Minnesota Charitable Gambling License Requirements (Ch. 349)

Minnesota Statutes section 349.12, subdivision 24 defines "lawful gambling" as the operation, conduct, or sale of bingo, raffles, paddlewheels, tipboards, and pull-tabs, nothing else qualifies for the charitable exemption from the state's general gambling ban. Section 349.16, subdivision 1 states plainly: "An organization may conduct lawful gambling if it has a license to conduct lawful gambling and complies with this chapter." The license comes from the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, not a city or county.

To qualify, an organization must have existed for three years as a registered Minnesota nonprofit, religious, fraternal, veterans', or similar tax-exempt entity, must not exist solely to gamble, must designate a licensed gambling manager, and must show at least 15 active members when it first applies, dropping to a 13-member minimum of voting-eligible members afterward (subd. 2). Under subdivision 3, "licenses issued under this section are perpetual and valid unless the board revokes or suspends the license", but subdivision 3a lets a license lapse if the organization goes seven months without conducting gambling, loses its gambling manager, or stops paying fees.

The board charges a $350 annual organization license fee (subd. 6), waivable for organizations expecting under $100,000 in annual gross receipts, plus a monthly regulatory fee of 0.125 percent of gross receipts from lawful gambling (subd. 6a). Section 349.155, subdivision 4 lets the board deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license, or censure a licensee, on nine grounds, including statute or rule violations, false statements on license applications, disqualifying convictions, and prior discipline exceeding $2,500 by another jurisdiction's gambling regulator. Separately, section 349.15 requires licensed organizations to spend at least 30 percent of gross profits annually on lawful purposes (20 percent for bingo-primary organizations), with cash shortages capped at 0.3 percent of gross receipts per site per year.

Conducting lawful gambling without a Gambling Control Board license, or violating chapter 349 in a way with no specific penalty listed, is a misdemeanor under section 349.22, subdivision 1(a). A second violation within five years of a prior conviction under sections 349.11 to 349.23 becomes a gross misdemeanor. Selling pull-tabs or tipboards after a license or permit has been revoked is a felony under subdivision 4. The board can also deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license under section 349.155 for statute violations, false applications, or disqualifying convictions.