Section 476 - DefinitionsAs 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. "Control commission" or "commission" shall mean the New York state gaming commission created pursuant to section one hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law.3. "Bingo" or "game" shall mean and include a specific game of chance, commonly known as bingo or lotto, in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers or symbols on a card conforming to numbers or symbols selected at random.4. "Authorized organization" shall mean and include any bona fide religious or charitable organization or bona fide educational, fraternal, civic or service organization or bona fide organization of veterans, volunteer firefighters, or volunteer ambulance workers, 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 one year immediately prior to applying for a license under this article.5. "Bingo control law" shall mean article nineteen-B of the executive law.6. "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 well-being, 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 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 in accordance with the rules and regulations of the state gaming commission.(d) Those which shall otherwise lessen the burdens borne by government or which are voluntarily undertaken by an authorized organization to augment or supplement services which government would normally render to the people.7. "Net proceeds" shall mean (a) in relation to the gross receipts from one or more occasions of bingo, the amount that shall remain after deducting the reasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for bingo supplies and equipment, prizes, stated rental if any, bookkeeping or accounting services according to a schedule of compensation prescribed by the commission, janitorial services and utility supplies if any, license fees, and the cost of bus transportation, if authorized by the control commission, and (b) in relation to the gross rent received by an organization licensed to conduct bingo for the use of its premises by another 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.8. "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 commercial premises 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.9. "Authorized commercial lessor" shall mean a person, firm or corporation other than a licensee to conduct bingo under the provisions of this article, who or which owns or is a net lessee of premises and offer the same for leasing by him, her or it to an authorized organization for any consideration whatsoever, direct or indirect, for the purpose of conducting bingo therein, provided that he, she or it, as the case may be, shall not be (a) a person convicted of a crime if there is a direct relationship between one or more of the previous criminal offenses and the integrity or safety of bingo, considering the factors set forth in article twenty-three-A of the correction law;(b) a person who is or has been a professional gambler or gambling promoter or who for other reasons is not of good moral character;(c) a public officer who receives any consideration, direct or indirect, as owner or lessor of premises offered for the purpose of conducting bingo therein;(d) a firm or corporation in which a person defined in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subdivision or a person married or related in the first degree to such a person has greater than a ten percent proprietary, equitable or credit interest or in which such a person is active or employed. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be construed to bar any firm or corporation that is not organized for pecuniary profit and no part of the net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any individual, member, or shareholder, from being an authorized commercial lessor solely because a public officer, or a person married or related in the first degree to a public officer, is a member of, active in or employed by such firm or corporation.10. "Limited period bingo" shall mean the conduct of bingo by a licensed authorized organization, for a period of not more than seven of twelve consecutive days in any one year, at a festival, bazaar, carnival or similar function conducted by such licensed authorized organization. No authorized organization licensed to conduct limited period bingo shall be otherwise eligible to conduct bingo pursuant to this article in the same year.11. "Supercard" shall mean a bingo card on which prizes are awarded, which card is selected by the player, containing five designated numbers, colors or symbols, corresponding to the letters B, I, N, G, O, displayed on the bingo board of the bingo premises operator, which can be played concurrently with the other bingo cards played during the game of bingo.11-a. "Early bird" shall mean a bingo game which is played as a special game, conducted not more than twice during a bingo occasion, in which prizes are awarded based upon a percentage not to exceed seventy-five percent of the sum of money received from the sale of the early bird cards and which is neither subject to the prize limits imposed by subdivisions five and six of section four hundred seventy-nine and paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred eighty-one, nor the special game opportunity charge limit imposed by section four hundred eighty-nine of this article. The percentage shall be specified both in the application for bingo license and the license. Not more than one dollar shall be charged per card with the total amount collected from the sale of the early bird cards and the prize for each game to be announced before the commencement of each game.11-b. "Bonus ball" shall mean a bingo game that is played in conjunction with one or more regular or special bingo games designated as bonus ball games by the licensed authorized organization during one or more consecutive bingo occasions in which a prize is awarded to the player obtaining a specified winning bingo pattern when the last number called by the licensed authorized organization is the designated bonus ball number. The bonus ball prize shall be based upon a percentage of the sales from opportunities to participate in bonus ball games not to exceed seventy-five percent of the sum of money received from the sale of bonus ball opportunities or six thousand dollars, whichever shall be less, and which is not subject to the prize limits imposed by subdivisions five and six of section four hundred seventy-nine and paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred eighty-one of this article. The percentage shall be specified both in the application for the bingo license and the license. Notwithstanding section four hundred eighty-nine of this article, not more than one dollar shall be charged per player for an opportunity to participate in all bonus ball games conducted during a single bingo occasion, and the total amount collected from the sale of bonus ball opportunities and the amount of the prize to be awarded shall be announced prior to the start of each bingo occasion.12. "Prize", where supercard is played as set forth in subdivision eleven of this section, shall mean the sum of money or actual value of merchandise awarded to the winner or winners on a game card during a game of bingo and the sum of money or actual value of merchandise awarded to the winner or winners on a supercard in excess of the total receipts derived from the sale of supercards for that specific game.13. "Ancillary non-gaming activity" shall mean any activity not directly related to the conduct or outcome of any game of bingo, and shall include assisting at any food concession, cleaning, maintenance and site preparation at the location where games of bingo are conducted.Amended by New York Laws 2020, ch. 243,Sec. 161, eff. 10/7/2020.Amended by New York Laws 2019, ch. 55,Sec. II-E-3, eff. 4/12/2019.Amended by New York Laws 2017, ch. 59,Sec. MM-2, eff. 7/9/2017.