2021 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 12 - Offenses Against Public Health and Morals
Article 2 - Gambling and Related Offenses
Part 2 - Bingo
§ 16-12-53. Licensing Procedure; Fee; Renewal

1. Any nonprofit, tax-exempt organization desiring to obtain a license to operate bingo games shall make application to the Secretary of State on forms prescribed by the Secretary of State and shall pay an annual fee of $100.00. No license shall be issued to any nonprofit, tax-exempt organization unless the organization has been in existence for 12 months immediately prior to the issuance of the license. The license will expire at 12:00 Midnight on December 31 following the granting of the license. Renewal applications for each calendar year shall be filed with the Secretary of State prior to January 1 of each year and shall be on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State.
2. Each application for a license and each application for renewal of a license shall contain the following information:
   1. The name and home address of the applicant and, if the applicant is a corporation, association, or other similar legal entity, the names and home addresses of each of the officers of the organization as well as the names and addresses of the directors, or other persons similarly situated, of the organization;
   2. The names and home addresses of each of the persons who will be operating, advertising, or promoting the bingo game;
   3. The names and home addresses of any persons, organizations, or other legal entities that will act as surety for the applicant or to which the applicant is financially indebted or to which any financial obligation is owed by the applicant;
   4. A determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service certifying that the applicant is an organization exempt under federal tax law;
   5. A statement affirming that the applicant is exempt under the income tax laws of this state under Code Section 48-7-25;
   6. The location at which the applicant will conduct the bingo games and, if the premises on which the games are to be conducted is to be leased, a copy of the lease or rental agreement;
   7. A statement showing the convictions, if any, for criminal offenses other than minor traffic offenses of each of the persons listed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection; and
   8. Any other necessary and reasonable information which the Secretary of State may require.
3. The Secretary of State shall refuse to grant a bingo license to any applicant who fails to provide fully the information required by this Code section.
4. When a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization which operates or intends to operate bingo games for residents and patients of a retirement home, nursing home, or hospital operated by that organization at which gross receipts are or will be limited to $100.00 or less during each bingo session and pays or will pay prizes having a value of $100.00 or less during each bingo session, then, notwithstanding any other provision of this part or any rule or regulation promulgated by the Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 16-12-61, neither the applicant nor any of the persons whose names and addresses are required under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be required to submit or provide fingerprints or photographs as a condition of being granted a license.
5. If the Secretary of State determines that an organization has one or more auxiliaries, the members of any such auxiliary may assist in such organization's bingo operations, even if such auxiliary holds a license under this part, and the members of the main organization may assist in the bingo operations of any such licensed auxiliary.

(Ga. L. 1977, p. 1164, § 3; Ga. L. 1978, p. 853, § 2; Ga. L. 1980, p. 422, §§ 3, 4; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 16; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1944, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1113, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1036, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 749, § 1; Ga. L. 2008, p. 898, § 3/HB 1151; Ga. L. 2021, p. 394, § 3/HB 410.)

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, substituted "Secretary of State" for "director" throughout this Code section; and substituted "Secretary of State" for "Georgia Bureau of Investigation" in the first and last sentences of subsection (a).

- Ga. L. 2008, p. 898, § 13/HB 1151, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section shall be applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2008.

- For note on the 2001 amendment of this Code section, see 18 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 30 (2001).

State has legitimate interest in imposing filing fee to offset expenses, in processing required reports, and there is no explicit prohibition of this in the Constitution. Accordingly, the fee is valid, since it does not burden exercise of right to operate bingo games so as to make their operation unreasonably difficult. St. John's Melkite Catholic Church v. Commissioner of Revenue, 240 Ga. 733, 242 S.E.2d 108 (1978).