NY Gen Mun L § 186 (2021)
2021 New York Laws GMU - General Municipal Article 9-A - Local Option for Conduct of Games of Chance by Certain Organizations 186 - Definitions.

§ 186. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:   1.  "Municipality"  shall  mean  any city, town or village within this state.   2. "Board"  shall  mean  New  York  state  gaming  commission  created pursuant  to section one hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law.   3. "Games of chance" shall mean and include only the  games  known  as "merchandise wheels", "coin boards", "merchandise boards", "seal cards", "event  games", "raffles", and "bell jars" and such other specific games as may be authorized by the board, in which prizes are  awarded  on  the basis of a designated winning number or numbers, color or colors, symbol or  symbols determined by chance, but not including games commonly known as "bingo or lotto" which are controlled  under  article  fourteen-H  of this  chapter  and  also  not including "bookmaking", "policy or numbers games" and "lottery" as defined in section 225.00 of the penal  law.  No game  of  chance  shall  involve wagering of money by one player against another player.   3-a. "Bell jars" shall  mean  and  include  those  games  in  which  a participant  shall  draw  a  card  from a jar, vending machine, or other suitable device or container which contains numbers, colors  or  symbols that  are  covered  and  which,  when uncovered, may reveal that a prize shall be awarded on the basis of a designated winning number,  color  or symbol  or  combination  of  numbers, colors or symbols. Bell jars shall also include seal cards,  coin  boards,  event  games,  and  merchandise boards.   3-b.  "Raffle" shall mean and include those games of chance in which a participant pays money in return for a ticket or other  receipt  and  in which  a  prize  is awarded on the basis of a winning number or numbers, color or colors, or symbol  or  symbols  designated  on  the  ticket  or receipt, determined by chance as a result of:  (a) a drawing from among those tickets or receipts previously sold; or  (b)  a  random  event, the results of which correspond with tickets or receipts previously sold.   3-c. "Coin board" and "merchandise board" shall mean a board  used  in conjunction  with  bell  jar tickets which contains and displays various coins and/or merchandise as prizes. A player having a  bell  jar  ticket with  a  number  matching a pre-designated number reflected on the board for a prize wins that prize.   3-d. "Seal cards" shall mean a board or placard  used  in  conjunction with  a  deal  of  the  same  serial  number  which contains one or more concealed areas that, when removed or  opened,  reveal  a  predesignated winning  number,  letter,  or  symbol located on the board or placard. A seal card used in conjunction with an event game shall not  be  required to contain lines for prospective seal winners to sign their name.   3-e.  "Event game" shall mean a bell jar game in which certain winners are determined by the random selection of one or more bingo numbers, the use of a seal card or by another method approved by the board.   4. "Authorized organization" shall mean  and  include  any  bona  fide religious or charitable organization or bona fide educational, fraternal or  service  organization  or  bona  fide  organization  of  veterans or volunteer  firefighters,  which   by   its   charter,   certificate   of incorporation, constitution, or act of the legislature, shall have among its  dominant  purposes one or more of the lawful purposes as defined in this article, provided that each shall operate  without  profit  to  its members, and provided that each such organization has engaged in serving one  or  more  of  the  lawful purposes as defined in this article for a  period of three years immediately prior to applying for a license  under this article.   No  organization  shall  be deemed an authorized organization which is formed primarily for the purpose of conducting games of chance and which does not devote at least seventy-five percent of its activities to other than conducting games of chance. No political party shall be  deemed  an authorized organization.   5.  "Lawful  purposes" shall mean one or more of the following causes, deeds or activities:  (a) Those which shall benefit needy or deserving persons indefinite in number by enhancing  their  opportunity  for  religious  or  educational advancement,  by  relieving them from disease, suffering or distress, or by contributing to  their  physical  wellbeing,  by  assisting  them  in establishing  themselves  in  life  as worthy and useful citizens, or by increasing their comprehension of and devotion to  the  principles  upon which  this  nation  was  founded  and  enhancing their loyalty to their governments.  (b) Those which shall initiate, perform or foster worthy public  works or  shall  enable  or  further  the  erection  or  maintenance of public structures.  (c) Those that otherwise lessen the burdens  borne  by  government  or that are voluntarily undertaken by an authorized organization to augment or  supplement  services  which  government would normally render to the people, including, in the case of volunteer  firefighters  or  voluntary emergency   medical   service  activities,  the  purchase,  erection  or maintenance of a building for a firehouse or a volunteer ambulance corps building,  activities  open  to  the  public  for  the  enhancement   of membership and the purchase of equipment that can reasonably be expected to  increase  the  efficiency  of  response to fires, accidents, medical emergencies, public calamities and other emergencies.   d. Those which shall initiate, perform or  foster  the  provisions  of services  to  veterans by encouraging the gathering of such veterans and shall enable or further the erection or maintenance  of  facilities  for use  by  such  veterans  which shall be used primarily for charitable or patriotic purposes, or those purposes which shall  be  authorized  by  a bona  fide organization of veterans, provided however that such proceeds are disbursed pursuant  to  section  one  hundred  eighty-nine  of  this article.   6.  "Net  proceeds"  shall  mean (a) in relation to the gross receipts from one or more license periods of games of  chance,  the  amount  that shall  remain  after  deducting  the  reasonable  sums  necessarily  and actually    expended    for    supplies    and    equipment,     prizes, security-personnel,  stated  rental  if  any,  bookkeeping or accounting services according to a  schedule  of  compensation  prescribed  by  the board,  janitorial  services  and utility supplies if any, license fees, and the cost of bus  transportation,  if  authorized  by  the  clerk  or department  and  (b)  in  relation  to  the  gross  rent  received by an authorized games of chance lessor for the use of its premises by a  game of  chance  licensee,  the  amount that shall remain after deducting the reasonable  sums  necessarily  and  actually  expended  for   janitorial services and utility supplies directly attributable thereto if any.   7.  "Net  lease"  shall  mean a written agreement between a lessor and lessee  under  the  terms  of  which  the  lessee  is  entitled  to  the possession,  use  or occupancy of the whole or part of any premises from any non-commercial or non-profit authorized games of chance  lessor  for which  the lessee pays rent to the lessor and likewise undertakes to pay substantially all of the regularly recurring expenses  incident  to  the operation and maintenance of such leased premises.    8.  "Authorized  games  of  chance  lessor"  shall  mean an authorized organization which has been granted a lessor's license pursuant  to  the provisions of this article or a municipality.   9.  "Single  type  of  game"  shall  mean the games of chance known as merchandise  wheels,  coin  boards,  merchandise  boards,  event  games, raffles, and bell jars and each other specific game of chance authorized by the board.   10. "Operation" shall mean the play of a single type of game of chance necessary to determine the outcome or winners each time wagers are made. A  single drawing of a winning ticket or other receipt in a raffle shall be deemed one operation.   11. "Single prize" shall mean the sum of money or fair market value of merchandise or coins awarded to a  participant  by  a  games  of  chance licensee  in  any  one  operation  of a single type of game of chance in excess of his wager.   12. "Series of prizes" shall mean the total amount  of  single  prizes minus  the  total amount of wagers lost during the successive operations of a single type of game of chance, except that for  merchandise  wheels and  raffles, "series of prizes" shall mean the sum of cash and the fair market  value  of  merchandise  awarded  as  single  prizes  during  the successive  operations of any single merchandise wheel or raffle. In the game of raffle, a series of prizes may include a percentage of  the  sum of cash received from the sale of raffle tickets.   13.  "Authorized supplier of games of chance equipment" shall mean any person, firm, partnership, corporation or organization licensed  by  the board  to sell or lease games of chance equipment or paraphernalia which meets the specifications  and  regulations  established  by  the  board. Nothing  herein shall prevent an authorized organization from purchasing common articles, such as cards and dice, from normal sources  of  supply of  such  articles  or from constructing equipment and paraphernalia for games of  chance  for  its  own  use.  However,  no  such  equipment  or paraphernalia,  constructed or owned by an authorized organization shall be sold or leased to any other authorized organization, without  written permission from the board.   14.  "One  occasion"  shall  mean the successive operations of any one single type of game of chance which results in the awarding of a  series of  prizes  amounting  to  five  hundred dollars or four hundred dollars during any one license period, in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of subdivision eight of section one hundred eighty-nine of this article, as the  case  may  be.  For  purposes  of  the  game  of  chance known as a merchandise wheel or a raffle, "one occasion" shall mean the  successive operations  of  any  one  such merchandise wheel or raffle for which the limit on a series of prizes provided by subdivision six of  section  one hundred  eighty-nine  of  this  article shall apply. For purposes of the game of chance known as a  bell  jar,  "one  occasion"  shall  mean  the successive  operation  of  any one such bell jar, seal card, event game, coin board, or merchandise board which results  in  the  awarding  of  a series  of  prizes amounting to three thousand dollars. For the purposes of the game of chance known  as  raffle  "one  occasion"  shall  mean  a calendar  year  during  which  successive  operations  of  such game are conducted.   15. "License period" shall  mean  a  period  of  time  not  to  exceed fourteen consecutive hours and, for purposes of the game of chance known as a bell jar and a raffle, "license period" shall mean a period of time running from January first to December thirty-first of each year.   16. "Clerk" shall mean the clerk of a municipality outside the city of New York.    17.  "Officer"  shall  mean  the  chief  law  enforcement officer of a municipality outside the city of  New  York,  or  if  such  municipality exercises the option set forth in subdivision two of section one hundred ninety-four  of  this  article, the chief law enforcement officer of the county.   18.  "Department"  shall mean the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs.   19. "Premises" shall mean a designated area within a  building,  hall, tent,  or  grounds  reasonably  identified  for  the conduct of games of chance. Nothing herein shall require such area to be enclosed.   20. "Games of chance currency" shall mean legal tender or  a  form  of scrip  or  chip  authorized  by  the  board,  except  for games known as "raffles" whereby payment shall mean legal tender, credit or debit  card or  personal  check,  any  of which may be used at the discretion of the games of chance licensee.   21. "Flare" shall mean a poster description  of  the  bell  jar  game, which shall include a declaration of the number of winners and amount of prizes  in  each  deal,  the number of prizes available in the deal, the number of tickets in each deal  which  contain  the  stated  prize;  the manufacturer's game form number, and the serial number of the deal which shall  be  identical  to  the  serial  number  imprinted  on each ticket contained in the deal.