Gaming Update
North Dakota
June 2013
Summary of
Legislative Changes 2
List of Licensed
Distributors
3
List of Licensed
Manufacturers
3
Tribal/State Gaming
Compacts
3
Seeking Gaming
Advisory Board
Members
4
Gaming Activity Up 4
Training Schedule
4
Changes to Games of
Chance Law Books
5
Employee
Acknowledgement
5
211 Helpline
B
Gaming Employees
B
The Gaming Update news-letter is published quarterly. Current and previous issues are available for download at no charge, at http://www. ag.nd.gov/Gaming/Gaming. htm.
This Issue:
Reduced Gaming Taxes Approved
The Conference Committee appointed to work out the differences be-tween the Senate and House versions of Senate Bill No. 2163 ultimately agreed on a two-tiered progressive gaming tax rate which taxes gross proceeds for licensed organizations at graduated rates as follows:
• Organizations with gross proceeds not exceeding $1,500,000 are taxed at 1% of the gross proceeds (increased from $500,000 in the previous gaming tax rates); and
• Organizations with gross proceeds exceeding $1,500,000 pay $15,000 ($1,500,000 x 1%) plus 2.25% on gross proceeds exceed-ing $1,500,000.
The previous 1.5% and 2% gaming tax rates which applied to some organizations has been eliminated and the 2.5% maximum tax rate was reduced to 2.25%. The fiscal impact of this bill has been estimated at a $3 million reduction in gaming taxes to the gaming industry in the 2013-15 biennium and $3.4 million during the 2015-17 biennium. The small difference between the two biennia is because the change, which takes effect on July 1, 2013, still requires gaming organizations to pay at the old gaming tax rates for the first quarter collected during the next biennium (April – June 2013 quarterly gaming taxes are due on July 31, 2013). ♦
Currency Validators - Violations
Some currency validators for pull tab dispensing devices may be validating currency in excess of the $50 maximum allowed under the administrative rules. Several distributors have been contacted by the manufacturer to correct this potential problem, but organizations should be aware of this restriction which is outlined in the manufac-turer’s chapter (NDAC 99-01.3-16-09(1).
Five gaming related bills were passed and one additional bill was defeated in the 2013 legislative session. The gaming tax reduction bill and Attorney General’s appropriation bill will take effect on July 1, 2013. The remaining three bills will become ef-fective on August 1, 2013.
• HB 1003 Attorney General’s Office and State Gaming Commission’s Appropriation Bill.
The State Gaming Commission’s budget of $7,368 for the 2013 – 2015 biennium was ap-proved. This is the same amount appropriated during the previous biennium. The bill also ap-proved $510,000 in gaming tax payback grants to assist local cities and counties with gaming enforcement. The effective date of the
appro-priations for the State Gaming Commission and the gaming tax payback is July 1, 2013. • HB 1241 Amendment Relating to
Posses-sion of a Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in a Gaming Site. This bill was decided in
con-ference committee. Effective August 1, 2013, an individual who enters or remains in a bar or gaming site at which bingo is the primary gaming activity while in the possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. The law excludes certain individuals including a law enforcement officer, the proprietor or their employee, a designee of the proprietor displaying an unloaded firearm that is a prize for a raffle or auction, and private security personnel while on duty.
• HB 1294 Removes the Governor as the Pri-mary Negotiator for the Tribal/State Gaming Compacts. This bill would have replaced the
Governor with Legislative Management or their designee as the primary negotiator of any future
Summary of Legislative Changes
Tribal/State Gaming Compacts. The bill was ultimately amended by the Senate and failed on a vote of 17–27.
• SB 2163 Changes the Current Gaming Tax Rates. This bill modified the existing gaming
tax rate structure and provided further gaming tax reductions for the 30 largest gaming organi-zations in the state. See separate article on the new gaming taxes on page 1 for more details. The effective date is July 1, 2013.
• SB 2177 Increases the Maximum Rent Al-lowed for Pull Tabs if Twenty-one and Pad-dlewheels are not Conducted at a Site. The
maximum amount of rent for a pull tab site that an organization may pay to a bar owner when bingo is not the primary game and twenty-one and paddlewheels are not conducted increased to $400, whether played in a jar bar, dispensing device, or both. Effective August 1, 2013.
• SB 2311 Maximum Cash Prize Limits for Raffles. This new provision of section
53-06.1-10.1 (Raffles) eliminates the $4,000 maximum cash prize limit for raffles conducted by public-spirited organizations that support amateur collegiate athletics, and is effective August 1, 2013. ♦
NAME MAILING ADDRESS TELEPHONE
Dakota Gaming Supply Inc. 1308 E Ave F, Bismarck, ND 58501 (701) 224-0514 Western Distributing Co. PO Box 832, Bismarck, ND 58504 (701) 223-0154 Borchert Distributing LLC 811 8th Ave N, Fargo, ND 58102 (701) 799-8401 FPN Gaming 3317 Fiechtner Dr, Fargo, ND 58103 (701) 293-9400 Lien Games Inc 1113 Main Ave, Fargo, ND 58103 (701) 232-7755 Mr. Ed’s Bingo & Casino Supply PO Box 848, Fargo, ND 58102 (701) 492-8928 Northland Gaming 6233 Martens Way, Fargo, ND 58104 (701) 232-9318 Plains Gaming Distributing PO Box 101, Fargo, ND 58107 (218) 790-2323 Central Gaming 2204 HWY 1806 S, Mandan, ND 58554 (701) 667-4550 Charitable Equipment of ND 2100 E Main Ave, West Fargo, ND 58078 (701) 492-8824
Chuck’s Incorporated PO Box 490, Williston, ND 58801 (701) 572-6254
Distributors and Manufacturers
The Office of Attorney General completed the license renewal process for Gaming Distributors and Manu-facturers for the fiscal year April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. Below is a compiled list of all Licensed Gaming Distributors and Manufacturers for the current licensing year.
List of Licensed Distributors
NAME MAILING ADDRESS TELEPHONE
Arrow International Inc. 9900 Clinton Road, Brooklyn, OH 44144 (216) 961-3500 B Squared Leasing LLC* 3301 15th St S Suite B, Fargo, ND 58104 (701) 280-9292 Douglas Press 2810 Madison St, Bellwood, IL 60104 (708) 547-8400 Fortunet Inc. 3901 Graphic Center Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89118 (702) 796-9090 International Gamco Inc. 9335 N 48th St, Omaha, NE 68152 (402) 571-2449 Paramount Games Inc. 30 Mills Street, Wheatland, PA 16161 (724) 346-1070 Planet Bingo LLC 75190 Gerald Ford Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211 (760) 773-0197 Pollard Games Inc./American 504 34th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA 51501 (712) 366-9553 Technik Manufacturing Inc.* 1005 17th St, Columbus, NE 68601 (402) 564-3191 Universal Manufacturing Co. 5450 Deramus, Kansas City, MO 64120 (816) 231-2771 Video King & Power Bingo 2717 N 118th Circle # 210, Omaha, NE 68164 (402) 951-2970 World Wide Press 801 River Drive S, Great Falls, MT 59405 (406) 727-4144
* (Pull Tab Dispensing Device Manufacturers Only)
List of Licensed Manufacturers
Tribal/State Gaming Compacts
The Department of Interior formally approved all of the new Tribal/State Gaming Compacts on March 11, 2013. Copies of the approved compacts are available online at www.ag.nd.gov, under the “Gaming” link.
Seeking Gaming Advisory
Board Members
The Office of Attorney General is seeking indi-viduals to serve on the Gaming Advisory Board. The two-year terms of all current members expire on June 30, 2013.
Since 1985, the Gaming Advisory Board has provided guidance and invaluable assistance to the Gaming Commission and Office of Attorney General on many regulatory policy issues, in revising the gaming rules and recommended law changes. The Gaming Advisory Board meets a few times each year as needed. The meetings usually are one-half to one day in length and are normally held in Bis-marck. Members serve on a voluntary basis and are not reimbursed for expenses unless they are also members of the legislature.
If you are interested in volunteering to serve on the Gaming Advisory Board, please notify this office in writing no later than June 30, 2013.
Training Schedule
The Gaming Division will be conducting training sessions in two major cities during the month of August 2013:
• Fargo - Tuesday, August 6, 2013 • Bismarck – Tuesday, August 13, 2013
These training sessions relate to the administrative rules which took effect on July 1, 2012 and are offered for those who were unable to attend training sessions held last summer (August 2012).
Pre-registration is required and limited to four individuals per organization. Class sizes are limited and
registration will be taken as received. A pre-registration form is enclosed and also can be downloaded at www.ag.nd.gov on the Gaming link.
According to N.D.A.C. § 99-01.3-02-10(1) a gaming manager and an employee who is principally responsible for auditing closed games, daily activity, or does bookkeeping and has no previous gaming-related experience in those capacities shall request training from the attorney gen-eral within thirty days of employment. The training must include the gaming law and rules, recordkeeping, internal control, and tax return.
Gaming Activity Up
Over $75 million was wagered on charitable games of chance for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. Charitable gaming was up by 2.9% or $2,159,746 when compared to the same quarter in 2011.
The largest increases were in twenty-one with an increase of $1,111,806 or 5%, pull tab dis-pensing devices with an increase of $960,393 or 5.4%, and pull tabs with an increase of $309,927 or 1.4%.
For the calendar year ended December 31, 2012, the charitable gaming industry had gross wagers of just over $300 million. This was the second highest calendar year ever with gross wagers just slightly behind the $304 million wa-gered during calendar year ended December 31, 1993.
Quarterly gaming activity reports for the past eight quarters are available online at www.ag.nd. gov on the “Gaming” link.
Changes to Games of Chance Law Books
The Office of Attorney General is reprinting the cover page and selected pages of the law section of the North Dakota Games of Chance Laws and Administrative Rules book. The revised cover and replacement pages will be distributed to all organizations that had previously ordered the mustard yellow law and rule books. A revised copy of the law is available online at www.ag.nd.gov on the Gaming page under “Rules and Regulations.”
Set B Booklet - Selected Sections of the Laws and Rules for Dispensing Device Sites
The smaller Set B booklet containing select sections of the laws and rules related to dispensing device sites will not be reprinted at this time because of the minimal law changes affecting this booklet. Please make the fol-lowing changes on Page 2 of the Law section of Set B with strikethrough (xxx) language eliminated and under-lined (xxx) language added as follows:
53-06.1-11. Gross proceeds – Allowable expenses – Rent limits.
5. For a site where bingo is not the primary game:
b. If twenty-one and paddlewheels are not conducted but pull tabs is conducted involving either a jar bar or dispensing device, but not or
both, the monthly rent may not exceed two hundred seventy-five four hundred dollars. If pull tabs is conducted involving both a jar bar and dispensing device, the monthly rent for pull tabs may not exceed three hundred dollars.
Also, the cover of Set B should be temporarily changed with a strikeout of the year and replaced with the year 2013 as follows:
CHAPTER 53-06.1 OF THE NORTH DAKOTA CENTURY CODE
EFFECTIVE AUGUST 1, 2011 2013
Employee Acknowledgments
An updated Employee Acknowledgment form is enclosed and is also available through our office’s web page at www.ag.nd.gov. Based on the revisions of the gaming taxes by the 2013 legislative assembly, section 53-06.1-12 (Gaming tax – Deposits and allocations) of this form should be reviewed by the gaming manager and bookkeeper positions.
Although the rules require these employees to review all provisions outlined on this form, particular atten-tion should also be given to the changes made to subsecatten-tion 5 of secatten-tion 53-06.1-11 (Gross proceeds-Allowable expenses-Rent limits) to understand the new maximum rent amount for pull tab sites only. See page 2 regarding Senate Bill No. 2177 for the new maximum rent amount for more details.
A new Employee Acknowledgment form should be completed by the gaming manager and bookkeeper prior to August 1, 2013.
Office of Attorney General
Gaming Division
600 East Boulevard Avenue Dept 125
Bismarck, ND 58505-0040
www.ag.nd.gov Official Mail
State of North Dakota Return Service Requested
211 Helpline
The 211 Helpline is a 24 hour statewide free phone service with specialists offering supportive, non-judgmental listening ears and also providing information about community support programs. This service provides, but is not limited to helping with suicide prevention, addiction support (including gambling ad-dictions), assistance services during disasters, locations of emergency shelters, and information regarding financial & food assistance, as well as linking volunteers with nonprofit organizations.
For additional information on the 211 Helpline, visit www.myfirstlink.org.
Gaming Employees
Lynn Henke joined the Gaming Division on June 3, 2013, as an audit technician responsible for tax return processing. Lynn was most recently employed as an office manager with a local chiropractor. The audit technician position became available when Beth Leintz transferred to the licensing section to work with Missy Tesky. The Gaming Division welcomes Lynn and congratulates Beth on her promotion to the licensing section.
