What's New                                        Specific What's New information, by month

For Exempt/Excluded activity information, click here

 

October 23, 2020

Notice of Submission: Amendments to the Annual Audits of Lawful Gambling Organizations. The Department of Revenue is proposing minor updates to the rules governing annual audits of lawful gambling organizations. These proposed rule updates have been submitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings on October 26, 2020. The public has until November 2, at 4:30 p.m. to comment on these proposed rule changes. To learn more about the proposed rule changes, please visit the Department of Revenue’s website. To comment on the proposed rules, please leave a comment on the Office of Administrative Hearings’ website.

 

October 16, 2020

To Attend Remote Board Meeting via WebEx:  Prior to the 10:00 a.m. meeting start time, call 855-282-6330.  At the prompt, enter meeting ID 146 793 8860, followed by the # key.  You may be asked for extra information, but you may hit the # key again and you will be taken to the meeting.

 

To Participate in Public Comment:  If you wish to provide public comment at the next meeting please submit, by 4:30 p.m. the prior Friday, your name, who you represent, and your comment to steve.pedersen@state.mn.us.

 

October 7, 2020

Gambling Control Board Does Not Endorse Products or Services

People often contact the Gambling Control Board to discuss gambling-related products or charitable opportunities that they intend to market to licensed organizations. Typically, they want to know whether their product or donation idea complies with gambling regulations and whether organizations can legally make the expenditure with gambling funds. Occasionally, the Board’s answers to these legal questions are taken out of context and used to imply that the Gambling Control Board has endorsed the product.

 

Gambling Control Board determination of whether a product, service, expenditure, or activity complies with Minnesota statutes and rules should not be interpreted as an endorsement. The determination is not a recommendation that organizations use that product or service or make that expenditure. It’s also not meant as a blanket approval that will forever apply to all situations.

 

The Board’s determination is limited to the context in which the determination was made. Statutes and rules can change over time. Factors that make an expenditure allowable for one organization may cause the same expenditure to be disallowed for another organization. Also, the product itself may evolve from something that meets all requirements into something that doesn’t.

 

Licensed organizations are responsible for the compliance of their gambling activities and for determining the suitability of products and services for their operation. If you have compliance questions, it’s best to contact your compliance specialist directly rather than rely solely on information provided by a product vendor. Staff phone numbers and email addresses are available by selecting the “About Us” tab shown above and then selecting “Board Staff”.

 

October 1, 2020

Lawful Gambling Proceeds May Not Be Used for Political Purposes

People involved in political campaigns are often unaware that it’s illegal to conduct a raffle to raise money for their candidate.  Minnesota Statute 349.12 Subd. 25(c) states that lawful gambling funds may not be used for the purpose of:

• influencing the nomination or election of a candidate for public office,

• promoting or defeating a ballot question, or

• sponsoring any activity intended to influence an election or a governmental decision-making process.

 

This prohibition not only applies to lawful gambling conducted by licensed organizations, it also applies to lawful gambling conducted under an exempt permit and to organizations eligible to conduct excluded raffles.  Also keep in mind that it is illegal for anyone other than incorporated nonprofits and school districts to conduct any raffles – regardless of the prize amounts or the use of the funds – or to conduct any other form of lawful gambling.