Did a Calvert County charity need a permit to hold bingo under Maryland law in 2000?

Plain-English summary

The Maryland Attorney General agreed in 2000 with Calvert County officials that charitable organizations, including volunteer fire departments, needed a Board of County Commissioners permit before conducting a charitable bingo event. The opinion distinguished an exemption from the county's commercial bingo licensing scheme from the later permit requirement for charitable gaming events.

The official PDF says the 1989 law added “the permitting process for charitable gaming events in Calvert County” and contained “no explicit exception” for charitable bingo. The AG cautioned that other Maryland jurisdictions had different gaming laws.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did the commercial bingo licensing exemption also excuse a Calvert charity from a permit? A: The AG said no. The charitable gaming permit requirement came later and contained no express bingo exception.

Q: Did this opinion establish a statewide charitable bingo permit rule? A: No. It expressly said the analysis did not apply to other political subdivisions because gaming laws varied.

Background and statutory framework

The PDF traced the county's charitable gaming authority under Article 27, §255, its commercial bingo licensing law under §259A, and the 1989 permit provision in §255(i). It is a short signed opinion agreeing with a joint letter from Calvert County's County Attorney and State's Attorney. The PDF refers readers to the AG's office for the attachment, which is not included in the public PDF; this page is limited to the signed text.

Citations and references

• Article 27, §255(i), the charitable gaming permit provision discussed in the opinion.
• Article 27, §259A, the commercial bingo licensing provision distinguished in the opinion.

Source

• Landing page: https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Pages/search-opinions.aspx
• Original PDF: https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Documents/pdfs/Opinions/2000/00-032.pdf

Original opinion text

Cite as: Opinion No. 00-032 (December 18, 2000) (unpublished)

GAMING ) BINGO ) CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION MUST OBTAIN PERMIT TO CONDUCT CHARITABLE BINGO EVENT IN CALVERT COUNTY

December 18, 2000

Mr. Emanuel Demedis, Esquire
County Attorney for Calvert County

Mr. Robert B. Riddle, Esquire
State’s Attorney for Calvert County

You have requested our opinion as to whether a volunteer fire department, or a fraternal, civic, war veterans’, religious, or charitable organization or corporation must obtain a permit from the Board of County Commissioners before conducting a charitable bingo event in Calvert County. In your letter, a copy of which is attached, you state your opinion that such an organization must obtain a permit.

We have carefully reviewed the matter and agree with your analysis and conclusions.
We have also reviewed the legislative history of the two statutes referenced in your letter. Briefly, in 1969 the Legislature amended Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 27, §255, to authorize charitable organizations in Calvert County to conduct carnivals, bazaars, or raffles and to award prizes “by such devices as ... bingo.” Chapter 617, Laws of Maryland 1969. No permitting process was established at that time. The next year, the Legislature enacted Article 27, §259A, which created a licensing regime for commercial bingo in Calvert County, but excluded charitable organizations “authorized by law to operate any such game,” presumably referring to the legislation passed the previous year. Chapter 575, Laws of Maryland 1970. Finally, in 1989 the General Assembly added the permitting process for charitable gaming events in Calvert County that now appears in Article 27, §255(i). Chapter 198, Laws of Maryland 1989. There was no explicit exception in that bill (House Bill 442) of bingo operated by a charitable organization. Although there is a brief reference in the floor report for that bill to the licensing provisions for commercial bingo in Article 27,

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§259A, there is no indication in the legislative file that the General Assembly intended to exempt charitable bingo from the permit process that the legislation established.1

We note that this analysis does not apply to other political subdivisions in the State, because the laws regulating bingo and other forms of gaming differ among various jurisdictions.

J. Joseph Curran, Jr.
Attorney General

Robert N. McDonald
Chief Counsel
Opinions & Advice

For a copy of the attachment email:[email protected]

1
In your letter you note that bingo operated by charitable organizations has historically been exempted from the permitting process in Calvert County, but that you have been unable to ascertain the reason for that practice. Should you obtain more information concerning the origin of the past practice, we would consider that information in our evaluation of the issue, although it would not necessarily affect the conclusion.