July 2025

BINGO... from page 20.

zation,” such as a club, complete with appropriate found ing documents and compliant membership. Once you’ve established a “qualified organization,” you’re still far from ready to engage in legal games of chance. The next step is to register with the Commission. This involves filing an affidavit containing information about the organization and its membership, along with a copy of the organization’s governing documents, such as bylaws. The paperwork must be mailed to the Commission’s office in Newark, where the Commission will evaluate the docu ments to determine if your organization qualifies under the regulations. If the Commission determines that the organiza tion is qualified, it will issue a registration number. The journey does not end once you are registered with the Commission. With your registration number, you are now ready to apply for a gaming license. This is done at the municipal level, where you must file more paperwork with the clerk of the town in which your organization is based. Unlike the affidavit submitted to register the organization with the Commission, the license application requires the details of your gaming operation: the anticipated dates and hours of your games, anticipated expenses, suppliers CONTINUES ON PAGE 24

recognized volunteer fire company, officially rec ognized first aid squad, and officially recognized rescue squad, and senior citizens association or club, which: 1. Is organized as a non-profit or religious organiza tion and is authorized by its certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other written authority to support one of the authorized purposes; 2. Appoints the Executive Officer of the Control Commission as agent for the service of process; and 3. Is constituted of not fewer than five individuals. 5 For community associations, the most common form of “qualified organization” is the “senior citizens association or club.” Notably, the Commission has taken the position that age-restricted community associations are not qualify ing “senior citizens associations,” so communities seeking to obtain bingo registration must form a qualifying “organi

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JULY 2025