[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Watervliet: Art.
I, 4-20-1972 as Art. II of Ch. 4 of the Code of Ordinances
of 1972; Art. II, 8-19-1982 as L.L. No. 2-1982
(Art. X of Part II, Charter Appendix, of the Code of Ordinances of 1972).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-20-1972 as Art. II of Ch. 4 of the
Code of Ordinances of 1972]
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings
ascribed to them:
Includes only a bona fide religious, charitable or nonprofit organization
of veterans, volunteer firemen or a similar nonprofit organization, having
its principal office or headquarters in the city.
Includes 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.
The State Lottery Control Commission.
A license issued pursuant to the provisions of this Article.
It shall be lawful for any authorized organization, upon obtaining a
license therefor as provided in this Article, to conduct the game of bingo
within the territorial limits of the city subject to the provisions of this
Article, the provisions of Article 14-H (§§ 475 through 499)
of the General Municipal Law, and amendments thereto, and the provisions of
the State Lottery Control Law.[2]
Each applicant for a license required by this Article shall file with
the City Clerk a written application in the form prescribed in the rules and
regulations of the Control Commission, duly executed and verified.
A.Â
The City Clerk shall cause to be investigated the qualifications
of each applicant for a license required by this Article and the merits of
each application with due promptness after the filing of the application.
The City Clerk shall deliver to the General Manager the application, together
with the supporting documents therefor, and a detailed report of the results
of his investigation, including the due qualification of the applicant to
be licensed; the relationship of the members under whom such games are to
be conducted with the applicant; whether such persons are of good moral character
or have ever been convicted of a crime; whether the conduct of such games
will comply with all the provisions of law and rules and regulations applicable
thereto; whether a commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense
of any nature will be paid to any person conducting or assisting in conducting
in such games of chance; whether a prize will be offered or given in excess
of the sum or value of one thousand dollars ($1,000.) in any single game or
an aggregate of all prizes given in a series of games on a given occasion
will exceed the sum or value of three thousand dollars ($3,000.); and such
other questions or inquiries as the General Manager may direct.[1]
B.Â
If the General Manager shall determine that the requisite
conditions have been met by the applicant for a license required by this Article,
he shall issue a license to the applicant for the holding, operation and conduct
of the specific kinds of games of chance applied for upon payment of a license
fee of eighteen dollars and seventy-five cents ($18.75) for each occasion
upon which any games of chance are to be conducted under the license, which
fees are to be paid to the Director of Finance.[2]
C.Â
On or before the thirtieth day of each month, the Director
of Finance shall transmit to the State Comptroller a sum equal to fifty percent
(50%) of all license fees collected by the city pursuant to this section during
the preceding calendar month.
D.Â
No license shall be issued under this Article which shall
be effective for a period of more than one (1) year.
No application for a license under this Article shall be denied by the
General Manager until after a hearing, held on due notice to the applicant,
at which the applicant shall be entitled to be heard upon the qualifications
of the applicant and the merits of the application.
Each license issued pursuant to this Article shall be in such form as
shall be prescribed in the rules and regulations promulgated by the Control
Commission.
Any license issued pursuant to this Article may be amended upon application
to the General Manager if the subject matter of the proposed amendment could
lawfully and properly have been included in the original license and upon
the payment of such additional license fee, if any, as would have been payable
if it had been so included.
The General Manager shall have and exercise control and supervision
over all games of chance held, operated or conducted under a license issued
pursuant to this Article and shall have the power and authority to suspend
any such license and, after notice and hearing, to revoke the same for violation
of any provision of the license, this Article, §§ 475 to 499
of the General Municipal Law or the rules and regulations of the Control Commission.
The General Manager or any officer designated by him shall have the right
of entry at all times into any premises where any such game of chance is being
held, operated or conducted or where it is intended that any such game of
chance shall be held, operated or conducted or where any equipment being used
or intended to be used in the conduct thereof is found for the purpose of
inspecting the premises.
Any game licensed under this Article shall be subject to the following
restrictions, in addition to such other restrictions as may be provided herein
or contained in the rules and regulations of the Control Commission:
A.Â
No person other than a licensee under the provisions
of Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law shall conduct such game or shall
lease or otherwise make available for conducting bingo a hall or other premises
for any consideration whatsoever, direct or indirect.
B.Â
No bingo game shall be held, operated or conducted on
or within any leased premises if rental under such lease is to be paid, wholly
or partly, on the basis of a percentage of the receipts or net profits derived
from the operation of such game.
C.Â
No authorized organization licensed under the provisions
of Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law shall purchase or receive any
supplies or equipment specifically designed or adapted for use in the conduct
of bingo games from other than a supplier licensed under the Bingo Control
Law or from another authorized organization.
D.Â
The entire net proceeds of any game of bingo and of any
rental shall be exclusively devoted to the lawful purposes of the organization
permitted to conduct the game.
G.Â
No person except a bona fide member of any licensed organization
shall participate in the management or operation of a game.
H.Â
No person shall receive any remuneration for participating
in the management or operation of any game of bingo.
I.Â
The unauthorized conduct of a bingo game or any willful
violation of any provision of this Article shall constitute and be punishable
as a misdemeanor.
Games may be held on any day provided for in the license issued pursuant
to this Article.
No person under the age of eighteen (18) years shall be permitted to
participate in any game of chance held, operated or conducted pursuant to
any license issued under this Article, unless accompanied by an adult.
No game of chance shall be held, operated or conducted under any license
issued under this Article more often than six (6) days in any one (1) calendar
month or in any room or outdoor area where alcoholic beverages are sold or
served during the progress of the game.
No person shall hold, operate or conduct any game of chance under any
license issued under this Article, except an active member of the authorized
organization to which the license is issued, and no person shall assist in
the holding, operating or conducting of any game or games of chance under
the license except such an active member or a member of an organization or
association which is an auxiliary to the licensee or a member of an organization
or association of which such licensee is an auxiliary or a member of an organization
or association which is affiliated with the licensee by being, with it, auxiliary
to another organization or association, except for bookkeepers or accountants
as provided in this Article.
No game shall be conducted with any equipment except such as shall be
owned absolutely or used without payment of any compensation therefor by the
licensee under this Article, and no item of expense shall be incurred or paid
in connection with the holding, operating or conducting of any game of chance
held, operated or conducted pursuant to any license issued under this Article,
except such as are bona fide items of reasonable amount for goods, wares and
merchandise furnished or services rendered which are reasonably necessary
to be purchased or furnished for the holding, operating or conducting thereof
under any circumstances whatsoever. No rental shall be paid for the use of
any premises for holding, operating or conducting any game under any circumstances
whatsoever, and no rental shall be paid for the use of any premises for holding,
operating or conducting any game of chance thereon or for any other purpose
in connection with the holding, operating or conducting thereof unless the
amount of such rental is stated in a statement annexed to the application
for a license as provided in § 480 of the General Municipal Law
or which is in excess of the sum stated as the rental to be charged therefor
in the statement; and no commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense
whatsoever shall be paid or given, directly or indirectly, to any person holding,
operating or conducting or assisting in the holding, operation or conduct
of any game of chance so held, operated or conducted, except that reasonable
compensation may be paid to bookkeepers or accountants for bookkeeping or
accounting services rendered according to a schedule of compensation prescribed
by the rules of the Control Commission.
A.Â
Not more than five dollars ($5.) shall be charged by
any licensee under this Article for admission to any room or place in which
any game of chance is to be held, operated and conducted under any license
issued under this Article, which admission fee, upon payment thereof, shall
entitle the person paying the fee to a card entitling him to participate without
additional charge in all regular games of chance to be played under the license
on that occasion, and no charge in excess of one dollar ($1.) shall be made
for a single opportunity to participate in all special games to be played
under the license on that occasion.[1]
B.Â
No prize greater in amount or value than one thousand
dollars ($1,000.) shall be offered or given in any single game conducted under
any license, and the aggregate amount or value of all prizes offered or given
in all games played on single occasion shall not exceed three thousand dollars
($3,000.), and all winners shall be determined and all prizes shall be awarded
in any game played on any occasion within the same calendar days as that upon
which the game was played.[2]
C.Â
No alcoholic beverage shall be offered or given as a
prize in any game.
No game of chance to be conducted under any license issued under this
Article shall be advertised as to its location, the time when it is to be
or has been played or the prizes awarded or to be awarded by means of newspapers,
radio, television or sound trucks or by means of billboards, posters or handbills
or any other means addressed to the general public, except that one (1) sign
not exceeding sixty (60) square feet in area may be displayed on or adjacent
to the premises where the game will be played, and an additional sign may
be displayed on or adjacent to the premises where the prize or prizes are
displayed, and additional signs may be displayed upon any fire-fighting equipment
belonging to any licensee which is a volunteer fire company or upon any first
aid or rescue squad equipment belonging to any licensee which is a first aid
or rescue squad in and throughout the community or communities served by such
volunteer fire company or such first aid or rescue squad, as the case may
be.
Within seven (7) days after the conclusion of the holding, operating
and conducting of any game of chance, the authorized organization which held,
operated or conducted the game, and its members who were in charge thereof,
shall furnish to the City Clerk a duly verified statement showing the amount
of the gross receipts derived from each game of chance, which shall include
receipts from the sale of shares, tickets or rights in any manner connected
with participation in said game or the right to participate therein, each
item of expense incurred or paid and each item of expenditure made or to be
made, the name and address of each person to whom each such item has been
paid or is to be paid, with a detailed description of the merchandise purchased
or the services rendered therefor, the net profit derived from each such game
of chance and the use to which such net profit has been or is to be applied
and a list of prizes offered and given, with the respective values thereof,
and it shall be the duty of such licensee to maintain and keep such books
and records, as may be necessary, to substantiate the particulars of each
such report.
The General Manager and the Control Commission shall have power to examine
or cause to be examined the books and records of any authorized organization
to which any license is issued pursuant to this Article, so far as they may
relate to any transactions connected with the holding, operating and conducting
of any game of chance thereunder, and to examine any manager, officer, director,
agent member or employee thereof under oath in relation to the conduct of
any game of chance under any such license, but any information so received
shall not be disclosed, except so far as may be necessary for the purpose
of carrying out the provisions of this Article.
Any applicant for or holder of any license issued or to be issued under
this Article aggrieved by any action of the city, its officers or agents concerning
an application which has been made or a license which has been issued may
appeal to the Control Commission from the determination of the city, its officers
or agents by filing with the General Manager a written notice of appeal within
thirty (30) days after the determination or action appealed from and upon
the hearing of the appeal, the evidence, if any, taken before the General
Manager and any additional evidence may be produced and shall be considered
in arriving at a determination of the matters in issue, and the action of
the Control Commission upon the appeal shall be binding upon the city and
all parties to said appeal.
No person who is lawfully conducting or participating in the conduct
of, possessing, selling or in any manner disposing of any shares, tickets
or rights to participate in or permitting the conduct upon any premises owned
by him of any game of chance conducted or to be conducted under any license
lawfully issued pursuant to this Article shall be liable to prosecution or
conviction for violation of any provision of Article 225 of the Penal Law
or any other law, provision of this Code or other ordinance to the extent
that such conduct is specifically authorized by this Article, but this immunity
shall not extend to any person knowingly conducting or participating in the
conduct of any game of chance under any license obtained by any false pretense
or statement made in any application for the license or otherwise; or possessing,
selling or disposing of shares, tickets or rights to participate in or permitting
the conduct upon any premises owned by him or it of any game of chance conducted
under any license known to him or it to have been obtained by any such false
pretense or statement.
Any person who shall make any false statement in any application for
any license required by this Article or in any statement annexed thereto;
or who shall pay any rental for the use of any premises for holding, operating
or conducting any game of chance under this Article or for any other purpose
in connection with the holding, operating or conducting thereof, unless the
amount of such rental is stated in a statement annexed to the application
for the license as provided in this Article; or who shall pay or receive any
sum for such rental in excess of the sum stated as the rental to be charged
therefor in such statement executed by him or on its behalf; or who shall
fail to keep such books and records as shall fully and truly record all transactions
connected with the holding, operating and conducting of games of chance under
any such license; or who shall falsify or make any false entry in any book
or record so far as they relate to any transaction connected with the holding,
operating or conducting of any game of chance under any such license; or who
shall violate any of the provisions of this Article or of any term of the
license shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall forfeit any license issued
to it under this Article and be ineligible to apply for a license under this
Article for one (1) year thereafter.
This Article may be amended, from time to time, or repealed by the Council,
and such amendment or repeal, as the case may be, may be made effective and
operative not earlier than thirty (30) days following the date of enactment
of the local law or ordinance effecting such amendment or repeal; and the
approval of a majority of the electors shall not be a condition prerequisite
to the taking effect of such local law or ordinance.
[Adopted 8-19-1982 as L.L. No. 2-1982
(Art. X of Part II, Charter Appendix, of the Code of Ordinances of 1972]
It shall be lawful for authorized organizations, upon obtaining a license
therefor, to conduct games of chance within the limits of the City of Watervliet,
New York, under the provision of this Article, the provisions of the Games
of Chance Licensing Law[1] (Chapter 960 of the Laws of 1976, as amended), and the Rules and
Regulations of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
The provisions of the Games of Chance Licensing Law and the Rules and
Regulations of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board control the licensing
of authorized organizations and the conduct of games of chance in the City
of Watervliet. Any inconsistency between this Article and said statutes and
rules and regulations shall be resolved in favor of those rules and regulations.
The City Clerk is authorized to issue a license to authorized organizations
and lessors, upon filing of an application in accordance with the provisions
of the Games of Chance Licensing Law and the Rules and Regulations of the
New York State Racing and Wagering Board and the payment of the prescribed
fees.
The City Clerk is directed to remit to the Director of Finance of the
city all license fees received by the City Clerk, and the Director of Finance
is directed to remit to the Comptroller of the State of New York the portion
of the fees directed to be paid and remitted to the Comptroller of the State
of New York in the manner prescribed in the Games of Chance Licensing Law.
The conduct of games of chance on Sundays is authorized, except as otherwise
provided in Article 9-A of the General Municipal Law.
Violators will be punished as provided by state law.
This Article shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State
in the event that, at the general election to be held on November 2, 1982,
a majority of the electors of the City of Watervliet, New York, who are qualified
to vote for officers of the City of Watervliet, New York, shall approve the
same by voting for the proposition.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Local Law No. 2-1982 was approved by the voters
at a referendum held on 11-2-1982.
