[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Lysander 10-28-1971 (Ch. 47 of the 1989 Code).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Bingo Licensing Ordinance
of the Town of Lysander."
In accordance with the provisions of Article 14-H of the General
Municipal Law of the State of New York, the following terms used in
this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise, shall have the
following meanings:
Includes any bona fide religious or charitable organization
or bona fide educational, fraternal, civic or service organization
or bona fide organization of veterans or volunteer firemen 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 § 476, Subdivision
6, of the General Municipal Law, provided that each shall operate
without profit to its members and provided that each such organization
has engaged in serving one or more of such lawful purposes for a period
of one year immediately prior to applying for a license under this
chapter.
[Amended 3-2-1989 by L.L.
No. 3-1989]
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 Racing and Wagering Board.
[Amended 3-2-1989 by L.L.
No. 3-1989]
A license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
It shall be lawful for any authorized organization, upon obtaining
a license therefor as hereinafter provided, to conduct the game of
bingo within the territorial limits of the Town of Lysander, subject
to the provisions of this chapter, the provisions of Article 14-H
of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York and the provisions
of the Bingo Control Law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Article 19-B of the Executive Law, § 430
et seq.
A.
Each applicant shall file with the Town Clerk of the Town of Lysander
a written application in the form prescribed in the rules and regulations
of the Control Commission duly executed and verified.
B.
In each application there shall be designated an active member or
members of the applicant organization under whom the game or games
of bingo are to be conducted, and there shall be appended to the application
a statement executed by the member or members so designated that he,
she or they will be responsible for the conduct of such bingo games
in accordance with the terms of the license and the provisions of
this chapter and the rules and regulations of the Control Commission
and of Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law if such license is
granted.
C.
Each applicant for a license to lease premises to a licensed organization
for the purpose of conducting bingo therein shall file with the Clerk
of the Town of Lysander a written application therefor in a form prescribed
in the rules and regulations of the Control Commission duly executed
and verified, which shall set forth the name and address of the applicant;
designation and address of the premises intended to be covered by
the license sought; lawful capacity for public assembly purposes;
cost of premises and assessed valuation for real estate tax purposes
or annual net lease rent, whichever is applicable; gross rentals received
and itemized expenses for the immediately preceding calendar or fiscal
year, if any; gross rentals, if any, derived from bingo during the
last preceding calendar or fiscal year; computation by which proposed
rental schedule was determined; number of occasions on which the applicant
anticipates receiving rent for bingo during the ensuring year or shorter
period if applicable; proposed rent for each such occasion; estimated
gross rental income from all other sources during the ensuing year;
estimated expenses itemized for the ensuing year and the amount of
each item allocated to bingo rentals; a statement that the applicant
in all respects conforms to the specifications contained in the definition
of "authorized commercial lessor" set forth in § 476 of
the General Municipal Law, the requirements of this chapter and such
other information as shall be prescribed by such rules and regulations.
Any game or games of bingo licensed hereunder shall be subjected
to the following restrictions in addition to such other restrictions
as may be provided herein or contained in Article 14-H of the General
Municipal Law and in the rules and regulations of the Control Commission.
A.
No person, firm, association, corporation or organization other than
a licensee under the provisions of this chapter 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.
No bingo games 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.
No authorized organization licensed under the provisions of this
chapter 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[1] or from another authorized organization.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Article 19-B of the Executive Law, § 430
et seq.
D.
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 same.
E.
No prize shall exceed the sum or value of $250 in any single game
of bingo.
F.
No series of prizes on any one bingo occasion shall aggregate more
than $1,000.
G.
No person except a bona fide member of any such organization shall
participate in the management or operation of such game.
H.
No person shall receive any remuneration for participating in the
management or operation of any game of bingo.
I.
The unauthorized conduct of a bingo game and any willful violation
of any provision of this chapter duly adopted shall constitute and
be punishable as a misdemeanor.
A.
The Town Clerk of the Town of Lysander shall make or cause to be
made an investigation of the qualifications of each applicant and
the merits of each application, with due expedition after the filing
of the application, and if he shall determine that the applicant is
duly qualified to be licensed under this chapter to hold, operate
and conduct games of chance under the provisions of this chapter and
Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York;
that the member or members of the applicant designated in the application
to hold, operate or conduct the games of chance, for which the license
was applied, are bona fide active members of the applicant and are
persons of good moral character and have never been convicted of a
crime; that such games of chance are to be held, operated and conducted
in accordance with the provisions of Article 14-H of the General Municipal
Law and the provisions of this chapter governing the holding, operation
and conduct thereof; and that the proceeds thereof are to be disposed
of as provided by this chapter; and if the Town Clerk is satisfied
that no commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompence whatever
will be paid or given to any person holding, operating or conducting
or assisting in the holding, operation and conduct of any such games
of chance, except as in Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law
and herein otherwise provided; and that no prize will be offered and
given in excess of the sum or value of $250 in any single game of
chance; and that the aggregate of all prizes offered and given in
all of such games of chance held, operated and conducted on a single
occasion under said license shall not exceed the sum or value of $1,000,
he shall issue a license to the applicant for the holding, operation
and conduct of the specific kinds of games of chance applied for,
accordingly, upon payment of a license fee or fees of $18.75 for each
occasion upon which any games of chance are to be conducted under
such license.
[Amended 3-2-1989 by L.L.
No. 3-1989]
B.
On or before the 13th day of each month, the Supervisor of the Town
of Lysander shall transmit to the State Comptroller a sum equal to
50% of all commercial lessor license fees and the sum of $11.25 per
occasion of all license fees for the conduct of bingo collected by
such municipality, pursuant to the provisions of Article 14-H of the
General Municipal Law and this chapter, during the preceding calendar
month.
[Amended 3-2-1989 by L.L.
No. 3-1989]
C.
No license shall be issued under this chapter which shall be effective
for a period of more than one year.
A.
No application for the issuance of a license shall be denied by the
Town 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 chapter may be amended upon application
made to the Town Clerk of the Town of Lysander 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.
Each license shall be in such form as shall be prescribed in
the rules and regulations promulgated by the Control Commission and
shall contain a statement of the name and address of the licensee,
of the names and addresses of the member or members of the licensee
under whom the games will be conducted, of the place or places where
and the date or dates and time or times when such games are to be
conducted and of the specific purposes to which the entire net proceeds
of such games are to be devoted; if any prize or prizes are to be
offered and given in cash, a statement of the amounts of the prizes
authorized so to be offered and given; and any other information which
may be required by said rules and regulations to be contained therein,
and each license issued for the conduct of any game shall be conspicuously
displayed at the place where same is to be conducted at all times
during the conduct thereof.
The Town Clerk shall have and exercise rigid control and close
supervision over all games of bingo conducted under such license 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 such license, this chapter, §§ 475 to
499 of the General Municipal Law or the rules and regulations of the
Control Commission. The Town Clerk or any officer designated by him
shall have the right of entry at all times into any premises where
any game of bingo 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. Such games may be held on any day provided
for in such license.
Such games may be held on any day provided for in such license
except Sunday.
No person under the age of 18 years shall be permitted to play
in any game or games of bingo conducted pursuant to any license issued
under this chapter unless accompanied by an adult. No person under
the age of 18 years shall be permitted to conduct or assist in the
conduct of any game of bingo conducted pursuant to any license issued
under this chapter.
No game or games of bingo shall be conducted under any license
issued under this chapter more often than on six days in any one calendar
month or in any room or outdoor area where alcoholic beverages are
sold, served or consumed during the progress of the game or games.
No person shall hold, operate or conduct any game or games of
bingo under any license issued under this chapter, 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 bingo under such 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 which
is affiliated with the licensee by being, with it, auxiliary to another
organization or association and except bookkeepers or accountants
as hereinafter provided, and no such game of bingo shall be conducted
with any equipment except such as shall be owned absolutely by the
authorized organization so licensed or used without payment of any
compensation therefor by the licensee, and no item of expense shall
be incurred or paid in connection with the holding, operating or conducting
of any game of bingo held, operated or conducted pursuant to any license
issued under this chapter, except those that are reasonable and are
necessarily 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, and license fees and the cost
of bus transportation, if authorized by the Control Commission.
A.
Not more than $1 shall be charged by any licensee for admission to
any room or place in which any game or games of bingo are to be conducted
under any license issued under this chapter, which admission fee,
upon payment thereof, shall entitle the person paying the same to
a card entitling him to participate without additional charge in all
regular games of bingo to be played under such license on such occasion,
and no charge in excess of $1 shall be made for a single opportunity
to participate in all special games to be played under such license
on such occasion.
B.
All winners shall be determined and all prizes shall be awarded in
any game played on any occasion within the same calendar day as that
upon which the game was played. No alcoholic beverage shall be offered
or given as a prize in any such game.
No game of chance to be conducted under any license issued under
this chapter 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 sign, not exceeding 60 square
feet in area, 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 bingo on premises of another licensed authorized
organization or of a licensed commercial lessor, one additional such
sign may be displayed on or adjacent to the premises in which the
games are to be conducted. Additional signs may be displayed upon
any firefighting 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.
[Amended 3-2-1989 by L.L.
No. 3-1989]
Within seven days after the conclusion of any occasion of bingo,
the authorized organization which conducted the same and its members
who were in charge thereof and, when applicable, the authorized organization
which rented its premises therefor shall each furnish to the Town
Clerk 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 and 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 proceeds derived from such
game or rental, as the case may be, and 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, and it shall be the duty of each
licensee to maintain and keep such books and records as may be necessary
to substantiate the particulars of each such statement.
A.
The Town Clerk, or any officer designated by him, and the Control
Commission shall have the power to examine or cause to be examined
the books and records of:
(1)
Any licensed authorized organization so far as they may relate to
bingo, including the maintenance, control and disposition of net proceeds
derived from bingo or from the use of its premises for bingo, and
to examine any manager, officer, director, agent, member or employee
thereof under oath in relation to the conduct of any such game under
any such license or the use of its premises for bingo, as the case
may be.
(2)
Any licensed authorized commercial lessor so far as they may relate
to leasing premises for bingo and to examine said lessor or any manager,
officer, director, agent or employee thereof under oath in relation
to such leasing.
B.
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 chapter, Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law and Article
19-B of the Executive Law.
Any applicant for or holder of any license issued or to be issued
under this chapter aggrieved by any action of the Town, 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 Town, its officers or agents by filing with the
Town Clerk a written notice of appeal within 30 days after the determination
or action appealed from, and, upon the hearing of such appeal, the
evidence, if any, taken before the Town Clerk 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 said appeal shall be binding upon the Town and all parties to
said appeal.
[Amended 3-2-1989 by L.L.
No. 3-1989]
No person or corporation lawfully conducting or participating
in the conduct of or permitting the conduct upon any premises owned
by him or it of any game of bingo conducted or to be conducted under
any license lawfully issued pursuant to this chapter shall be liable
to prosecution or conviction for violation of any provision of Article
225 of the Penal Law or any other law or ordinance to the extent that
such conduct is specifically authorized by this chapter, but this
immunity shall not extend to any person or corporation knowingly conducting
or participating in the conduct of any game of bingo under any license
obtained by any false pretense or statement made in any application
for such license or otherwise or permitting the conduct upon any premises
owned or leased 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, association or corporation who or which shall make
any false statement in any application for any license authorized
to be issued under this chapter; pay or receive for the use of any
premises for conducting bingo a rental in excess of the amount specified
as the permissible rent in the license provided for in this chapter
or in Subdivision 2 of § 480 of the General Municipal Law;
fail to keep such books and records as shall fully and truly record
all transactions connected with the conducting of bingo or the leasing
of premises to be used for the conduct of bingo; falsify or make any
false entry in any books or records so far as they relate in any manner
to the conduct of bingo, to the disposition of the proceeds thereof
and to the application of the rents received by any authorized organization;
divert or pay any portion of the net proceeds of any game of bingo
to any person, association or corporation, except in furtherance of
one or more of the lawful purposes defined herein, or violate any
of the provisions of this chapter or of any term of any license issued
under this chapter; shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall forfeit
any license under this chapter and be ineligible to apply for a license
under this chapter for one year thereafter.
This chapter may be amended from time to time or repealed by
the Town Board and such amendment or repeal, as the case may be, may
be made effective and operative not earlier than 30 days following
the date of enactment of the local law or ordinance affecting such
amendment or repeal, as the case may be; 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.
The provisions of this chapter shall remain inoperative in the
Town of Lysander unless and until a proposition therefor submitted
at a general or special election in such municipality shall be approved
by a vote of the majority of the qualified electors to such municipality
voting thereon. In the event that such proposition is approved as
aforesaid, this chapter shall take effect 10 days after such approval.
