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

For Exempt/Excluded activity information, click here

 

November 30, 2020

The October/November/December 2020 Gaming News is now available.

 

Pull-tab Sales at Liquor Stores

Many gambling managers have the impression that because off-sale liquor stores may continue to sell pull-tabs at this time, and, per executive order, on-sale bars can now also sell off-sale beer and wine, that all bars may therefore sell pull-tabs.  However, that conclusion is incorrect.

 

Only bar and restaurant locations with an off-sale liquor license may conduct pull-tabs at this time – provided that the pull-tabs are conducted in a portion of a building with a separate entrance where on-site eating and drinking was not previously allowed. Although executive order temporarily allows bars with on-sale licenses to conduct some limited off-sale, very few locations have an actual off-sale license. Again, bars without an off-sale license and a separate entrance into an exclusively off-sale portion of the building are not allowed to sell pull-tabs.

 

Guidance for Reporting “Paused” Games

On Friday, November 20 organizations were allowed the option of “pausing” their pull-tab games in play rather than closing them. Pausing a game means that the organization may put that same game back into play once their premises reopens for on-site eating and drinking.  The proceeds from paused games must be deposited into the gambling account within 4 business days after the game was paused.  However, the game is not reported as closed on monthly reports until the game has been placed into play again and then removed from play.

 

Pausing games creates some unique reporting issues at month-end. The instructions below are meant to help your organization report paused games correctly so that your Profit Carryover Reconciliation, form LG100F, will balance.

 

There are three important numbers for an organization to remember when pausing their games; the amount of their cash bank for the games being paused, their deposit total, and the difference between those two numbers (which should be an indication of what the net receipts were for the games at the time they were paused).

 

Organizations should take the following steps:

• Deposit all the cash from each site (“Deposit Total” in the examples below) into their gambling bank account.
• On the LG100A, Lawful Gambling Receipts and Expenses per Site, reduce the starting cash bank amount for the games that are paused at the site to $0.
• Report the difference amount from the starting cash bank and deposit total amounts on the LG100F line 14 (the difference amount can be positive or negative depending on the circumstance).
• When re-opening a site, withdraw the same “Deposit Total” that they initially deposited and report the same cash bank amount that they had at the time the games were paused.

 

Click here for examples of how the reporting would work out depending on the starting cash banks as compared to the net receipts for each game. If you have questions, please contact your Compliance Auditor for assistance.

 

Continuing Education Opportunities

A new continuing education class on lawful purpose expenditures is now available by clicking on the following link: CE – Lawful Purpose Expenditures. It’s a video-based course presented by Nichole Engeswick, a Compliance Auditor working out of our Mankato office.  Participants will watch four videos with a total combined running time of about 40 minutes and answer a few questions at the end of each video.

 

In addition to the “Lawful Purpose Expenditures” class, on December 11, 2020 at 10:00 AM, Executive Director Matt Gettman will be presenting a live continuing education class that gambling managers can view on their computers. The class will cover a variety of topics of current interest and qualify for continuing education credit.

 

Prior to the webinar, participants will need to install Webex on their computers (click on the link to download) in order to register and view the course. Once you’ve installed Webex, click on this link to register: GCBCE 12-11-20. You will need to enter your organization name and license number. You’ll then receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the class at the appropriate time. The class is expected to last approximately 60 minutes.

 

Information on these and other continuing education classes is also available under the “Education” tab by  selecting the “Continuing Education” menu option.

 

November 19, 2020

In accordance with Governor Tim Walz’ Emergency Order EO-20-99 and MN Stay Safe Guidance,  and to ensure the integrity of lawful gambling, all licensed organizations’ lawful gambling activities conducted at all restaurants and bars (excluding those locations with separate off-sale entrances or convenience store locations) must implement the following by 10 pm on Friday, November 20, 2020:

 

CASH

Remove all cash from the site for any closed or paused games* (record amount of cash by game name and serial number) including starting cash banks and deposit the funds into your gambling bank account at your retail bank no later than November 27 (four business days).

 

DO NOT leave cash in a safe or cash drawer at any location for any closed or paused games.

 

*Only paper and electronic pull-tab games may be paused.  This requires a cash deposit and audit of tickets be made at that point the game is paused.  A record of that audit must remain with the paused game and that paused game must be put back in play at the time the Board permits that type of game at the premises permit location.  No audit necessary for electronic games.

 

INVENTORY

At your discretion, all games (played and unplayed pull-tabs, bingo paper, paddletickets, and any other form of gambling for all closed or paused games) may be secured at a permitted premises that may close during the effective dates of this EO.  All inventory, including any electronic equipment, must be securely stored and is your organization’s responsibility. Pull-tab dispensing devices must be powered off and the meter readings must be recorded.  Please note: All games are NOT required to be permanently closed**.

 

LAWFUL GAMES

Raffles (MN Stat 349.173 and MN rule 7861.0310) and Sports Themed Tipboards (MN Stat 349.1711 and MN rule 7861.0295) may only continue at approved premises permit locations if all applicable statute, EO and rule requirements are followed.

 

**All other forms of lawful gambling must be either (1) CLOSED and follow those same procedures as are required under normal circumstances after closing games; or, (2) PAUSED, and the game product must be secured and in your organization’s control no later than 10 pm on Friday, November 20, 2020.

 

For those organizations with exempt permit activities, please go to Exempt Permits.

 

Currently, the Gambling Control Board will not be accepting walk-in appointments at any of its four locations, but strongly encourages contact via email, or alternatively via phone to your assigned Compliance or Licensing Specialist.

 

November 17, 2020

FY20 Annual Report Now Available

The Gambling Control Board’s Annual Report for fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020) is now available. The report provides information on the agency’s budget and expenditures as well as a wealth of information on lawful gambling receipts, expenses, donations, taxes, and net profits. New this year is a breakdown of site income, expenses, and profits by type of operation (bar-op, booth-op, or owned premises), organization gross receipts, and whether electronic games were offered. Organizations may find this information helpful when making decisions about their own operations.

 

Report highlights include:

• FY20 gross receipts (total sales) totaled $2.1 billion, a 10.6% drop from FY19. However, prior to the temporary shutdown of bars and restaurants in mid-March (COVID pause), total sales had been up 16% over FY19.
• On June 30, 2020, there were 1,144 licensed organizations conducting lawful gambling at 2,791 locations throughout Minnesota, down slightly from the 1,146 organizations at 2,836 locations on June 30, 2019.
• Pull-tabs made up 94.5% of total sales (paper pull-tabs 61% and electronic pull-tabs 33.5%).
• On June 30, 2020, there were 1,490 locations offering electronic pull-tabs (53% of total sites).  For FY20, total sales from electronic pull-tabs reached $697 million (up 17% over FY19), with $623 million of that total coming prior to the COVID pause.
• Prior to April 1, 2020, manufacturers introduced an average of 520 new games each month.
• Net profit (total sales minus prizes and minus allowable expenses) fell from $180 million in FY19 to $147.5 million in FY20, a decrease of 18%.
• For sites offering electronic pull-tabs, the average annual net profit after state tax was $30,992. The average annual net profit after state tax at sites that did not offer electronic pull-tabs was $13,055.
• FY20 state taxes on gambling receipts totaled $78.3 million, down from $88.8 million in FY19, a 12% decrease.
• Between June 10, 2020 (when bars re-opened for indoor service) and fiscal-year end on June 30, electronic pull-tab sales averaged an all-time high of $3.1 million per day, up 53.5% over June 10 through June 30, 2019.

 

Along with the FY20 report, previous years’ annual reports from FY99 forward are also available by clicking on the “Reports & Legislation” tab and selecting “GCB Annual Reports”.

 

November 12, 2020

In accordance with Executive Order 20-96, effective Friday, November 13, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. the following new restrictions affect lawful gambling above and beyond those restrictions in existing statute, EO and rule:

 

https://mn.gov/governor/assets/EO%2020-96%20Final_tcm1055-453621.pdf

 

1. Business Hours, lawful gambling may only be conducted until 10 p.m.;
2. In Places of Public Accommodation (including bars, restaurants, bingo halls*) capacity is limited to 50% of capacity, not to exceed 150 people;
3. Follow social distancing requirements within establishments; and
4. Paddlewheel with Table may not be conducted under the guidelines established in the EO; however, meat raffles are not outright prohibited under this EO, but all other statute, EO, and rule restrictions still apply to meat raffles.

 

*EO 20-96 updates EO 20-74 Paragraph 7.c.vi

 

November 9, 2020

PLEASE NOTE:  Board Meeting Time Change

Please note that the Minnesota Gambling Control Board's monthly meeting on November 16, 2020, will begin at 11:00 a.m. (not the regular 10:00 a.m. start time).

 

To Attend Remote Board Meeting via WebEx:  Prior to the 11:00 a.m. meeting start time, call 855-282-6330.  At the prompt, enter meeting ID 146 413 4504, 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.