2013 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 4 - Amusements and Sports
RS 4:707 - Authorization to license certain organizations; exemption; requirement for state license

§707. Authorization to license certain organizations; exemption; requirement for state license

A. The office may, consistent with the provisions of this Chapter, license charitable organizations, as defined in R.S. 4:703(1), to hold and operate the following specific games of chance:

(1) The game of chance commonly known as raffle or raffles played by drawing for prizes or the allotment of prizes by chance, by the selling of shares, tickets, or rights to participate in such game or games, and by conducting the game or games accordingly.

(2) The game of chance commonly known as bingo or keno played for prizes with cards bearing numbers or other designations, five or more in one line, the holder covering numbers, as objects, similarly numbered, are drawn from a receptacle, and the game being won by the person who first covers a previously designated arrangement of numbers on such a card.

(3) The game of chance commonly known as pull-tabs played for prizes with cards or tickets and as defined in R.S. 4:725 or played as electronic pull-tabs as provided in R.S. 4:733.

(4) Electronic video bingo as provided for in R.S. 4:724 and as defined by rules of the office.

(5) Fund-raising events generally known as "Las Vegas Nights" or "Casino Nights" as provided for in R.S. 4:729 as defined by rules of the office.

B. In addition to the licensing required in Subsection A of this Section, the governing authority of any municipality or parish may, consistent with the provisions of this Chapter, license charitable organizations as defined in R.S. 4:703(1) to hold and operate the following specific games of chance:

(1) The game of chance commonly known as raffle or raffles played by drawing for prizes or the allotment of prizes by chance, by the selling of shares, tickets, or rights to participate in such game or games, and by conducting the game or games accordingly.

(2) The game of chance commonly known as bingo or keno played for prizes with cards bearing numbers or other designations, five or more in one line, the holder covering numbers, as objects, similarly numbered, are drawn from a receptacle, and the game being won by the person who first covers a previously designated arrangement of numbers on such a card.

(3) The game of chance commonly known as pull-tabs played for prizes with cards or tickets, as defined in R.S. 4:725, or played as electronic pull-tabs as provided in R.S. 4:733.

(4) Electronic video bingo as provided for in R.S. 4:724 and as defined by rules of the office.

(5) Fund-raising events generally known as "Las Vegas Nights" or "Casino Nights" as provided for in R.S. 4:729 as defined by rules of the office.

C. Any such organization so licensed may sell shares, tickets, or rights to participate in such games and may conduct the games accordingly when the entire net proceeds of such games of chance are to be devoted to educational, charitable, patriotic, religious, or public spirited uses, and when so licensed, may hold, operate, and conduct such games of chance exclusively by its members pursuant to this Chapter, except to the extent that the services of members of other bona fide licensed organizations as enumerated in this Section are volunteered by their organization for the sole purpose of selling shares, tickets, or rights in such games. Any such organization so licensed may sell shares, tickets, or rights to participate in such game or games of chance pursuant to rules and regulations for the supervision and conduct thereof, as prescribed by the office and, when applicable, by the governing authority of the municipality or parish not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter. Further, any person or persons may participate in and play such games of chance conducted under any license.

D.(1) In addition to the authority granted in Subsection A of this Section, the office may license the following organizations, as defined herein, to hold and operate the specific kind of game or games of chance enumerated in Subsection A of this Section without the requirement that any such organization qualify with the Internal Revenue Service for an exemption from federal income tax as specified by R.S. 4:703(1): Mardi Gras carnival organizations, civic or service associations, qualified associations of licensed charitable organizations, volunteer fire companies, booster clubs, and parent-teacher associations.

(2) In addition to the authority granted in Subsection B of this Section, the governing authority of any parish or municipality may license the following organizations, as defined herein, to hold and operate the specific kind of game or games of chance enumerated in Subsection B of this Section without the requirement that any such organization qualify with the Internal Revenue Service for an exemption from federal income tax as specified by R.S. 4:703(1): Mardi Gras carnival organizations, civic or service associations, qualified associations of licensed charitable organizations, volunteer fire companies, booster clubs, and parent-teacher associations.

E. In addition to the provisions of R.S. 4:703, the following definitions shall apply for the purposes of this Section:

(1) A "Mardi Gras carnival organization" shall mean an organization domiciled in this state which presents pre-Lenten festivities, including street parades, and which has received a permit to parade from a municipal or parish governing authority.

(2) A "civic or service association" shall mean an organization domiciled in this state which is operated for the purpose of promoting the social welfare or providing service to the community and which has derived five thousand dollars or less in gross receipts from its charitable games of chance during the prior calendar year.

(3) A "volunteer fire company" shall mean an organization which has been engaged by the governing authority of a parish, municipality, or fire protection district to provide fire protection services to the area of this state under its jurisdiction and which is comprised predominantly of individuals who provide such services voluntarily and without compensation.

(4) A "booster club" shall mean an organization which promotes and supports the activities, functions, or programs of a public or a private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in this state and which has been designated by the school board of the parish or city in which such school is located to collect funds in the name of that school.

(5) A "parent-teacher association" shall mean an organization which is comprised of teachers and parents of children enrolled in a public or a private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in this state and which has been designated by the school board of the parish or city in which such school is located to collect funds in the name of that school.

F.(1)(a) A bona fide senior citizen recreation club, upon application to the municipality or parish, shall be exempt from the licensing and reporting procedure enumerated in R.S. 4:708 through 716 of this Chapter in a municipality or parish whose governing authority has decided to permit raffles, bingo, and keno within its limits as provided in R.S. 4:706.

(b) A "senior citizen recreation club" for the purpose of this Chapter shall be defined as an organization which is sanctioned by the local council on aging and composed of a group of persons sixty years of age or older whose only function is to provide amusement and diversion for its members.

(2) Any club, organization, group, or association which has a membership comprised exclusively of children enrolled in a public or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in this state and which is approved to conduct activities in such school by the principal of such school in accordance with school board policy shall be exempt from the licensing and reporting procedures enumerated in R.S. 4:708 through 716 of this Chapter in a municipality or parish whose governing authority has decided to permit raffles, bingo, and keno within its limits as provided in R.S. 4:706. Such club, organization, group, or association shall be exempted from licensing and reporting procedures only for the conducting of raffles as a means of fund-raising.

(3) A charitable organization, upon application to the municipality or parish, shall be exempt from the licensing and reporting requirements provided in R.S. 4:708 through 716 of this Chapter for the purpose of conducting a raffle as defined in Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section in any municipality or parish the governing authority of which has decided to permit raffles, bingo, and keno within its limits as provided in R.S. 4:706, provided the municipality or parish finds, upon such application, that the charitable organization is conducting such raffle for the purpose of providing support to any elementary or secondary school in the municipality or parish or for other purposes of community support.

(4) Any bona fide conservation organization, which is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)(3) corporation, dedicated principally to the conservation of a specific species, genus, or family of game animal, including but not limited to the conservation of ducks, waterfowl generally, quail, and turkeys which is otherwise permitted by law to conduct charitable gaming shall be exempted from the licensing and reporting procedures enumerated in R.S. 4:708 through 716 of this Chapter solely for conducting raffles as a means of fund-raising in a municipality or parish whose governing authority has decided to permit raffles, bingo, and keno within its limits as provided in R.S. 4:706.

G. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter to the contrary, no municipal or parish governing authority shall license any organization as authorized in this Chapter unless that organization has first obtained a charitable gaming license from the office, as further provided in R.S. 4:705.

H.(1) No person or organization shall hold, operate, or conduct any game of chance enumerated in Subsection A of this Section without obtaining a charitable gaming license or a special charitable gaming license from the office, as further provided in R.S. 4:718.

(2) Organizations closely connected to one another shall not hold, operate, or conduct any game of chance enumerated in Subsection A of this Section under a single state charitable gaming license. Each organization shall be required to obtain a separate license from the office in order to conduct such games. Any otherwise eligible organization shall be deemed to be closely connected when any one of the following conditions are met:

(a) Membership in one organization automatically qualifies an individual as a member of another organization.

(b) Membership in one organization is dependent upon membership in another organization, including social membership.

(c) The existence of an organization is dependent upon the existence of another organization.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, a chartered auxiliary group associated with a nonprofit, licensed organization shall not be required to obtain a separate license in order to assist in the holding, operating, or conducting of any game of chance being operated by the parent organization. The parent organization shall notify the office of charitable gaming annually of the names of members who will assist in the gaming operations. Nothing in this Paragraph shall prohibit a qualified chartered auxiliary group from receiving its own gaming license.

I. Nothing in this Chapter shall prohibit a charitable organization from contributing to a qualified association of licensed charitable organizations as defined by R.S. 4:703(10). Such an association shall not be subject to audit by the office except as otherwise provided by law.

Acts 1999, No. 568, §3, eff. June 30, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 106, §1, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 602, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 871, §1, eff. July 1, 2003.