Religious Organizations

Religious Organizations. (a) Fees based on gross proceeds shall not be collected from any bingo game held by a religious organization if all the following are satisfied: 1. The religious organization must have been in existence for at least ten (10) years; 2. The bingo games must be held on-premises owned by the religious organization; 3. No person may be compensated for operating the game; and 4. The gross proceeds for the bingo games operated by the religious organization has not exceeded Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) for the calendar year. Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 97-33-107(c). (b) The religious organization is required to submit monthly reports and all information as is required from all licensed charitable organizations. (c) “Gross proceeds” is the total amount received from the participants of the bingo games. Prizes awarded and other expenses are not deducted from this figure to calculate gross proceeds. When gross proceeds are equal to Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) for a calendar year, the religious organization must begin submitting fees based on gross proceeds and electronic pull-tab devices as provided by class of organization for the remainder of the calendar year. (d) It is the responsibility of the religious organization to anticipate when fees must be remitted. All procedures established for the payment of fees must be followed by the religious organization. (e) The religious organization is not exempt from any provisions or rules such as reporting requirements or the number of sessions which may be held, age of participants, the amount of prizes which may be awarded, or any other rule governing bingo operations. The religious organization is not exempt from the fee imposed on pull-tab bingo.