauers@Secretary of State.state.co.us.  It is beneficial for everyone to know what others are doing and finding successful.

Nominations

Elections for new Bingo Raffle Advisory Board Chair and Vice-Chair were held.  The chairman is responsible for advising the Secretary of State’s office in rule making and encouraging members to work with the Secretary of State’s office as well as to prepare an agenda for the meetings.

Doni Glassburn was nominated by Dan Gincig, seconded by Rick Johnson and was approved as Chair by the Board.

Tom Bednark was nominated by Vera Craven, seconded by Doni Glassburn, and was approved as Vice-Chair by the board.

Several comments were made by various individuals with regard to how the Secretary of State and the Bingo Raffle Advisory Board are working together to improve bingo and raffle within the state.  Hopefully in the future we can get more response from the audience and others involved in bingo.

The legality of B-3 bingo was addressed.  This activity continues to be illegal in Colorado.

Next meeting will be 9/11/2013 at 10:00 AM.

After a motion by Beau Williams and seconded by Vera Craven the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.

Closing

The next meeting of the Board will be September 11, 2013.