Mississippi Charitable Bingo License and Fee Rules

The Mississippi Gaming Commission's Charitable Gaming Division licenses bingo, pull-tabs, and electronic pull-tab devices under the Charitable Bingo Law, Miss. §§ 97-33-51 through 97-33-81, 97-33-101 through 97-33-109, 97-33-201, and 97-33-203. Only a qualifying charitable organization -- a nonprofit civic, educational, wildlife-conservation, or religious group, a chartered veterans' post, or a senior-citizen recreation club -- can hold a license, and it must show a three-year history of documented charitable activity unless the Commission waives that for good cause (13 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 10, R. 1).

Each organization may hold only one license and operate at only one location, for a term of up to three years. 5% of net proceeds from pull-tabs and electronic pull-tab devices, all due by the 15th of the following month. A single session runs up to five hours, capped at two sessions a day and eight a week, and total prizes per session cannot exceed $7,500 (or $8,000 for locations holding only one session weekly). Worker compensation is capped at $600 per session per person, paid only from a dedicated bingo bank account.

Religious organizations in existence 10+ years, operating on their own premises with unpaid staff, skip the gross-proceeds fee until annual proceeds top $50,000. Bingo revenue may fund only the organization's stated charitable purpose -- never the purchase or construction of a hall used just for bingo.

Running bingo without a Commission license, exceeding session or prize limits, paying workers more than $600 per session, or missing the monthly report due on the 15th can trigger suspension or revocation of a charitable organization's license under Miss. Code Ann. § 97-33-61. Failing to post the required Commission notice sign, mixing bingo funds with other accounts, or paying kickbacks to organizers are also license violations the Commission investigates and can penalize administratively.