AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Currently, the aggregate prize limit on a single bingo occasion is $2,500.  That amount, interested parties assert, can be reached quickly if larger prizes are awarded during a bingo occasion.  However, there is growing concern that larger prizes are becoming necessary in many places to compete with other forms of entertainment and that such incentives effectively reduce the times during which bingo can be offered.  H.B. 394 seeks to address this issue by exempting regular bingo prizes of $50 or less from the aggregate limit in order to encourage charitable organizations to offer more bingo games with lower stakes during bingo occasions.

 

H.B. 394 amends current law relating to limits on prizes for bingo games.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Section 2001.420(b), Occupations Code, as follows:

 

(b) Prohibits a person from offering or awarding on a single bingo occasion prizes with an aggregate value of more than $2,500 for all bingo games other than pull-tab bingo or bingo games that award individual prizes of $50 or less.  Deletes existing text prohibiting a person, for bingo games other than pull-tab bingo, from offering or awarding on a single bingo occasion prizes with an aggregate value of more than $2,500.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.