N.Y. GMU Law § 186 — New York Code / Act GMU / Article 9-A / Section 186
Definitions
Status: in_force

§ 186. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall\nhave the following meanings:\n  1. "Municipality" shall mean any city, town or village within this\nstate.\n  2. "Board" shall mean New York state gaming commission created\npursuant to section one hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering\nand breeding law.\n  * 2-a. "Commission" means the New York state gaming commission.\n  * NB Effective December 19, 2026\n  3. "Games of chance" shall mean and include only the games known as\n"merchandise wheels", "coin boards", "merchandise boards", "seal cards",\n"event games", "raffles", and "bell jars" and such other specific games\nas may be authorized by the board, in which prizes are awarded on the\nbasis of a designated winning number or numbers, color or colors, symbol\nor symbols determined by chance, but not including games commonly known\nas "bingo or lotto" which are controlled under article fourteen-H of\nthis chapter and also not including "bookmaking", "policy or numbers\ngames" and "lottery" as defined in section 225.00 of the penal law. No\ngame of chance shall involve wagering of money by one player against\nanother player.\n  * 3-a. "Bell jars" shall mean and include those games in which a\nparticipant shall draw a card from a jar, vending machine, or other\nsuitable device or container which contains numbers, colors or symbols\nthat are covered and which, when uncovered, may reveal that a prize\nshall be awarded on the basis of a designated winning number, color or\nsymbol or combination of numbers, colors or symbols. Bell jars shall\nalso include seal cards, coin boards, event games, and merchandise\nboards.\n  * NB Effective until December 19, 2026\n  * 3-a. "Bell jars" shall mean and include those games in which a\nparticipant shall draw a card from a jar, vending machine, including an\nelectronic bell jar vending machine, or other suitable device or\ncontainer which contains numbers, colors or symbols that are covered and\nwhich, when uncovered, may reveal that a prize shall be awarded on the\nbasis of a designated winning number, color or symbol or combination of\nnumbers, colors or symbols. Bell jars shall also include seal cards,\ncoin boards, event games, and merchandise boards.\n  * NB Effective December 19, 2026\n  3-b. "Raffle" shall mean and include those games of chance in which a\nparticipant pays money in return for a ticket or other receipt and in\nwhich a prize is awarded on the basis of a winning number or numbers,\ncolor or colors, or symbol or symbols designated on the ticket or\nreceipt, determined by chance as a result of:\n  (a) a drawing from among those tickets or receipts previously sold; or\n  (b) a random event, the results of which correspond with tickets or\nreceipts previously sold.\n  3-c. "Coin board" and "merchandise board" shall mean a board used in\nconjunction with bell jar tickets which contains and displays various\ncoins and/or merchandise as prizes. A player having a bell jar ticket\nwith a number matching a pre-designated number reflected on the board\nfor a prize wins that prize.\n  3-d. "Seal cards" shall mean a board or placard used in conjunction\nwith a deal of the same serial number which contains one or more\nconcealed areas that, when removed or opened, reveal a predesignated\nwinning number, letter, or symbol located on the board or placard. A\nseal card used in conjunction with an event game shall not be required\nto contain lines for prospective seal winners to sign their name.\n  3-e. "Event game" shall mean a bell jar game in which certain winners\nare determined by the random selection of one or more bingo numbers, the\nuse of a seal card or by another method approved by the board.\n  4. "Authorized organization" shall mean and include any bona fide\nreligious or charitable organization or bona fide educational, fraternal\nor service organization or bona fide organization of veterans or\nvolunteer firefighters, which by its charter, certificate of\nincorporation, constitution, or act of the legislature, shall have among\nits dominant purposes one or more of the lawful purposes as defined in\nthis article, provided that each shall operate without profit to its\nmembers, and provided that each such organization has engaged in serving\none or more of the lawful purposes as defined in this article for a\nperiod of three years immediately prior to applying for a license under\nthis article.\n  No organization shall be deemed an authorized organization which is\nformed primarily for the purpose of conducting games of chance and which\ndoes not devote at least seventy-five percent of its activities to other\nthan conducting games of chance. No political party shall be deemed an\nauthorized organization.\n  5. "Lawful purposes" shall mean one or more of the following causes,\ndeeds or activities:\n  (a) Those which shall benefit needy or deserving persons indefinite in\nnumber by enhancing their opportunity for religious or educational\nadvancement, by relieving them from disease, suffering or distress, or\nby contributing to their physical wellbeing, by assisting them in\nestablishing themselves in life as worthy and useful citizens, or by\nincreasing their comprehension of and devotion to the principles upon\nwhich this nation was founded and enhancing their loyalty to their\ngovernments.\n  (b) Those which shall initiate, perform or foster worthy public works\nor shall enable or further the erection or maintenance of public\nstructures.\n  (c) Those that otherwise lessen the burdens borne by government or\nthat are voluntarily undertaken by an authorized organization to augment\nor supplement services which government would normally render to the\npeople, including, in the case of volunteer firefighters or voluntary\nemergency medical service activities, the purchase, erection or\nmaintenance of a building for a firehouse or a volunteer ambulance corps\nbuilding, activities open to the public for the enhancement of\nmembership and the purchase of equipment that can reasonably be expected\nto increase the efficiency of response to fires, accidents, medical\nemergencies, public calamities and other emergencies.\n  d. Those which shall initiate, perform or foster the provisions of\nservices to veterans by encouraging the gathering of such veterans and\nshall enable or further the erection or maintenance of facilities for\nuse by such veterans which shall be used primarily for charitable or\npatriotic purposes, or those purposes which shall be authorized by a\nbona fide organization of veterans, provided however that such proceeds\nare disbursed pursuant to section one hundred eighty-nine of this\narticle.\n  6. "Net proceeds" shall mean (a) in relation to the gross receipts\nfrom one or more license periods of games of chance, the amount that\nshall remain after deducting the reasonable sums necessarily and\nactually expended for supplies and equipment, prizes,\nsecurity-personnel, stated rental if any, bookkeeping or accounting\nservices according to a schedule of compensation prescribed by the\nboard, janitorial services and utility supplies if any, license fees,\nand the cost of bus transportation, if authorized by the clerk or\ndepartment and (b) in relation to the gross rent received by an\nauthorized games of chance lessor for the use of its premises by a game\nof chance licensee, the amount that shall remain after deducting the\nreasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for janitorial\nservices and utility supplies directly attributable thereto if any.\n  7. "Net lease" shall mean a written agreement between a lessor and\nlessee under the terms of which the lessee is entitled to the\npossession, use or occupancy of the whole or part of any premises from\nany non-commercial or non-profit authorized games of chance lessor for\nwhich the lessee pays rent to the lessor and likewise undertakes to pay\nsubstantially all of the regularly recurring expenses incident to the\noperation and maintenance of such leased premises.\n  8. "Authorized games of chance lessor" shall mean an authorized\norganization which has been granted a lessor's license pursuant to the\nprovisions of this article or a municipality.\n  9. "Single type of game" shall mean the games of chance known as\nmerchandise wheels, coin boards, merchandise boards, event games,\nraffles, and bell jars and each other specific game of chance authorized\nby the board.\n  10. "Operation" shall mean the play of a single type of game of chance\nnecessary to determine the outcome or winners each time wagers are made.\nA single drawing of a winning ticket or other receipt in a raffle shall\nbe deemed one operation.\n  11. "Single prize" shall mean the sum of money or fair market value of\nmerchandise or coins awarded to a participant by a games of chance\nlicensee in any one operation of a single type of game of chance in\nexcess of his wager.\n  12. "Series of prizes" shall mean the total amount of single prizes\nminus the total amount of wagers lost during the successive operations\nof a single type of game of chance, except that for merchandise wheels\nand raffles, "series of prizes" shall mean the sum of cash and the fair\nmarket value of merchandise awarded as single prizes during the\nsuccessive operations of any single merchandise wheel or raffle. In the\ngame of raffle, a series of prizes may include a percentage of the sum\nof cash received from the sale of raffle tickets.\n  13. "Authorized supplier of games of chance equipment" shall mean any\nperson, firm, partnership, corporation or organization licensed by the\nboard to sell or lease games of chance equipment or paraphernalia which\nmeets the specifications and regulations established by the board.\nNothing herein shall prevent an authorized organization from purchasing\ncommon articles, such as cards and dice, from normal sources of supply\nof such articles or from constructing equipment and paraphernalia for\ngames of chance for its own use. However, no such equipment or\nparaphernalia, constructed or owned by an authorized organization shall\nbe sold or leased to any other authorized organization, without written\npermission from the board.\n  14. "One occasion" shall mean the successive operations of any one\nsingle type of game of chance which results in the awarding of a series\nof prizes amounting to five hundred dollars or four hundred dollars\nduring any one license period, in accordance with the provisions of\nsubdivision eight of section one hundred eighty-nine of this article, as\nthe case may be. For purposes of the game of chance known as a\nmerchandise wheel or a raffle, "one occasion" shall mean the successive\noperations of any one such merchandise wheel or raffle for which the\nlimit on a series of prizes provided by subdivision six of section one\nhundred eighty-nine of this article shall apply. For purposes of the\ngame of chance known as a bell jar, "one occasion" shall mean the\nsuccessive operation of any one such bell jar, seal card, event game,\ncoin board, or merchandise board which results in the awarding of a\nseries of prizes amounting to three thousand dollars. For the purposes\nof the game of chance known as raffle "one occasion" shall mean a\ncalendar year during which successive operations of such game are\nconducted.\n  15. "License period" shall mean a period of time not to exceed\nfourteen consecutive hours and, for purposes of the game of chance known\nas a bell jar and a raffle, "license period" shall mean a period of time\nrunning from January first to December thirty-first of each year.\n  16. "Clerk" shall mean the clerk of a municipality outside the city of\nNew York.\n  17. "Officer" shall mean the chief law enforcement officer of a\nmunicipality outside the city of New York, or if such municipality\nexercises the option set forth in subdivision two of section one hundred\nninety-four of this article, the chief law enforcement officer of the\ncounty.\n  18. "Department" shall mean the New York City Department of Consumer\nAffairs.\n  19. "Premises" shall mean a designated area within a building, hall,\ntent, or grounds reasonably identified for the conduct of games of\nchance. Nothing herein shall require such area to be enclosed.\n  20. "Games of chance currency" shall mean legal tender or a form of\nscrip or chip authorized by the board, except for games known as\n"raffles" whereby payment shall mean legal tender, credit or debit card\nor personal check, any of which may be used at the discretion of the\ngames of chance licensee.\n  21. "Flare" shall mean a poster description of the bell jar game,\nwhich shall include a declaration of the number of winners and amount of\nprizes in each deal, the number of prizes available in the deal, the\nnumber of tickets in each deal which contain the stated prize; the\nmanufacturer's game form number, and the serial number of the deal which\nshall be identical to the serial number imprinted on each ticket\ncontained in the deal.\n  * 22. "Gaming facility" means any commercial casino licensed pursuant\nto article thirteen of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding\nlaw, or a video lottery gaming facility operating pursuant to article\nthirty-four of the tax law. Locations of such facilities shall be those\nidentified by the commission.\n  * NB Effective December 19, 2026\n  * 23. "Veteran organization" means a members-only organization\ncomprising veterans and their family members, where the organization's\nfocus is on the support of and advocacy for veterans and military\nservice members and that is licensed to operate bell jar games as of\nNovember thirtieth, two thousand twenty-five and shall not include any\nauxiliary organizations.\n  * NB Effective December 19, 2026\n  * 24. "Volunteer fire company" shall mean a fire company as defined in\nsubdivision two of section three of the volunteer firefighters' benefit\nlaw, and whose members provide firefighting services on a volunteer\nbasis.\n  * NB Effective December 19, 2026\n