Q: I own thousand dollars worth of baskets & want to have a bingo , to raise money for my daughters college fund.
now I'm being told I need a permit. I've already sold tickets for this event. I already signed a contract with the fire department. I need help
A:
Refund the money for the tickets sold, cancel the event, negotiate a return of the rental money. Private for-profit bingo games in Baltimore County are illegal, as they are in most counties. They may only be held for charitable purposes by charitable or non-profit organizations to raise money for their organization or for other charitable donations. Licenses are required for those approved purposes. Commercial private bingo games and other games of chance or raffles are not permitted, unless there is a county code provision allowing it. For instance, I believe there is (or used to be) a commercial bingo license that could be obtained for Anne Arundel County, limited to three licenses issued per year total, at a cost of $3,000/license. Maryland Criminal Code Section 13-606 applies to bingo games in Baltimore County:
https://govt.westlaw.com/mdc/Document/N158C4A709CDE11DB9BCF9DAC28345A2A?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default)
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