Opinion No. (1998)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General CLAYTON P. ROCHE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE TOM McCLINTOCK, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a bingo player use an electronic aid in conjunction with traditional bingo cards to notify him when a game has been won? CONCLUSION A bingo player may use an electronic aid in conjunction with traditional bingo cards to notify him when a game has been won. ANALYSIS In 1976 California voters approved an amendment to the Constitution specifying that "the Legislature by statute may authorize cities and counties to provide for bingo games, but only for charitable purposes." (Cal. Const., art. IV , § 19 , subd. (c).) The Legislature implemented this constitutional provision by enacting Penal Code section 326.5 . 1 The statute authorizes the playing of bingo where the games are conducted by a specified organization for charitable purposes pursuant to local ordinance. Subdivision (o) of section 326.5 defines "bingo" as follows: "As used in this section bingo' means a game of chance in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers or symbols on a card that conform to numbers…