Summary of Key Amendments - Commercial Bingo Handbook (CBH) Red Tape Reduction (RTR) Review

The following key policy amendments reflect the four main objectives of the CBH RTR review:

1) Identifying and eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens:

• Removing guidelines, guiding principles for gaming and information repetitive of legislation or in alignment with other AGLC policy handbooks.
• No longer requiring bingo facility licensees to have position descriptions for volunteer positions; specific duties for volunteer positions are already specified in policy.
• No longer requiring the following items on registered bingo workers’ identification badges: position, worker’s photograph and month in which registration expires.
• No longer requiring the name of the alternate pull ticket manager be provided to AGLC.
• Removing square footage requirements for the cash cage area of licensed bingo facilities, and instead requiring the cash cage be functional.
• Removing the requirement for the Wi‐Fi network in licensed bingo facilities to be approved by AGLC.
• Removing the requirements for server room security and for the e‐dauber server to be located in a separate server room. The server must be housed in a secure location as determined by bingo facility licensees.
• Removing the requirement for bingo facility licensees to submit a request in writing to AGLC for unregistered individuals (e.g., maintenance or repair persons) to access restricted areas. To provide flexibility, an access log must now be maintained by the hall manager to document details regarding unregistered individuals access to restricted areas.
• Removing prescriptive policies in Section 1.10: Counterfeit Money Handling Procedures. Bingo facility licensees are required to develop their own counterfeit money handling procedures under Section 9.5: Minimum Security Standards.
• Removing policy which indicates AGLC may restrict the number of bingo associations and/or events a licensed charity may access.
• No longer requiring bingo facility licensees to send bingo facility information to AGLC on an annual basis. Instead, bingo facility licensees must advise AGLC of any changes to the following information:
  • operating bylaws;
  • dates the bingo facility will be closed, including any unexpected hall closures or event cancellations;
  • names and contact information for association executive members;
  • lease (if the existing lease expired during the licence period); and
  • licence fees.

2) Maintaining the integrity and fiscal accountability of bingo facility licensees and licensed charities:

• Clarifying only the hall manager, association president or delegate are authorized to request amendments to the bingo program, bingo facility licence or pull ticket licence.
• Clarifying if two or more groups are licensed to work the same bingo event, each group is responsible for their own concession expenses.
• Streamlining policy to be less prescriptive for counting, recording and signing off on event floats, cash and bingo card inventory.
• Removing required content from the pool agreement including the name of the bingo association, date of the pool agreement and length of time the pool agreement is in effect.
• Reducing the retention period for video/audio recordings from 31 days to 15 days, to align with casino policy.

3) Modernizing bingo policy to ensure it accurately reflects current AGLC requirements:

• Removing references to the games manager. References to the games manager are no longer relevant because it related to Class B bingo facilities which have been removed from policy.
• Updating required bingo equipment to include bingo balls and paper bingo cards and clarifying video monitors do not have to be purchased from a registered gaming supplier.
• Requiring all bingo equipment must meet the Technical Standards for Event Management Systems and E-Daubers.
• Removing internal AGLC procedures related to approving bingo licence applications.
• Updating the procedures for Section 11.2: Incident Reports and Hearings to align with current AGLC practices.

4) Meeting the needs of bingo stakeholders:

• Moving the Rules of Play (Section 5.4) and House Rules (Section 5.5) from the CBH to a standalone document, which will outline the Commercial Bingo Rules of Play and House Rules. This will provide more flexibility and allow the documents to be updated more readily to reflect the industry’s changing needs and practices. Policy will reflect the requirement to comply with the Commercial Bingo Rules of Play and House Rules (which can be accessed on AGLC’s website at aglc.ca).
• Removing the maximum number of bingo games allowed in a bingo program for an event (previously limited to 75 games).
• Removing the maximum number of progressive games or schemes which may be offered per event (previously limited to 12 progressive games or schemes).
• Eliminating the EMS administrator position from policy and merging the EMS administrator duties with the hall manager’s responsibilities. The hall manager may be assisted in carrying out the EMS administration duties by up to two other existing paid staff (i.e., assistant hall manager, advisor, caller, or cashier).
• Removing the maximum of two types of pull ticket units which can be sold per seller. Bingo associations may decide how many types of units can be sold per seller.
• Removing the $1,000 prize value limit on pull tickets. AGLC will now approve the prize value limits as part of the approval of the pull ticket unit.
• Removing the maximum number of pull tickets permitted in a pull ticket unit (previously limited to no more than 10,000). AGLC will now approve the number of pull tickets as part of the approval of the pull ticket unit.
• Removing the maximum of four types of traditional pull ticket units and one type of seal card unit which may be sold at any one time. Bingo associations may now decide how many types of traditional pull ticket units and seal card units they wish to sell.
• Removing the limit on the number of bingo events which can be held each week. Previously, a licensed bingo facility could conduct up to 14 events per week.
• Creating a new “bingo event worker” subclass of registration in policy, which includes all hall advisors, assistant hall advisors, callers, cashiers, seller/checkers, bingo coordinators and pull ticket sellers. Those registered under this subclass may perform any of the positions listed, provided only one position is performed at a time. The following registered positions will continue to be registered separately: hall managers, assistant hall managers, pull ticket managers, security guards and bookkeepers.
• Amending the time period in which the annual budget must be submitted to AGLC. The annual budget must now be submitted to AGLC at least 15 days prior to the end of the bingo facility licensee’s fiscal year end, instead of 60 days prior.
• Amending the time period in which the event fee must be submitted to AGLC. The event fee must now be submitted to AGLC at least 15 days prior to the end of the bingo facility licensee’s fiscal year end. AGLC approval is no longer required for event fees.
• Amending the time period in which the bingo association must pay pull ticket licence fees. Bingo associations must now pay pull ticket licence fees by the 21st day of the following month, instead of by the seventh day of the following month.
• Requiring bingo facility licensees to establish a written policy for tips. The bingo tip policy must indicate the tip policy is not sanctioned by AGLC, which registered gaming workers are eligible to receive tips (volunteers are not eligible to receive tips) and how tips will be distributed.
• Amending the policy for the submission of the annual financial statements so certain required items do not have to be prepared or reviewed by the external auditor to lower costs for bingo associations. These items include: the separate statement reconciling revenue, the separate statement reconciling actual expenses and the reserve fund balances.