§ 9-347. Gross proceeds; definite profit; use; restrictions; allocation of expenses.

(1) The gross proceeds of any lottery by the sale of pickle cards shall be used solely for lawful purposes, awarding of prizes, payment of the unit cost, any commission paid to a pickle card operator, allowable expenses, and allocations for bingo expenses as provided by subsection (5) of this section. (2) Not less than sixty-five percent or more than eighty percent of the gross proceeds of any lottery by the sale of pickle cards shall be used for the awarding of prizes. (3) Not more than twelve percent of the definite profit of a pickle card unit shall be used by the licensed organization to pay the allowable expenses of operating a lottery by the sale of pickle cards, except that license fees paid to the department to license the organization, each utilization-of-funds member, and any sales agent and pickle card dispensing device registration fees shall not be included in determining the twelve-percent limitation on expenses and no portion of such twelve percent shall be used to pay any expenses associated with the sale of pickle cards at a bingo occasion conducted pursuant to the Nebraska Bingo Act, and of such twelve percent not more than six percent of the definite profit may be used by the licensed organization for the payment of any commission, salary, or fee to a sales agent in connection with the marketing, sale, and delivery of a pickle card unit. When determining the twelve percent of definite profit that is permitted to pay the allowable expenses of operating a lottery by the sale of pickle cards, the definite profit from the sale of pickle cards at the organization's bingo occasions shall not be included. (4) Not more than thirty percent of the definite profit of a pickle card unit shall be used by a licensed organization to pay a pickle card operator a commission, fee, or salary for selling individual pickle cards as opportunities for participation in a lottery by the sale of pickle cards on behalf of the licensed organization. (5) An organization licensed to conduct bingo pursuant to the Nebraska Bingo Act may allocate a portion of the expenses associated with the conduct of its bingo occasions to its lottery by the sale of pickle cards conducted at such bingo occasions. Such allocation shall be based upon the percentage that pickle card gross proceeds derived from the sale of pickle cards at the bingo occasions represents to the total of bingo gross receipts and pickle card gross proceeds derived from such bingo occasions for the previous annual reporting period. An organization licensed to conduct bingo that has not been previously licensed shall determine such allocation based upon the percentage that pickle card gross proceeds derived from the sale of pickle cards at the bingo occasions represents to the total of bingo gross receipts and pickle card gross proceeds derived from such bingo occasions for the initial three consecutive calendar months of operation. The total amount of expenses that may be allocated to the organization's lottery by the sale of pickle cards shall be subject to the limitations on bingo expenses as provided for in the Nebraska Bingo Act with respect to the fourteen-percent expense limitation and the fair-market-value limitation on the purchase, rental, or lease of bingo equipment and the rental or lease of personal property or of a premises for the conduct of bingo. No expenses associated with the conduct of bingo may be paid directly from the pickle card checking account. A licensed organization which needs to allocate a portion of the expenses associated with the conduct of its bingo occasions to its lottery by the sale of pickle cards conducted at such bingo occasions to pay bingo expenses as provided by this section shall transfer funds from the pickle card checking account to the bingo checking account by a check drawn on the pickle card checking account or by electronic funds transfer. History: Laws 1986, LB 1027, § 113; Laws 1988, LB 1232, § 45; Laws 1989, LB 767, § 43; Laws 1994, LB 694, § 89; Laws 1995, LB 344, § 18; Laws 2002, LB 545, § 34; Laws 2009, LB286, § 2.