Title 28, Sports and Amusements

§ 1505. Objectives; functions. (a) The primary objective of the Delaware Board of Charitable Gaming, to which all other objectives and purposes are secondary, is to protect the public through the regulation of activities which involve charitable gaming. (b) In meeting its objecti…

§ 1506. Members; Chair; meetings; quorum; records; conflict of interest. (a) Composition; Chair. — The Delaware Board of Charitable Gaming shall be composed of 5 members. Membership of the Board shall include: (1) The Director of the State Lottery Office or an employee of the Sta…

§ 1507. Powers and duties. The Board of Charitable Gaming shall have the power to consider and grant or deny applications, conduct investigations through the Division of Professional Regulation, impose penalties upon those not in compliance with the law or regulations, develop ru…

§ 1508. Duties; rules and regulations; forms. (a) The Board shall: (1) Supervise the administration of this chapter; and (2) Adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations governing the issuance and amendment of permits and licenses to conduct the games under such permits and lice…

§ 1509. Continuous study of operation of this chapter and similar laws. (a) The Board shall conduct a continuous study and investigation of the operation of this chapter for the purpose of making recommendations to the General Assembly for amendments. (b) The Board shall make a c…

§ 1510. Reports and recommendations by Board. The Board shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly biennially with its recommendations, if any, and at such other times as it may deem advisable.28 Del. C. 1953, § 1124; 51 Del. Laws, c. 65, § 1; 64 Del. Laws, c. 100, § 5…

§ 1511. Power to license. (a) The Board may license an organization as defined in article II, § 17A or § 17B of the state Constitution to conduct the games, provided the organization is located in and seeks to conduct the game in a district which has approved the licensing of gam…

§ 1512. Application; eligibility. (a) Each applicant for a permit or license shall file with the Board a written application in the form prescribed in its rules and regulations, duly executed and notarized, in which shall be stated the name and address of the applicant together w…

§ 1513. Conditions for granting permits or licenses. (a) The Board or its designee shall make a review of the qualifications of each applicant and the merits of each application. (b) The Board or its designee may issue a permit or license only after it determines that: (1) The ap…

§ 1514. License fees; exceptions. (a) There shall be a permit or license fee of $15 for each occasion upon which bingo or charitable gambling are to be conducted under such permit or license. (b) The Board or its designee may issue a permit or license without fee to any bona fide…

§ 1515. Duration of permit or license. (a) No permit or license shall be effective for a period of more than 1 year from the date it was issued. (b) No license shall be effective after the organization to which it was granted has become ineligible to conduct the game under any pr…

§ 1516. Refusal to permit or license; hearing. No properly submitted application for a license shall be refused by the Board or its designee until a hearing is held after proper notice to the applicant. At any such hearing the applicant shall be entitled to be heard upon the qual…

§ 1517. Amendments to permits or licenses. Any permit or license issued under this chapter may be amended by the Board or its designee if the subject matter of the proposed amendment could lawfully and properly have been included in the original license upon application and payme…

§ 1518. Permits and license provisions; display. (a) Each permit shall be in the form prescribed in the rules and regulations of the Board and shall contain: (1) The name and address of the permit holder; (2) The number of times and the hours during which such games are to be con…

§ 1519. Supervision. (a) The Board shall exercise control and supervision over all games to the end that the games are fairly conducted in accordance with the provisions of the permit or license, the rules and regulations of the Board, the provisions of the state Constitution and…

§ 1520. Limitations and regulations under license. (a) Bingo and charitable games conducted shall not commence prior to 12:00 p.m. The operation of a game shall be limited to 6 consecutive hours, except as permitted by regulation. Instant or sealed games are permitted during any …

§ 1521. Reports after games; records; examinations; applicability. (a) Within 30 days after the conclusion of any game, or within 60 days if the game is a raffle event conducted by a person or organization holding an annual raffle license under § 1535A of this title, the organiza…

§ 1522. Immunity from arrest for violation of gambling laws; exceptions. No person: (1) Lawfully conducting or participating in the conduct of; or (2) Possessing, selling or in any manner disposing of, any shares, tickets or rights to participate in; or (3) Permitting the conduct…

§ 1523. Suspension or revocation of license. The Board may suspend or revoke licenses, after hearing, for violations of this chapter or for violation of the rules and regulations adopted by the Board. At any hearing to suspend or revoke an otherwise valid license the Board shall …

§ 1524. Definitions. As used in this chapter: (1) “Bingo” means a game of chance played for prizes with cards bearing numbers or other designations, 5 or more in 1 line, the holder covering numbers as objects similarly numbered are drawn from a receptacle and the game being won b…

§ 1525. Prize limits. (a) In bingo, no prize will be offered or given in excess of the sum of $350 in any single game and the aggregate of all prizes offered or given in all of such games conducted on a single occasion shall not exceed the sum or value of $3,000. For purposes of …

§ 1526. Limitations. (a) The number of games which an applicant may conduct in any 1 calendar month shall be set by the rules and regulations of the Board, provided that no bingo permit holder or licensee issued a permit or license prior to July 14, 1998, shall conduct more than …

§ 1527. Definitions. As used in this chapter, “charitable gaming” means any game or scheme operated by an organization which has been in existence 2 years or longer in which chance is the dominant factor in the game, a consideration is paid to play and a prize may be won, excludi…

§ 1528. Poker games. The Board of Charitable Gaming shall promulgate rules and regulations concerning the game of poker; provided, however, a licensed organization shall not be prohibited from utilizing monitors and/or engaging the use of dealers at any poker game.69 Del. Laws, c…

§ 1529. Third-party vendors; charitable gaming vendors. (a) The Board of Charitable Gaming shall have the authority to regulate and license third-party or charitable gaming vendors. The Board shall mandate in its regulations that all officers of third-party or charitable gaming v…

§ 1530. Limit on gaming. (a) In charitable gaming, there shall be no limit on the amount a person may bet and no limit on the amount a person may win, except that no person may lose more than $150 in a single day. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, in a members-o…

§ 1531. Game rules. (a) Any permitted or licensed game sponsoring organization or organizations shall have discretionary authority to promulgate rules and regulations on the eligibility of persons permitted to participate in the game or games; provided, however, they have been ap…

§ 1532. Alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages shall be allowed to be sold and/or distributed at a charitable gaming event pursuant to the Liquor Control Act [Title 4].79 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 4;

§ 1533. Definitions. As used in this chapter, “raffle” means a form of lottery in which a number of persons buy 1 or more chances attempting to win the same prize. Games such as “Nevada cards” or “pull cards” where the amount of the prize is determined by the contents of the tick…

§ 1534. Time of raffle. An organization may conduct a raffle which will not be completed in 1 night. An organization may sell a chance which is good for an extended period of time with a series of drawings, with a chance to win a prize multiple times during that period, provided …

§ 1535. Conduct of raffles. Raffles shall be conducted in accordance with rules adopted by the Board of Charitable Gaming.79 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 4;

§ 1535A. Annual raffle license. (a) A person or organization may apply for an annual raffle license that allows the applicant to hold up to 20 raffle events per year. (b) The cost of an annual raffle license is $300. (c) A person or organization that obtains a license under this …

§ 1536. Legislative intent. The General Assembly hereby declares that the play of Texas Hold’em Poker for the purpose of raising funds, by certain nonprofit organizations, for the promotion of charitable or civic purposes, is in the public interest. It is hereby declared to be th…

§ 1537. Definitions for Texas Hold’em Poker. The following definitions apply to all the rules of Texas Hold’em Poker: (1) “All-in” means a player wages all of that player’s remaining chips to the pot. (2) “Ante” means a predetermined contribution to the pot before the first card …

§ 1538. Who may conduct Texas Hold’em Poker tournaments; control and supervision. (a) The game of Texas Hold’em Poker shall be conducted only by sponsoring organizations and shall be permitted and conducted according to the rules contained in this chapter and any regulations rega…

§ 1539. Texas Hold’em Poker tournament rules. (a) Deal. — (1) When a table is opened for play, the deck of cards in a game of Texas Hold’em Poker must be verified by the dealer as 1 new sealed complete standard deck of 52 cards. The design on the backs of the cards in the deck mu…

§ 1540. Ranking of cards in hand. The cards are ranked ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. A Texas Hold’em Poker hand in a showdown shall consist of 5 cards, ranked according to the following from highest to lowest: (1) Straight flush. — Five cards of the same…

§ 1541. Tie. Ties shall be broken and/or resolved according to house rules.75 Del. Laws, c. 117, § 1; 79 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 4;

§ 1542. Sponsoring organization to provide dealer. The sponsoring organization must provide the dealer, which may be provided by a licensed third-party or charitable gaming vendor. The dealer shall not play, make a bet or otherwise wager on a Texas Hold’em Poker game.75 Del. Laws…

§ 1543. Ante. Each individual player must ante by placing chips equaling the ante in front of the player on the table before the first card of the game is dealt. The dealer must sweep the antes and place them in the pot. Once the first card is dealt to any player, the ante may no…

§ 1544. Shuffling device. (a) If appropriate to the play of an approved Texas Hold’em Poker game, a Board-approved mechanical shuffling device may be used to dispense each player’s cards, and/or the community cards, as a group, to the dealer. The dealer shall then deal an intact …

§ 1545. Protection of hands. A player shall protect a held hand by holding onto it above the table or by placing 1 or more chips on it. A protected hand may not be ruled dead by accidental contact with discards unless it is impossible to reconstruct completely. A player who has a…

§ 1546. Misdeal. (a) A card that is meant to be dealt face downward but is dealt face upward or flashed as it is dealt so that a player might know its identity or a card that is dealt off the table is dead. An exposed card meant to be dealt face downward must be replaced. (b) In …

§ 1547. Burned cards. If the dealer burns a card, it must be kept separate from the muck until all cards have been dealt. If the dealer burns a card and is unable to deal immediately, the dealer may place the burned card back on top of the deck.75 Del. Laws, c. 117, § 1; 79 Del. …

§ 1548. Required statements when betting. A player may substitute a gesture for a verbal statement of the player’s action. The dealer must announce it, and the player must correct the dealer before any further action takes place. A player may verbally state an action as “check,” …

§ 1549. Call procedure. (a) Players who unintentionally put fewer chips into the pot than are needed to call must complete the call or withdraw the partial bet in full. If action has taken place, the player is responsible for completing such player’s bet, even if the player might…