[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Middletown
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-18-1958 by L.L. No. 3-1958
(Ch. 16, Art. I of the 1971 Code)]
[Amended 9-23-1963 by L.L. No. 5-1963]
It shall be lawful for any authorized organization, as defined in § 476
of Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law, upon obtaining the required
license, to conduct the game of bingo within the territorial limits of the
City of Middletown, New York, subject to the provisions of the Constitution
of the State of New York, Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law, Article
19-B of the Executive Law and this article and the following restrictions.
[Amended 9-23-1963 by L.L. No. 5-1963; 4-23-2007
by L.L. No. 1-2007]
The conduct of bingo games in the City of Middletown shall be subject
to the restrictions of § 479 of the General Municipal Law.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
The City Clerk is hereby designated as an officer of the City of Middletown,
New York, to exercise any of the authority granted to the Common Council in
relation to the issuance, amendment and cancellation of licenses, the conduct
of investigations and hearings, the supervision of the operation of the games
and the collection and transmission of fees.
This article shall not become operative or effective unless it shall
have been approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the City of
Middletown, New York, voting on a proposition, which proposition shall state:
"Shall Local Law No. 3, adopted by the Common Council of the City of Middletown
on August 18, 1958, which authorizes the conduct of bingo games within the
City of Middletown, New York, be approved?", and which proposition shall be
submitted at a general election to be held on November 4, 1958, in accordance
with the provisions of the Election Law and other provisions of the law applicable.
[Adopted 4-25-1977 (Ch. 16, Art. II of the 1971
Code)]
This article shall be cited and may be referred to as the "Games of
Chance Licensing Law."
This article is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by Chapter
960, Laws of the State of New York, 1976, which amended the General Municipal
Law of the State of New York by adding a new article, Article 9-A, thereto.
A. It is declared to be the public policy of the City of
Middletown that the raising of funds for the promotion of bona fide charitable,
educational, scientific, health, religious and patriotic causes and undertakings,
where the beneficiaries are undetermined, is in the public interest. It hereby
finds that, as conducted prior to the enactment of this article, games of
chance were the subject of exploitation by professional gamblers, promoters
and commercial interests.
B. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Common
Council of the City of Middletown that all phases of the supervision, licensing
and regulation of games of chance and the conduct of games of chance should
be closely controlled and that the laws, ordinances and regulations pertaining
thereto should be strictly construed and rigidly enforced.
This article shall be applicable to all territory within the limits
of the City of Middletown.
A. As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATION
Includes any bona fide religious, charitable, educational or service
organization, or bona fide organization of veterans or volunteer firemen,
which, by its character, certificate of incorporation, constitution or by
an act of the legislature, shall have among its dominant purposes one or more
of the lawful purposes, as defined in this section, provided that each shall
operate without profit to its members and, provided that such organization
has engaged in servicing one or more of the lawful purposes, as defined in
this section, 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 for the distribution of the proceeds thereof to itself or any
other organization and which does not devote at least 75% of its activities
to other purposes set forth in this section. No political party shall be deemed
an authorized organization.
GAMES OF CHANCE
Includes specific games of chance 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 14-H of the General
Municipal Law and also not including slot machines, bookmaking and policy
or numbers games as defined in § 225.00 of the Penal Law. No game
of chance shall involve wagering of money by one player against another player.
LAWFUL PURPOSES
One or more of the following causes, deeds or activities.
(1)
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; 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 government.
(2)
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,
including the performance of worthy public works and the fostering of same.
NET PROCEEDS
In relation to the gross receipts from one or more occasions of games
of chance, the amount that shall remain after deducting the reasonable sums
necessarily and actually expended for supplies and equipment, prizes, stated
rental, if any, bookkeeping or accounting services, janitorial services, utilities
and license fees; and, in relation to the gross rent received by an organization
licensed to permit 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 utilities directly attributable thereto.
ONE OCCASION
The conducting of any one type of game of chance during any one license
period. No series of prizes on any one occasion shall aggregate more than
$1,000.
PRIZE
A sum of money or item of merchandise awarded by the authorized organization
to a participant in any one operation or conducting of a game of chance in
which participants utilize currency for participation and in which those who
are not winners surrender their participating currency at the conclusion of
the single operation of such game of chance. No price for any one participant
shall exceed the sum of $100. If a prize is awarded based on odds, only that
portion in excess of the winning participant's bet shall be considered as
a prize. For the purpose of this section, the value of a prize which consists
of merchandise shall be the actual cost of the item of such merchandise.
B. This article shall also include such additional definitions
of terms as set forth in Article 9-A of the General Municipal Law.
It shall be lawful for any authorized organization, upon obtaining a
license as provided for hereunder and complying with all other rules and regulations
of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and all others as set forth
herein, to conduct a game or games of chance in the City of Middletown.
A. No persons, firm, association, corporation or organization other than a licensee under the terms of this article or a bona fide organization of persons 60 years or over, as defined in §
182-19B of this article, shall be permitted to conduct such games or shall lease or otherwise make available for conducting games of chance a hall or other premises for any consideration whatsoever, direct or indirect, except as provided herein.
B. No persons, except a bona fide member of a licensed organization,
shall participate in the management or operation of such game.
C. No persons shall receive any remuneration for participating
in the management of any such game.
D. No persons under the age of 18 years shall be permitted
to play any game or games of chance conducted pursuant to any license issued
under this article. No persons under the age of 18 years shall be permitted
to conduct or assist in the conduct of any game of chance conducted pursuant
to any license issued under this article.
E. No game shall be held, operated or conducted on or within
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.
F. No authorized organization licensed under the provisions
of this article shall purchase or receive any supplies or equipment specifically
designed or adapted for use in the conduct of games of chance other than from
a licensed supplier or from another authorized organization.
G. The entire net proceeds of any game of chance or of any
rental received by an authorized lessor shall be exclusively devoted to the
lawful purposes of the organization permitted to conduct the same.
H. Not more than $2 shall be charged by any licensee for
admission to any room or place in which any game or games of chance are to
be conducted under any license issued under this article. Every winner shall
be determined and every prize shall be awarded and delivered within the same
licensed period as that upon which the game was played.
I. No alcoholic beverage shall be offered or given as a
prize in any game of chance.
J. No prize shall exceed the sum or value of $100 in any
operation or conducting of a single game of chance.
K. No single wager shall exceed $10.
L. No series of prizes on any one occasion of games of chance
shall aggregate more than $1,000.
M. Games of chance shall be permitted on the first day of the week, commonly known and designated as Sunday, unless prohibited by Subsection
N below.
N. In no case shall games of chance be conducted on New
Year's Eve, Easter Sunday or Christmas Day.
O. No game or games of chance shall be conducted under any license issued under this article more often than 12 times in any calendar year. Subject to the prohibition in Subsection
N above, games shall be conducted only between the hours of 12:00 noon and 12:00 midnight on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; only between the hours of 12:00 noon on Friday and 2:00 a.m. Saturday; and only between the hours of 12:00 noon on Saturday and 2:00 a.m. Sunday. The 2:00 a.m. closing period shall also apply to a legal holiday.
P. Subject to the applicable provisions of the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Law, beer may be offered for sale during the conduct of games
of chance but the offering of all other alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
Q. No game of chance conducted or to be conducted in the
City of Middletown shall be advertised as to its location, the time when it
is to be or has been played, the prizes awarded or to be awarded or transportation
facilities to be provided to such game, by means of newspapers, radio, television
or sound trucks, by means of billboards, posters or handbills or by any other
means addressed to the general public, except that one sign may be displayed
on or adjacent to the premises owned or occupied by a licensed authorized
organization, and when an organization is licensed to conduct games of chance
on premises of an authorized games of chance lessor, one additional sign may
be displayed on or adjacent to the premises in which the games are to be conducted.
The size and site placement of such signs shall have authorization of the
Planning Board of the City of Middletown.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
Within seven days after the conclusion of any license period, the authorized
organization which conducted the game, its members who were in charge thereof
and, when applicable, the authorized organization which rented its premises
therefor shall each furnish to the City Clerk of the City of Middletown a
statement subscribed by the member in charge and affirmed by him as true,
under the penalties of perjury, showing the amount of the gross receipts derived
therefrom, each item of expense incurred or paid, each item of expenditure
made or to be made other than prizes, the name and address of each person
to whom an item of expense has been paid or is to be paid with a detailed
description of the merchandise purchased or the services rendered therefor,
net proceeds derived from the conduct of games of chance during such license
period, the use to which such proceeds have been or are to be applied and
a list of prizes offered and given with the respective values thereof. It
shall be the duty of each licensee to maintain and keep such book and records
as may be necessary to substantiate the particulars of each such statement.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
Upon the filing of such statement of receipts, the authorized organization
furnishing the same shall pay to the Treasurer of the City of Middletown,
as and for an additional license fee, a sum based upon the reported net proceeds
for the license period covered by such statement, an amount equal to 5% of
the net proceeds for such occasion.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
Each applicant for a license to conduct games of chance shall, after
obtaining an identification number from the New York State Racing and Wagering
Board, file with the City Clerk of the City of Middletown a written application
therefor in a form to be prescribed by said Board duly executed and verified.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
Each applicant for a license to lease premises to a licensed organization
for the purposes of conducting games of chance shall file with the City Clerk
of the City of Middletown a written application therefor in a form to be prescribed
by the State Racing and Wagering Board duly executed and verified.
A. The City Clerk of the City of Middletown shall make an
investigation of the qualifications of each applicant for a license to conduct
games of chance and the merits of each application within a reasonable time
after the filing of the application. The City Clerk shall issue a license
to the applicant for the conduct of games of chance upon the payment of a
license fee of $25 for each license period if' the City Clerk determines that:
[Amended 1-7-2008]
(1) The applicant is an authorized organization as defined
herein.
(2) The member or members of the applicant designated in
the application to conduct games of chance are bona fide active members of
the applicant and are persons of good moral character and have never been
convicted of a crime or, if convicted, have received a pardon or a certificate
of good conduct.
(3) Such games are to be conducted in accordance with the
provisions of this article and in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the State Racing and Wagering Board.
(4) The proceeds thereof are to be disposed of as provided
by this article.
(5) No commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense
whatever will be paid or given to any person holding, operating or conducting
or assisting in the holding, operation and conduct of such games.
(6) No prize will be given in excess of the sum or value
of $100 in any single game and that the aggregate of all prizes given on one
occasion under such license shall not exceed the sum or value of $1,000.
B. The City Clerk of the City of Middletown shall make an
investigation of the qualifications of each applicant for a license to lease
premises to another licensee for the purpose of conducting games of chance
and the merits of each application within a reasonable time after the filing
of the application. The City Clerk shall issue a license permitting the applicant
to lease said premises for the conduct of such games to the authorized organization
or organizations specified in the application during the period therein specified
or such shorter period as the City Clerk shall determine, but not to exceed
one year, upon payment of a license fee of $50 if the City Clerk determines
that:
[Amended 1-7-2008]
(1) The applicant seeking to lease a hall or premises for
the conduct of games of chance to an authorized organization is duly qualified
to be licensed under this article.
(2) The applicant satisfies the requirements for an authorized
games of chance lessor as defined herein.
(3) There is a public need and that public advantage will
be served by the issuance of such license.
(4) The applicant has filed its proposed rent for each games
of chance occasion.
(5) There is no diversion of the funds of the proposed lessee
from the lawful purposes as defined in this article.
(6) Such leasing of a hall or premises for the conduct of
such games is in accordance with the provisions of this article and in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the State Racing and Wagering Board.
C. No license shall be issued under this article which shall
be effective for a period of more than one year.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
On or before the 13th day of each month, the Treasurer of the City of
Middletown shall transmit to the State Comptroller from the funds collected
in the preceding month:
A. Fifteen dollars per each licensed period as defined herein.
B. Fifty percent of all authorized games of chance lessor
license fees as authorized herein.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
A. No application for the issuance of license to an authorized
organization shall be denied by the City Clerk 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.
B. Any license issued under this article may be amended
upon the application made to the City Clerk which issued it if the subject
matter of the proposed amendment could lawfully and properly have been included
in the original license and upon payment of such additional license fee, if
any, as would have been payable if it had been so included.
A. Each license to conduct games of chance shall be in such
form as shall be prescribed in the rules and regulations promulgated by the
State Racing and Wagering Board. Each license issued for the conduct of any
games shall be conspicuously displayed at the place where same is to be conducted
at all times during the conduct thereof.
B. Each license to lease premises for conducting games of
chance will be in such form as shall be prescribed in the rules and regulations
of the State Racing and Wagering Board and shall be conspicuously displayed
upon such premises at all times during the conduct of games of chance.
The enforcement officer of the provisions of this article shall be the
chief law enforcement officer of the City of Middletown or his duly designated
agent as determined by the Common Council of the City of Middletown by resolution.
[Amended 1-7-2008]
The enforcement officer or his duly designated agent, as hereinbefore
provided, shall have and exercise rigid control and close supervision over
all games of chance conducted under such license to the end that the same
are fairly conducted in accordance with the provisions of such license, the
provisions of the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Racing and
Wagering Board and the provisions of this article. Such officer and the Common
Council shall have the power and the authority to temporarily suspend any
license issued by the City Clerk of the City of Middletown pending a hearing,
and after notice and hearing, the said Common Council may suspend or revoke
the same and additionally impose a fine in an amount not exceeding $1,000
for violation of any such provisions and shall have the right of entry, by
their respective officers and agents, at all times into any premises where
any game of chance is being conducted or where it is intended that any such
game shall be conducted or where any equipment being used or intended to be
used in the conduct thereof is found, for the purpose of inspecting the same.
An agent of the enforcement officer shall make an on-site inspection during
the conduct of all games of chance licensed pursuant to this article.
Any person, association, corporation or organization who or which shall
make any material false statement in any application for any license authorized
to be issued under this article; pay or receive, for the use of any premises
for conducting games of chance, a rental in excess of the amount specified
as the permissible rent in the license provided for herein; fail to keep such
books and records as shall fully and truly record all transactions connected
with the conducting of games of chance or the leasing of premises to be used
for the conduct of games of chance; falsify or make any false entry in any
books or records so far as they relate in any manner to the conduct of games
of chance, to the disposition of the proceeds thereof and to the application
of the rents received by any authorized organization; or divert or pay any
portion of the net proceeds of any game of chance to any person, association
or corporation, except in furtherance of one or more of the lawful purposes
defined in this article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall forfeit
any license issued under this article for at least one year thereafter.
Any person, association, corporation or organization holding, operating
or conducting a game or games of chance is guilty of a misdemeanor except
when operating, holding or conducting such game or games:
A. In accordance with a valid license issued pursuant to
this article; or
B. On behalf of a bona fide organization of persons 60 years
or over, commonly referred to as "senior citizens," solely for the purpose
of amusement and recreation of its members where:
(1) The organization has applied for and received an identification
number from the State Racing and Wagering Board.
(2) No player or other person furnishes anything of value
for the opportunity to participate.
(3) The prizes awarded or to be awarded are nominal.
(4) No person other than a bona fide active member of the
organization participates in the conduct of the games.
(5) No person is paid for conducting or assisting in the
conduct of the game or games.
The provisions of this article shall be inoperative unless and until
a proposition therefor submitted at a general or special election in the City
of Middletown shall be approved by a vote of the majority of the qualified
electors in the City of Middletown voting thereon. This article shall become
effective 10 days after such approval by a majority of the qualified electors.
If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person,
association, corporation or organization or set of circumstances shall be
adjudged unconstitutional or in violation of any other law by any court of
competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this article or the application thereof
to any other person, association, corporation or organization or set of circumstances
shall not be affected thereby.