N.M. Admin. Code § 15.4.7.11 - CONDUCT DURING BINGO GAMES

A. The caller shall:

(1) announce whether last ball called is or is not required;

(2) remove and hold only one ball at a time from the blower;

(3) call all letters and numbers clearly twice to all players present during the occasion;

(4) immediately following the calling of each number in a bingo game, the caller shall turn the portion of the ball, which shows the number and the letter to the players in the game so they may know that the proper number has been called;

(5) upon discovering that a number has been called incorrectly:

(a) the game shall immediately stop;

(b) the caller shall announce "an error has been made, I am reading the correct number, please correct your card"; and

(c) then correct the board and continue with the game.

(6) not return a ball to any part of the blower until the conclusion of the game.

B. Each bingo game will be closed with the following procedure:

(1) the game shall be stopped after the winning combination has been signaled by a player;

(2) only the balls called are in play;

(3) a ball in the caller's hand, on a monitor, or otherwise segregated from other balls will not be called or placed into play; this ball will be held by the caller until the bingo winning combination has been verified;

(4) if it is a bingo winning combination the ball is returned to the machine and the game is over;

(5) if a game is stopped for a bingo declaration which proves not to be valid, the caller will then call the ball being held at the time the game was stopped;

(6) the bingo employee on the floor shall place the bingo card to be checked as a winner in front of at least one other player, with that player being given an opportunity to confirm that the bingo declared is a valid bingo winning combination by watching the card as the numbers are called;

(7) the caller shall require the bingo employee on the floor checking the bingo combination to read off the manufacturer's identification number and serial number of each winning card;

(8) the bingo employee on the floor shall announce the numbers of the bingo winning combination to the bingo caller who shall confirm using the master board, or, in case of a "cover-all" bingo, the caller shall call the numbers that have not been called using the master board; and

(9) the bingo caller shall then ask the players, "are there any other bingos?" If no one answers, the caller shall announce, "this game is completed".

C. The caller cannot verify the winning bingo numbers on the floor. Another bingo employee shall call the player's declared bingo numbers to the caller for verification.

D. In a bingo game where only a specific number of numbered balls will be called, that number shall be announced by the caller prior to the removal of the first ball from the blower. Prior to the last ball being removed from the blower the caller will announce "last ball".

E. When conducting a "winner take all" bingo game, the bingo manager shall ensure that:

(1) the caller announces the number of cards sold and the prize amount prior to the beginning the game;

(2) a record of the game is compiled containing:

(a) the number of cards sold;

(b) the date and time the game was conducted;

(c) if the prize value is equal to or exceeds $600, the winner(s) contact information;

(d) copies of any required tax reporting documents; and

(e) this record is retained in accordance with the 15.4.1.12 NMAC; and

(f) the aggregate amount of all prizes offered or given in all bingo games played in a single occasion shall not exceed $2,500, exclusive of pull-tabs, raffles and door prizes.

F. In the event of a power outage, with the approval of the majority of players the caller may continue by removing bingo balls from the hopper manually.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 15.4.7.11

15.4.7.11 NMAC - Rp, 15.4.2.10 NMAC, 4/15/2013, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 04, February 23, 2021, eff. 2/23/2021