HomeMy WebLinkAboutNo 1054 Regulating Lawful Gambling in the City of MaplewoodORDINANCE No. 1054
AN ORDINANCE REGULATING LAWFUL GAMBLING IN THE CITY OF MAPLEWOOD
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section I. Chapter 22. – Lawful Gambling in the Maplewood city code is repealed in its
entirety and the following is adopted in its place:
Chapter 22 - LAWFUL GAMBLING
Sec. 22-1. Adoption of state law by reference.
The provisions of Minn. Stats. ch. 349, as they may be amended from time to time, with
reference to the definition of terms, conditions of operation, provisions relating to sales, and all
other matters pertaining to lawful gambling are hereby adopted by reference and are made a part
of this chapter as if set out in full. It is the intention of the council that all future amendments of
Minn. Stats. ch. 349 are hereby adopted by reference or referenced as if they had been in
existence at the time this article was adopted.
Sec. 22-2. City may be more restrictive than state law.
The city is authorized by the provisions of Minn. Stats. § 349.213, to impose, and has
imposed in this article, additional restrictions on gambling within its limits beyond those contained
in Minn. Stats. ch. 349.
Sec. 22-3. Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate lawful gambling within the City of Maplewood, to
ensure the integrity of operations, to provide for the use of net profits only for lawful purposes,
and to authorize only those games or game features discussed in Minn. Stats. ch. 349.
Sec. 22-4. Definitions.
In addition to the definitions contained in Minn. Stats. § 349.12, the following terms are
defined for purposes of this chapter:
Board means the State of Minnesota Gambling Control Board
Lawful gambling means the operation, conduct or sale of bingo, raffles, paddlewheels,
tipboards, and pulltabs.
Licensed organization means an organization licensed by the board, and excludes those
organizations exempted or excluded per Minn. Stats. § 349.166.
Local permit means a permit issued by the city.
Trade area means the City of Maplewood and each city contiguous to the City of Maplewood
to include St. Paul, Little Canada, North St. Paul, Oakdale, Roseville, While Bear Lake, Newport,
Vadnais Heights and Woodbury.
Sec. 22-5. Lawful gambling permitted.
Lawful gambling is permitted within the city provided it is conducted in accordance with Minn.
Stats. §§ 609.75—609.763, inclusive, as they may be amended from time to time and Minn. Stats.
§§ 349.11—349.23, inclusive.
Sec. 22-6. Lawful gambling at on-sale establishments.
No sale, consumption, or possession of liquor, wine, or 3.2 percent malt liquor shall be
permitted during gambling conducted by a licensed organization, except as permitted under a
valid on-sale liquor, wine, or 3.2 percent malt liquor license or a bottle club permit. Lawful
gambling at on-sale liquor, wine, and 3.2 percent malt liquor establishments shall be conducted
in compliance with the following:
(1) On-sale establishments shall be limited to one licensed organization at any one time in
the licensed premises and any rooms adjoining the premises under the same
management. No lease shall be made with one organization while another lease is in
effect for the same on-sale establishment.
(2) All gambling shall be conducted from a booth or the bar services area.
(a) If gambling is conducted from a booth, it shall be constructed and maintained by the
licensed organization and shall be under the exclusive control of that organization.
(3) No person shall be jointly employed by both the licensed organization and the on-sale
establishment. This section shall not apply when the licensed organization is also the
holder of the on-sale license for the establishment where the gambling is conducted.
(4) No gambling funds shall be commingled with funds of the on-sale establishment.
(5) No food, drink, or entertainment discounts or other promotions shall be offered in
conjunction with the sale of gambling devices or chances.
(6) The on-sale establishment shall allow the licensed organization to conduct gambling at
any time during its lawful business hours and shall prohibit gambling at any time other
than its lawful business hours.
Sec. 22-7. Application and local approval of premises permits.
(a) Any organization seeking to obtain a premises permit from the board shall file with the city
clerk an executed, complete duplicate application, together with all exhibits and documents
accompanying the application as will be filed with the board.
(b) Upon receipt of an application for issuance of a premises permit, the city clerk shall transmit
the application to the public safety director for review and recommendation.
(c) Organizations applying for a state issued premises permit shall pay the city an investigation
fee as set by state statute for cities of the second class. This fee shall be refunded if the
application is withdrawn before the investigation is commenced.
(d) The applicant shall be notified of the date of which the council will consider the
recommendation.
(e) The council shall, by resolution, approve or disapprove the application within 60 days of the
receipt of the application.
(f) The council shall disapprove an application for issuance of a premises permit for any of the
following reasons:
(1) Violation by the licensed organization of any state statute, state rule, or city ordinance
relating to gambling within the last three years;
(2) Violation by the on-sale establishment or organization leasing its premises for gambling,
of any state statute, state rule, or city ordinance relating to the operation of the
establishment, including, but not limited to, laws relating to alcoholic beverages,
gambling, controlled substances, suppression of vice and protection of public safety
within the last three years;
(3) The licensed organization already has four premises permits to conduct lawful gambling
in the city; or
(4) Operation of gambling at the site would be detrimental to health, safety, and welfare of
the community.
(g) Lawful gambling under license issued by the board may be conducted only at the following
locations:
(1) In the licensed organization's hall where it has its regular meetings. No organization
shall rent, lease, or occupy, directly or indirectly, any other property for the purpose of
conducting gambling, except an on-sale establishment as permitted in this chapter; or
(2) In licensed on-sale liquor, wine, and beer establishments;
(3) Notwithstanding subsections (g)(1) and (2) of this section, raffle-only licenses may be
approved for any proper location.
(h) No location shall be approved for gambling unless it complies with the applicable zoning,
building, fire, and health codes of the city.
Sec. 22-8. Application and local approval of an off-site premises permit.
(a) An organization seeking to conduct lawful gambling on a premises other than its permitted
premises and in conjunction with a county or state fair, a church festival, or a civic celebration
not to exceed 12 events per year and each event not lasting more than three days shall:
(1) File with the city clerk an executed, complete duplicate off-site premises permit
application as will be filed with the board at least 30 days prior to the gambling event.
(2) No fee shall be assessed by the city in connection with this application.
(b) The applicant shall be notified of the date of which the council will consider the application.
(c) The council shall, by a resolution, approve or disapprove the application at the next regularly
scheduled council meeting.
(d) The council shall disapprove the application for an off-site gambling permit for the following
reasons:
(1) The applicant has exceeded the number of event occurrences allowed by state statute;
(2) Violation by the gambling organization of any state statute, state rule, or city ordinance
relating to gambling within the last three years;
(3) Violation by the on-sale establishment or organization leasing its premises for gambling,
of any state statute, state rule, or city ordinance relating to the operation of the
establishment, including, but not limited to, laws related to alcoholic beverages,
gambling, controlled substances, suppression of vice and protection of public safety
within the last three years; or
(4) Operation of gambling at the site would be detrimental to health, safety, and welfare of
the community.
Sec. 22-9. Local permits.
(a) No organization shall conduct lawful gambling excluded or exempted from state licensure
requirements by Minn. Stats. § 349.166, without a valid local permit. A local permit is not
required for the following:
i. Bingo conducted within a nursing home or a senior citizen housing project or by a senior
citizen organization if the prizes for a single bingo game do not exceed $10, total prizes
awarded at a single bingo occasion do not exceed $200, only members of the organization,
residents of the nursing home or housing project, and their guests, are allowed to play in a
bingo game, no compensation is paid for any persons who conduct the bingo, and a manager
is appointed to supervise the bingo.
ii. Raffles conducted by an organization, if the value of all raffle prizes awarded by the
organization in a calendar year does not exceed $1,500 or, if the organization is a 501(c)3
organization, if the value of all raffle prizes awarded by the organization at one event in a
calendar year does not exceed $5,000.
(b) Applications for issuance of a local permit shall be on a form prescribed by the city and shall
be submitted at least 7 days prior to the gambling event. The form must be accompanied by
a proof of non-profit status and the board exempt or excluded application relevant to the
gambling activity.
(c) When filing an application for the issuance of a local permit under this section, the applicant
must pay to the city clerk, in full, the amount of the permit fee as imposed, set, established
and fixed by the city council, which fee shall not exceed the maximum dollar amount set by
state statute.
(d) The city clerk shall disapprove an application for issuance of a local permit for any of the
following reasons:
(1) Violation by the gambling organization of any state statute, state rule, or city ordinance
relating to gambling within the last three years;
(2) Violation by the on-sale establishment, or organization leasing its premises for
gambling, of any state statute, state rule, or city ordinance relating to the operation of
the establishment, including, but not limited to, laws relating to the operation of the
establishment, laws relating to alcoholic beverages, gambling, controlled substances,
suppression of vice and protection of public safety within the last three years;
(3) More than one organization will be conducting exempted or excluded lawful gambling
activities at any one premises at any one time;
(4) Failure of the applicant to pay the permit fee within the prescribed time limit; or
(5) Operation of gambling at the site would be detrimental to health, safety, and welfare of
the community.
Sec. 22-10. Revocation and suspension of local permit.
(a) A local permit may be revoked, or temporarily suspended for a violation by the gambling
organization of any state statute, state rule, or city ordinance relating to gambling.
(b) A permit shall not be revoked or suspended until notice and an opportunity for a hearing
have first been given to the permit holder. The notice shall be personally served and shall
state the provision reasonably believed to be violated. The notice shall also state that the
permit holder may demand a hearing on the matter, in which case the permit will not be
suspended until after the hearing is held. The permit holder must request a hearing at least
two weeks prior to the regularly scheduled council meeting. If, as a result of the hearing, the
council finds that an ordinance violation exists, then the council may suspend or revoke the
permit.
Sec. 22-11. License and permit display.
All permits issued under state statute or this chapter shall be prominently displayed at the
premises where gambling is conducted.
Sec. 22-12. Notification of material changes to application.
An organization holding a state issued premises permit or a local permit shall notify the city
in writing within 10 days whenever there is any material change in the information submitted in
the application.
Sec. 22-13. Contribution of net profits to fund administered by city.
(a) Each licensed organization conducting lawful gambling within the city pursuant to Minn.
Stats. § 349.16, shall contribute 10 percent of its net profits derived from lawful gambling in
the city to a fund administered and regulated by the city without cost to the fund. The city
shall disburse the funds for lawful purposes as defined by Minn. Stats. § 349.12, subd. 25.
An organization's receipts from lawful gambling that are exempt from licensing under Minn.
Stats. § 349.166 are not subject to 10 percent contribution imposed by this section.
(b) The 10 percent contribution imposed by this section shall be paid monthly to a fund
administered and regulated by the city, without cost to the city, for disbursement for lawful
purposes and shall be reported on a duplicate copy of the gambling tax return filed with the
board each month. The report shall be an exact duplicate of the report filed with the board,
without deletions or additions, and must contain the signatures of organization officials as
required on the report form. At the time of submitting a copy of the gambling tax return, each
organization shall also file a computation of charitable contribution form which may be
obtained from the city’s finance director.
The gambling tax return and payment of the contribution due must be postmarked or, if hand-
delivered, received in the office of the finance director on or before the last day of the month
following the month for which the report is made.
An incomplete gambling tax return will not be considered timely unless corrected and
returned by the due date for filing. Delays in the mailing, mail pickups, and postmarking are the
responsibility of the organization.
The tax return and contribution shall be delivered to:
Finance Director
City of Maplewood
1830 County Road B East
Maplewood, MN 55109
Checks shall be made payable to the city. The city must acknowledge financial contributions
of licensed organizations conducting lawful gambling to the community and the recipients of the
funds.
(c) There shall be an interest charge of eight percent per annum on the unpaid balance of all
overdue contributions owed by an organization under this section.
(d) The city council shall disapprove any pending premises permit application for any
organization which owes delinquent contributions to the city. Further, the city may notify the
board of any organization owing delinquent contributions to the city and may request that the
board revoke or suspend the organization's license. The city council shall not issue or renew
any on-sale alcoholic beverage license, bottle club permit, or food license to any organization
which owes delinquent contributions to the city. The remedies in this subsection are not
exclusive and shall be in addition to any other powers and remedies provided by law.
Sec. 22-14. Designated trade area.
(a) Each licensed organization conducting lawful gambling within the city shall expend at least
51 percent of its lawful purpose expenditures of gross profits on lawful purposes conducted
or located within the city's trade area.
(b) This section applies only to lawful purpose expenditures of gross profits derived from
gambling conducted at a premises within the city's jurisdiction.
Sec. 22-15. Records and reporting.
(a) Licensed organizations shall file with the city clerk one copy of all records and reports
required to be filed with the board, pursuant to Minn. Stats. ch. 349, and rules adopted
pursuant thereto. The records and reports shall be filed on or before the day they are required
to be filed with the board.
(b) Licensed organizations shall file a report with the city proving compliance with the trade area
spending requirements imposed by section 22-14. Such report shall be made on a form
prescribed by the city and shall be submitted annually.
Sec. 22-16. Penalty.
A violation of any provision of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor. Nothing in this chapter
shall preclude the city from enforcing this chapter by means of appropriate legal action.
Additionally, a violation of this chapter may be reported to the board and a recommendation may
be made for suspension, revocation or cancellation of an organization’s license.
Sec. 22-17. Severability.
If any provision of this chapter is found to be invalid for any reason by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.
Section II. This ordinance shall be effective following its adoption and publication.
Approved by the City Council of the City of Maplewood on July 28, 2025.
Marylee Abrams, Mayor
Attest:
Andrea Sindt, City Clerk