Colorado Secretary of State logo - cube with a C in it

Colorado Secretary
of State Jena Griswold
www.coloradosos.gov | www.sos.state.co.us

Colorado Secretary of State logo - cube with a C in it

Colorado Secretary
of State Jena Griswold
www.coloradosos.gov

Picture of Secretary of State Jena Griswold

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Colorado Secretary of State logo - cube with a C in it

Colorado
Secretary of State
Jena Griswold

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Bingo & Raffle Newsletter

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Quarterly Reports Due January 31

If you held a 2018 license at any time during the 4th quarter 2018, you MUST submit your LE-21 Quarterly Report form by January 31, 2019. The report covers the period from October 1 through December 31. Reports filed after this date will be assessed a $50 fine.

Please make sure you use our online system (note that the online quarterly is less expensive as fees are lower, than submitting with the paper form) or download and use the correct forms from our website. PLEASE NOTE: There have been updates to the daily forms. Please be sure and access these from the above link on our "forms" page to ensure you always have the latest version.

Please make sure to provide copies of daily forms for progressive bingo (LE-34a), progressive pull tabs (LE-31a), and progressive raffles (LE-34c) with your submission. 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.


2019 Bingo-Raffle Licenses

If you plan to conduct charitable gaming activities in 2019, you can apply for your annual license at any time during 2019 via the online or paper application form (please allow 7-10 working days processing time). This applies to both new licenses and renewals. Licenses can be printed directly from the summary page if you apply online (once your filing is accepted) or e-mailed to the organizational e-mail address, if provided, on the paper form. To minimize unnecessary rejections, please review your application before submitting. Sign into your account if you wish to apply online or visit our forms page to download the paper license application. New applicants can start the process from here. Please contact Program Manager Shannon Bee by email at shannon.bee@coloradosos.gov 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 meeting is scheduled for:

When: TBD

Where: TBD

If you have any questions, please feel free to send 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 through 2018. Reports are updated quarterly.

A Message from the Secretary

I am honored to serve as Colorado’s 39th Secretary of State. I wanted to write a little note introducing myself. I grew up in Estes Park in a working-class family. I was the first person in my family to go to a four-year college and then on to law school. I also grew up playing bingo and know how much Bingo and Raffle can mean to a community. In fact, when I was in 8th grade a local non-profit helped me go to Washington, DC by hosting a bingo to raise money. Having just been elected as Colorado Secretary of State, I am sure you can see what a lasting impact that trip had on me. I am thankful that the bingo-raffle community helped me find my passion for public service. I won't forget my roots and hope that we can be partners in Colorado’s success for years to come!

Jenna Griswold signature


Online Filing Required for Manufacturer and Supplier Agent Licenses

For 2019 licenses, Manufacturer and Supplier Agent license applications are now required to be submitted electronically, but only after the Manufacturer or Supplier the agent represents has renewed their 2019 license online. On January 23, information for accessing the system for renewals was sent to each current agent with an e-mail address on file. This notice included a training guide which is available on our website, here for Manufacturer Agent, and here for Supplier Agent renewals. Agent licenses can be renewed any time after February 1st for the 2019 license year, (but again, only after their represented Manufacturer or Supplier has renewed). If you have any questions or concerns about creating the account or accessing the system, or did not receive this e-mail, please contact Shannon Bee at 303 894 2200 x 6406. New agent applicants can also access the system for the initial submission of the application and creation of your online account here.


E-Filing a Bingo-Raffle License Renewal

Please remember, before conducting bingo-raffle activities in 2019, your organization must hold a current 2019 Bingo-Raffle license. Our office encourages groups to file online. If renewing online, the licensee needs to access their online account and use the “renew” link on their account’s summary page. Please do not create a new account as this will result in unnecessary rejections and re-submissions on your part, due to you already having an existing account.

When filing online, we currently only accept credit or debit cards. ACH or direct transfer of funds from your accounts is not available at this time. A personal card can be used (we do not retain any card information once the submission is made to our office), and then reimbursed from the bingo-raffle account (we will need adequate descriptions on the schedule A regarding this "loan"). You may also use a prepaid card, loaded with the appropriate amount to cover the payment.


Charitable gaming – Net Profitability

The estimated gross amount wagered for 2018 shows a decrease as seen in the top graph. The 4th quarter is historically a busy quarter for bingo and raffle activities around holiday events. Even with the estimated decrease we estimate the profit before administrative fees to increase approximately 15% for 2018 as seen in the bottom graph.




Games Manager Training

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

Sign up for the online eLearning course on our website.

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

The dates/times/places of upcoming Games Manager training classes follow:

Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 8:30 AM Latigo Equestrian and Event Facility, 13710 Halleluiah Trail, Elbert, CO 80106 (upstairs community room).

Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 8:30 AM. FO Eagles 1187, 612 Main St, Walsenburg, CO 81089.

Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 9:00 AM. IO Odd Fellows 116, 860 Hwy 92, Delta, CO 81416.

Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 8:30 AM. Associated Veterans of Loveland, 305 N Cleveland, Loveland, CO 80537.

Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 8:00 AM. American Legion 22, 11081 Irma Dr, Northglenn, CO 80233.

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.

The Games Manager mail-in certification exam is no longer available.


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. By sharing this information, we hope that licensees can better serve their customers.

A MESSAGE FROM THE INVESTIGATORS:

We want to remind all the licensees conducting a progressive raffle that the

  • Consolation prize is based on that days proceeds for the raffle, not the entire jackpot amount. We have seen a couple of instances where a licensee has been paying out a percentage of the accumulated jackpot.
  • Rule 8.4.2(g) states that a consolation prize may be given if the winning ticket purchaser does not select the Jackpot Prize Card as either a specified amount or a specified percentage of the gross proceeds collected for the sale of raffle tickets for a particular drawing. Not the entire jackpot.
  • Please also note that secondary jackpots are not allowed for progressive jackpot raffles. Secondary jackpots only apply to progressive jackpot bingo games.

You can access all bingo/raffle laws using our Bingo-Raffles Law Handbook.


The Future is Here-Online Filing made Simple, Quick and Affordable

Over the past five years, our office has been working diligently to provide an online option for the vast majority of Bingo-Raffle transaction types. Our office encourages a migration from paper filing to online filing. There are several benefits to using online versus paper filing options.

  • Enjoy a .5% discounted filing fee or all filings submitted online
  • Eliminate mail time – and the risk of being fined even though the “check’s in the mail”
    • Once submitted to the queue via online, and prior to the quarterly due date, you cannot be fined for late filing
  • Less data entry required of our staff equals more time supporting you in other meaningful ways
  • Online submission offers a preview feature to double and triple-check your submissions, providing a means to eliminate unnecessary rejects and re-submissions
  • With a single –organization-wide email address, you can eliminate having to revert to paper upon the departure of staff
    • Use our online training manual to bring your newest team members up to speed.
    • Keep filing online – and keep enjoying the benefits of it.

The future really is here and we are excited for each of you to benefit from its arrival – File Online and see the benefits…. It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3…

  1. Create an account.
  2. Logon and file.
  3. Start saving... Time, money, and headaches.

And remember, our highly trained and dedicated staff are here to support you in any way you may need – just as they are today for your paper submissions.

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