§ 8-39. Prizes, accounts; records.

(a)

Bingo prize amounts shall not exceed fifty (50) percent of gross revenues.

(b)

Proceeds from bingo shall be kept in a separate special bingo account which shall be in the form of a checking account in a bank with a branch in DeSoto County, Mississippi. Such checking account shall have preprinted consecutively numbered checks, and all checks shall be payable to a specific person or corporation. At no time shall any check be made payable to cash. All checks (voided and otherwise) shall be retained and accounted for as part of the quarterly records required of the licensee. All checks must require two (2) signatures. No person may borrow or use any bingo funds as a personal loan of any kind whatsoever. All gross receipts from each bingo game shall be deposited in the special bingo game account no later than the next business day following the date of the bingo game. Withdrawals from this account may be made for only the following purposes:

(1)

Payment of prizes;

(2)

Payment of authorized expenses;

(3)

Disbursement of net proceeds for a religious, charitable or educational purpose; and

(4)

Transfer to one (1) interest-bearing account pending disbursement. Any transfer from such interest bearing account shall only be to the special bingo account established by this section.

(c)

The disbursement of funds from an organization's bingo account shall only be by check. There shall be no commingling of any funds of the licensee with the bingo funds and any such funds commingled shall be considered to be bingo funds and governed by the applicable sections of this chapter.

(1)

A licensee shall award all prizes by check only.

(2)

Neither the licensee nor any worker, member or any other person connected with the authorized organization may cash a prize check. It shall be prohibited for the licensee to in any way provide check cashing services or to allow such services on the premises where the bingo game is conducted for a period of two (2) hours before and after such bingo game is conducted.

(d)

The licensee shall maintain a prize register to include at least the following information:

(1)

Name of the licensee;

(2)

Date of the bingo event;

(3)

Amount of prize;

(4)

Name, address, telephone number, driver's license number, if any, and signature of winner;

(5)

Social security number of winner.

Failure of a prize winner to provide the information required disqualifies a person from receiving a prize.

(e)

The maximum prize for any one (1) bingo game shall be five hundred dollars ($500.00) cash and the maximum total amount of prizes awarded on any one (1) date at a bingo game shall not exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000.00).

(f)

The licensee shall maintain its bingo records on a cash accounting basis. The licensee shall maintain its record, including the daily prize register, so that an audit may be conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(1)

The licensee shall retain its records for inspection by the city clerk or his designee for five (5) years from the end of the licensee's fiscal year.

(2)

The licensee shall on a quarterly basis account to the city clerk on forms prescribed by that office. These reports shall contain quarterly and year-to-date financial information and shall be filed within thirty (30) days of the end of each quarter. Such reports shall be made on forms approved by the city clerk.

(Ord. No. 51, § 8, 12-6-88)