Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998

i Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 S.R. No. 25/1998 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Regulation Page PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1 1. Objective 1 2. Authorising provisions 1 3. Commencement 1 4. Definitions 1 PART 2—PERMITS 3 5. Prescribed conditions of permit and rules of bingo 3 6. Return in respect of permit 3 7. Sessions, premises etc. 5 8. Money 6 9. Unsold tickets 6 10. Prizes 6 PART 3—BINGO CENTRES AND EMPLOYEES 9 11. Information to be published in application for bingo centre operator's licence 9 12. Prescribed conditions of bingo centre operator's licence 9 13. Duties of bingo employee 9 PART 4—MISCELLANEOUS 11 14. Prescribed expenses 11 15. Prescribed standards 11 16. Records 12 __________________ SCHEDULE—The Rules of Bingo 14 ═══════════════ -- 1 of 18 -- 1 STATUTORY RULES 1998 S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 Act 1997 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 The Governor in Council makes the following Regulations: Dated: 24 March 1998 Responsible Minister: ROGER M. HALLAM Minister for Gaming CON CHARA Acting Clerk of the Executive Council PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1. Objective The objective of these Regulations is to provide for the conduct of bingo. 2. Authorising provisions These Regulations are made under sections 3, 15(3)(a), 26(e), 34(5), 51, 88 and 105 of the Gaming No. 2 Act 1997. 3. Commencement These Regulations come into operation on 31 March 1998. 4. Definitions (1) In these Regulations— "Act" means Gaming No. 2 Act 1997; -- 2 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 2 "gross receipts", in respect of a bingo game, a session of bingo games or a rolling jackpot sequence, means the actual amount received from the sale of tickets in the game, session or sequence; "notional receipts", in respect of a bingo game, a session of bingo games or a rolling jackpot sequence, means the amount that would have been received from the sale of tickets in the game, session or sequence, had every ticket been sold; "responsible person" means the person referred to in section 16 of the Act in respect of the permit; "rolling jackpot sequence" means the sessions of bingo games in respect of which a rolling jackpot operates. (2) A reference in these Regulations to a permit is a reference to a minor gaming permit which authorises the playing of bingo games. (3) If a permit holder has entered into an agreement under section 26 of the Act, a function or obligation of the responsible person under these Regulations is a function or obligation of the operator. _______________ r. 4 -- 3 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 3 PART 2—PERMITS 5. Prescribed conditions of permit and rules of bingo (1) This Part prescribes— (a) the conditions under section 15(3)(a) of the Act in respect of the conduct of a session or sessions of bingo games; and (b) the rules of bingo. (2) The rules set out in the Schedule are prescribed for the conduct of bingo games. 6. Return in respect of permit (1) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that the permit holder must, before 1 October in each year that the permit is in force, give the Director a return setting out, in respect of the year or part year ending on the preceding 30 June, for each month— (a) the gross receipts; (b) the total expenses (including catering and the fees paid to the holder of an operator's licence); (c) the serial numbers of unsold tickets, if any; (d) the prizes paid; (e) the net proceeds of bingo; (f) the balance of each jackpot pool, if any, at the end of that month. (2) A return under this regulation— (a) must be signed by— (i) the responsible person; and r. 5 -- 4 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 4 (ii) the president, secretary, treasurer or a director of the permit holder; and (b) must contain or be accompanied by a certificate addressed to the Director from a person referred to in sub-regulation (3) setting out the person's opinion as to the truth and accuracy of the return. (3) A person may provide a certificate required by sub-regulation (2)(b) if the person— (a) not being a member of the governing body of the permit holder, has been appointed by the governing body with the same authority as the auditor of a public company; and (b) is— (i) a registered company auditor within the meaning of the Corporations Law; or (ii) a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants or the National Institute of Accountants; or (iii) the manager of a branch of a financial institution. (4) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that if— (a) a permit expires or is cancelled or surrendered, and no new permit is issued on its expiry, cancellation or surrender (as the case requires), the permit holder must give to the Director, within 3 months after the expiry, cancellation or surrender of the permit, a return in respect of the period starting on the preceding 1 July and ending on the last day of the permit; and r. 6 -- 5 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 5 (b) a permit expires or is cancelled or surrendered and a new permit is issued, the permit holder must include in its first return under the new permit the period starting on the preceding 1 July and ending on the last day of the permit. 7. Sessions, premises etc. (1) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that— (a) a session of bingo games comprises up to 30 games conducted within an 8 hour period; and (b) the price of bingo tickets must be the same for each ticket in a game but may vary from game to game; and (c) the permit holder may conduct up to 4 sessions within any period of 7 consecutive days; and (d) the notional receipts of a session of bingo games must not exceed $10 000. (2) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that— (a) the permit and any written authority referred to in sub-regulation (3)(b) must be conspicuously displayed at the entrance to premises in which a session of bingo games is conducted; and (b) no charge may be made for admission to premises for the purpose of playing bingo. (3) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that each session of bingo games must be personally supervised by— (a) the responsible person; or (b) a person aged at least 18 years, authorised in writing by the responsible person— r. 7 -- 6 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 6 who must— (c) ensure that bingo games are played only by people aged at least 18 years; and (d) ensure that a running sheet is completed in accordance with regulation 16 in respect of every bingo game played; and (e) ensure that prizes are paid as required by regulation 10; and (f) perform any other duties required of the supervisor by the rules of bingo. 8. Money It is a prescribed condition of a permit that the responsible person must keep the records relating to the account approved under section 89 of the Act up to date as at the end of each session of bingo games. 9. Unsold tickets It is a prescribed condition of a permit that the permit holder must retain unsold bingo tickets for 6 months after the date of the return under regulation 6. 10. Prizes (1) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that the amount of prizes distributed— (a) in a bingo game in a session in respect of which a jackpot operates must be not less than 20% of the gross receipts for the game; and (b) in a bingo game in a session in respect of which no jackpot operates must be— (i) not less than 50% of the gross receipts; and r. 8 -- 7 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 7 (ii) not more than 70% of the notional receipts— for the game; and (c) in a session of bingo games must be, in addition to paragraph (a)— (i) not less than 50% of the gross receipts; and (ii) not more than 70% of the notional receipts— for the session; and (d) in a rolling jackpot sequence must be, in addition to paragraphs (a) and (c)— (i) not less than 50% of the gross receipts; and (ii) not more than 70% of the notional receipts— for the sequence. (2) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that if, during a session of bingo games, a jackpot pool reaches $10 000, the balance of the pool must be distributed as prize money in or before the last game in the session. (3) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that if more than one jackpot pool is maintained concurrently under a permit, one only of the jackpot pools may be in operation in a session. (4) It is a prescribed condition of a permit that prize money won in a bingo game must be paid at the end of the game— (a) if the prize is $3000 or less, in cash; or r. 10 -- 8 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 8 (b) if the winner requests it or the prize is more than $3000, by cheque. _______________ r. 10 -- 9 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 9 PART 3—BINGO CENTRES AND EMPLOYEES 11. Information to be published in application for bingo centre operator's licence For the purposes of section 34(5) of the Act, the prescribed information is— (a) the name and address of the applicant; and (b) the address of the bingo centre or proposed bingo centre. 12. Prescribed conditions of bingo centre operator's licence For the purposes of section 40(6)(a) of the Act, the prescribed conditions of an operator's licence are— (a) a bingo centre operator must treat all permit holders equitably in the allocation of session times; and (b) a bingo centre operator who proposes to enter into and agreement under section 26 of the Act with a permit holder must declare to the governing body of the permit holder all conflicts between his of her interests as operator of the bingo centre and the interests of the permit holder. 13. Duties of bingo employee The following duties are prescribed under section 51 of the Act— (a) selling bingo tickets; (b) writing up running sheets; (c) checking back numbers on bingo tickets; r. 11 -- 10 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 10 (d) paying prizes. _______________ r. 13 -- 11 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 11 PART 4—MISCELLANEOUS 14. Prescribed expenses The amount that may be paid for expenses of a session of bingo games is 12% of the gross receipts of the session. 15. Prescribed standards (1) The prescribed standards under section 24(1) of the Act for bingo tickets are— (a) each bingo ticket in a series— (i) must have printed on its front, in a grid of 3 horizontal lines of 5 numbers each, a unique combination of 15 different numbers between 1 and 90 (both inclusive); and (ii) must have printed on its front or back a serial number identifying the series, along with the words "serial number"; and (b) if a series of bingo tickets is printed in books of consecutive games— (i) the books must be consecutively numbered throughout the series; and (ii) each game in the series must be printed on paper of a different colour from the 4 preceding games; and (c) there must be a master book or master electronic table for the series, sufficient to identify each of the unique combinations mentioned in paragraph (a)(i). (2) The prescribed standards under section 24(2) of the Act are— r. 14 -- 12 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 12 (a) a random number generator must be capable of selecting a number at random from the numbers 1 to 90 inclusive and incapable of selecting numbers other than at random; and (b) a random number generator must be incapable, within a single bingo game, of selecting the same number twice. 16. Records (1) For the purposes of section 88 of the Act, the prescribed information in relation to the holder of a permit is— (a) for each bingo game— (i) the serial numbers of the bingo tickets sold; (ii) the total number of bingo tickets available to be sold, the number of bingo tickets sold and the gross receipts; (iii) the value of prizes paid and the name of the winner or winners; (iv) the gross profit; (v) the lowest book number and the highest book number of bingo tickets sold (start and finish selling numbers); and (b) for each session of bingo games— (i) the expenses paid; (ii) the opening balance of any jackpot pool and the date from which the jackpot pool was carried forward; (iii) the closing balance of any jackpot pool and the date to which it will be carried forward; r. 16 -- 13 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 13 (iv) the book number of any unsold book between the lowest book number for the session and the highest book number for the session (wasted book numbers). (2) The supervisor of a session of bingo games must keep a running sheet containing the information required to be kept under sub-regulation (1). (3) No bingo game may be commenced until the portion of the running sheet relating to the last previous bingo game has been completed. __________________ r. 16 -- 14 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 14 SCHEDULE THE RULES OF BINGO 1. Versions of bingo etc. (1) Only one of the following versions may be played in a game of bingo— (a) Version 1: The game is won by the first player to— (i) have all the numbers in the top horizontal line of numbers on his or her ticket announced by the caller; and (ii) call "line" or "bingo" or make an audible noise or have another person call "line" or "bingo" on his or her behalf after the caller finishes calling the number but before the next number is called; (b) Version 2: The game is won by the first player to— (i) have all the numbers in the middle horizontal line of numbers on his or her ticket announced by the caller; and (ii) call "line" or "bingo" or make an audible noise or have another person call "line" or "bingo" on his or her behalf after the caller finishes calling the number but before the next number is called; (c) Version 3: The game is won by the first player to— (i) have all the numbers in the bottom horizontal line of numbers on his or her ticket announced by the caller; and (ii) call "line" or "bingo" or make an audible noise or have another person call "line" or "bingo" on his or her behalf after the caller finishes calling the number but before the next number is called; (d) Version 4: The game is won by the first player to— (i) have all the numbers on his or her ticket announced by the caller; and Sch. -- 15 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 15 (ii) call "line" or "bingo" or make an audible noise or have another person call "line" or "bingo" on his or her behalf after the caller finishes calling the number but before the next number is called; (e) Version 5: The game is won by the first player to— (i) have all the numbers on any one of the three horizontal lines on his or her ticket announced by the caller; and (ii) call "line" or "bingo" or make an audible noise or have another person call "line" or "bingo" on his or her behalf after the caller finishes calling the number but before the next number is called. (2) If 2 of more players win a bingo game, they share the prize as joint winners. (3) If a player, on the announcement of a number which entitles the player to declare himself or herself a winner, fails to do so, the player is taken to have forfeited the bingo game. (4) If a player incorrectly declares himself or herself a winner, that player is permitted to continue to play the bingo game. (5) If an incorrect number is announced, that incorrect announcement, for the purpose of determining the winner of a bingo game, is taken not to have been made. 2. Duties of the caller and the supervisor (1) A person must be appointed a caller and another person (subject to regulation 7(3), the responsible person on the permit) must be appointed as supervisor for each bingo game. (2) The caller and the supervisor must not participate as players during the bingo game. (3) The caller must— (a) announce at the start of the bingo game which of the versions specified in rule 1 will be played; and (b) randomly select numbers from— (i) a random number generator; or (ii) a receptacle containing 90 balls numbered consecutively from 1 to 90; and Sch. -- 16 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 16 (c) announce each selected number; and (d) if numbers are being selected from a receptacle as specified in paragraph (b)(ii), hand the selected numbered ball to the supervisor. (4) The supervisor must— (a) display a visual representation of each selected number in such a way that it is clearly visible to all players until the end of the game; and (b) if numbers are being selected from a receptacle as specified in sub-rule (3)(b)(ii), check that the number has been correctly announced by the caller and place it on a rack which is clearly visible to all players until the end of the game; and (c) determine the winner of the bingo game by collecting the winning bingo ticket from each player who has declared himself or herself to be a winner and— (i) confirming the serial number and ticket book number (if any), and that the ticket was sold for play in the relevant game; and (ii) counting back the numbers on the ticket against the numbers called, in the presence of an independent player. (5) If the caller or the supervisor becomes aware that an error has been made in the calling or display of numbers, he or she must immediately make an announcement correcting the error. 3. Jackpots (1) Part of the gross receipts of one or more bingo games in a session may be held in a jackpot pool for distribution as prize money— (a) in a later game in that session; and (b) in a game in a later session in a rolling jackpot sequence. (2) Before the commencement of the first bingo game in a session of bingo games in respect of which a jackpot will operate, the supervisor must announce— (a) the game or games in which some or all of the jackpot pool will be distributed and the method of distribution; and Sch. -- 17 of 18 -- S.R. No. 25/1998 Gaming No. 2 (Bingo) Regulations 1998 17 (b) if the jackpot is part of a rolling jackpot, the date of the session from which the jackpot pool is carried forward and the balance carried forward from that session. (3) After the last bingo game in a session of bingo games in a rolling jackpot sequence, the supervisor must announce— (a) the closing balance of the jackpot pool; and (b) the time, date and place of the next session in the sequence. ═══════════════ Sch. -- 18 of 18 --