PA HB1098 ~ A look behind the curtain of the Bill that allowed Small Games for PA Taverns

What appears to be a win for Taverns may be so; however once you read the HB 1098 you will find it is not going to be bringing taverns the windfall of money that they probably had thought.

Please note, Below is only my interpretation of HB1098.  The only interpretation that matters is the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Enforcement Bureau.  PA HB1098 and PA HB290 were both signed by Governor Corbett today.

Requirements:

Taverns will need to open 2 new bank accounts.

Separate Bank Accounts:

Bank Account #1.
Taverns will need to have a separate bank account used to hold the net revenue from tavern games. This account must be separate from all other funds belonging to the tavern.

Bank Account #2.

Taverns will need to open a Restricted Receipts Account that will also be known as the “Host municipality tavern games local share account’.  This account will be used by the Department to distribute monies to the taverns local municipality.
 

Pull Tabs:

Taverns will need to pay the 60% to the Commonwealth and 5% to the Restricted Receipts Account when they purchase the game(s) from their distributor.  If the Tavern does not sell all the tickets or if the top prize/payout amounts are purchased early and the customers do not continue purchasing the tickets, the taverns may lose money  on games.

Distribution of proceeds:

60% to the Commonwealth

35% retained by the Taverns

5% deposited into the Restricted Receipts Account

 

Daily Drawing and Raffle Winnings:

When someone wins the Daily Drawing and/or a Raffle, a 5% Tax is imposed upon the Net Revenue and deposited into the Restricted Receipts Account and 60% is retained for the Commonwealth.

Taverns MUST apparently must have one charitable Raffle a month with at least ½ of the proceeds going to the charity.   The charity must be clearly stated to participants of the tavern raffle.  Any net revenue made by the tavern from the raffle must be distributed as noted:

Distribution of proceeds:

60% to the Commonwealth

35% retained by the Taverns
5% deposited into the Restricted Receipts Account
 

·         After 60 days, any unclaimed raffle prizes MUST be donated to charitable organization for which the raffle was held (within 30 days after the 60 days, therefore within a total of 90 days).

 

·         Maximum individual Prize awarded for a single chance is $2,000.

 

·         Weekly aggregated prize limit can be no more than $35,000.

Some articles currently posted on the web:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/11/gov_tom_corbett_signs_bill_all.html

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=520362

http://wesa.fm/post/small-games-expand-bars-pa


Resources:
Listed Above and HB1098 printers no. 2639.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1098&pn=2639

 

PA HB290 and HB1098 Signed by Governor Corbett

HB290 and HB1098 were just signed into law by Governor Corbett.

Some parts of the HB1098 take effect immediately, while other parts of HB1098 take effect in 60 days.

All parts of HB290 appear to take effect in 60 days.

Our Sienna Database System will be modified as soon as the details are provided so we can continue providing PA Small Games of Chance Licensed Organizations with the best, most comprehensive Tracking, Recording and Reporting system available.  Our current customers that are current with maintenance and support payments will receive the updates at NO COST.

PA SGOC Accountability Starts with Myers Integrated Systems, LLC !

PA HB290 ~ Myers Integrated Systems, LLC initial thoughts after reading through HB290

Please note this is our initial thoughts only.  This is what we perceived from HB290 (and part of HB1098).

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Enforcement Bureau is the authority and we design our systems to be compliant to what the PLCE Bureau, PA Department of Revenue and your county laws dictate. 

·         The act shall take effect in 60 days (from the day the Governor signs the Bill into Law)

      ·         Each eligible organization which has proceeds in excess of $2,500 in a calendar year shall submit an annual report to the department.

·         Must retain records for a period of 2 years after the game is out of play, but no longer than 2 years.

·         PLCE Bureau will randomly Audit 5% of all organizations.

·         Pool Games and Race Night Games will now be allowed by Organizations

§  (New Schedules will most likely be introduced by the PLCE Bureau) 

·         Also, Raffles have been modified to allow for ‘Raffle Auctions’  (aka Chinese Auctions) where Raffle tickets are placed in a location assigned to a specific prize.

§  (This could also introduce a new schedule)

 

·         The Bill makes it easier to donate money to help local people that are going through a tragedy or are in need of help with medical expenses etc.

 

·         Organizations will need to record names and addresses of Person’s winning over $600 no matter the ‘cost of chance to play the game’.  The person(s) will also need to be presented with a receipt with the gaming/prize details including the date. 

§  Previous to HB290 the amount was over $100 (minus the cost of game).

·         Weekly Prize limits have been raised from $25,000 to $35,000.

 

·         Individual Prize Limits raised from $1000 to $2000.

 

·         Raffle Prize Limit in a month raised from $10,000 to $15,000.

 

·         No more than $150,000 prizes awarded in a calendar year (was $100,000).

 

·         Daily Drawing Prize limit went from $1000 to $2000 (unless the prize includes a carryover).

 

·         Specifically states that concurrent Daily and Weekly Drawings can occur.

 

·         Pull-tab and Punchboard games cannot have a single prize in excess of $2000.

 

·         If organizations have proceeds that exceed $40,000 per year they are required to have a separate SGOC Checking account. 

§  (previously ALL SGOC licensees were required to have a separate bank account)

 

Below information I extracted from HB1098 as HB290 only specified the requirement for clubs to report if the proceeds were over $2500 and did not specify the distribution split requirement.

 

Beginning in January 1, 2013.  If a clubs proceeds is $40,000 or less the club can retain the first $20,000 in proceeds in the following calendar year before a 60-40 split applies (see 60-40 split below). 

 Question to the lawmakers:  What happens if proceeds exceed $40,000?  Do the organizations still get to keep the first $20,000?  What is the difference and/or significance of reaching $40,001?

 60-40 Split.  Clubs must donate 60% of the proceeds for public interest purposes and they can use 40% for the operational expenses relating to the club licensee (same categories listed as when it was 30%)

Resources:
Please consider this as it is stated;  Initial thoughts on HB290.  The resources were the actual HB290 and HB1098 Bills.  Please note that this is not a comprehensive overview of the Bill.

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=0290&pn=2651

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1098&pn=2639

PA HB1098 (with HB290) ~ Only the Governor’s signature away

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2013&sInd=0&body=h&type=b&bn=1098

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out HB1098 (with HB290):

 http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1098&pn=2639

 We will review and break down what this means to Small Games of Chance Licensed Organizations once we know the Bill has been signed into Law.

 

One thing you can count on for sure,  PA SGOC Accountability for Licensed Organizations starts here:

www.myersintsystems.com

 

Resources:

See links above

 

HB290 and HB1098 expected to pass and be signed by Governor Corbett

WTAJ news reported from the Ashville VFW Post 4315 and Altoona’s Jack and Georges Pub yesterday regarding the impact of the passage of House Bill 1098. 

Note:  Ashville VFW Post 4315 is one of the original BETA customers of the Sienna Database System©(SDS)

http://www.wearecentralpa.com/story/small-games-of-chance-law-could-change/d/story/cZAhx5VmEUOY6uHTryQwOA

Below is an interesting article from yorkdispatch.com;

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_24516836/pa-house-passes-small-games-chance-expansion

Also one from PennLive:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/11/small_games_of_chance_expansio_1.html
 

When HB290 and HB1098 pass, there will be no excuse for not keeping records of your SGOC activity.  Our easy to use Sienna Database System is the ONLY system approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and it will record, track and report ALL of Small Games of Chance Activities allowed by law. 

The article above mentions that 2 new games will be introduced with HB290.  Race night games and small sports betting pools.  When HB290 passes and is signed by the Governor we will provide updates to our current SDS customers systems to also record and report the Race night game and small sports betting pool games.

Anytime the SGOC law changes, our Sienna Database System will be updated to ensure our customers have the tools available to be accountable.

All SGOC licensed organizations will need to show the state how much money they made by recording and reporting their SGOC activity.  Don’t risk losing your SGOC license or not having your SGOC license renewed, provide your organization with our affordable easy to use system Sienna Database System©.

We recently updated and posted our Brochure online you can download the brochure by clicking on the following link:

http://www.myersintsystems.com/documents/SDS%20Brochure.pdf

Check out some of our current customers on our Facebook page and see how easy our system is to us on our YouTube page:

www.facebook.com/PASGOC

www.youtube.com/PASGOC

 

Resources:

Links are listed above