S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7165
I N S E N A T E
March 18, 2010
___________
Introduced by Sen. ADAMS -- (at request of the New York State Racing and
Wagering Board) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to
be committed to the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the penal law, in relation
to bell jar manufacture, sale and conduct
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 3-a of section 186 of the general municipal
law, as amended by chapter 337 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read
as follows:
3-a. "Bell jars" shall mean and include those games in which a partic-
ipant 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, and merchandise boards. ALL BELL JARS SOLD
WITHIN THE STATE SHALL BE MANUFACTURED WITH A BOARD-APPROVED LEGEND ON
ITS FACE OR REVERSE.
S 2. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 4 of section 195-n of the general municipal
law, subdivisions 1 and 4 as amended by chapter 637 of the laws of 1999,
and subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 337 of the laws of 1998, are
amended to read as follows:
1. Distribution; manufacturers.
[For business conducted in this state, manufacturers licensed by the
board to sell bell jar tickets shall sell only such tickets to distribu-
tors licensed by the board.] (A) GENERALLY. BELL JARS MANUFACTURED WITH
A BOARD-APPROVED LEGEND MAY ONLY BE SOLD TO BOARD-LICENSED DISTRIBUTORS
FOR RESALE WITHIN THE STATE.
(B) REVIEW AND APPROVAL. Manufacturers of bell [jar tickets, seal
cards, merchandise boards, and coin boards may] JARS SHALL submit
[samples,] artists' renderings, or color photocopies of proposed bell
[jar tickets, seal cards, merchandise boards, coin boards] JARS, payout
cards, and flares for review and approval by the board. Within thirty
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15978-01-0
S. 7165 2
days of receipt of such [sample or] rendering OR COLOR PHOTOCOPY, the
board shall approve or deny such bell [jar tickets] JARS. Following
approval of a rendering OR COLOR PHOTOCOPY of a bell jar [ticket, seal
card, merchandise board, or coin board] by the board, the manufacturer
shall submit to the board a sample of the printed bell jar [ticket, seal
card, merchandise board, coin board], payout card, and flare for such
game. [Such sample shall be submitted prior to the sale of the game to
any licensed distributor for resale in this state.] WITHIN THIRTY DAYS
OF RECEIPT, THE BOARD SHALL REVIEW SAME FOR CONSISTENCY WITH THE
APPROVED RENDERING AND, IF APPROVED, AUTHORIZE MANUFACTURE. For coin
boards and merchandise boards, nothing herein shall require the [submit-
tal] SUBMISSION of actual coins or merchandise as part of the [approval]
REVIEW process.
(C) SANCTION. Any licensed manufacturer who [willfully] INTENTIONALLY
violates the provisions of this section shall: [(a)] (I) upon such first
offense, have their license suspended for a period of thirty days; [(b)]
(II) upon such second offense, participate in a hearing to be conducted
by the board, and surrender their license for such period as recommended
by the board; and [(c)] (III) upon such third or subsequent offense,
have their license suspended for a period of one year and shall be guil-
ty of a class E felony. [Any unlicensed manufacturer who violates the
provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class E felony.]
2. Bar codes. The manufacturer shall affix to the flare of each bell
jar game a bar code that provides all information prescribed by the
board and shall require that the bar code include the serial number of
the game the flare describes. A manufacturer shall also affix to the
outside of the container or wrapping containing a deal of bell jar
tickets a bar code providing all information prescribed by the board and
containing the same information as the bar code affixed to the flare.
The board may also prescribe additional bar code requirements. No person
[may] SHALL alter the bar code that appears on the flare or on the
outside of the container or wrapping containing a deal of bell jar tick-
ets. Possession of a deal of bell jar tickets that has a bar code
different from the serial number of the deal inside the container or
wrapping as evidenced on the flare is prima facie evidence that the
possessor has altered the bar code on the container or wrapping.
4. Reports of sales. A manufacturer [who sells bell jar tickets for
resale in this state] shall file with the board, on a form prescribed by
the board, a report of all bell [jar tickets] JARS sold [to distribu-
tors] OR SHIPPED in the state. The report shall be filed quarterly on or
before the twentieth day of the month succeeding the end of the quarter
in which the sale was made. The board [may] SHALL require that the
report be submitted via magnetic media or electronic data transfer.
S 3. Section 195-o of the general municipal law, as added by chapter
309 of the laws of 1996 and subdivisions 1, 1-a and 5 as amended by
chapter 637 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
S 195-o. Distributor of bell jars; reports and records. 1. Distrib-
ution; distributors. (A) GENERALLY. Any distributor licensed in accord-
ance with section one hundred eighty-nine-a of this article to distrib-
ute bell [jar tickets] JARS shall purchase bell [jar tickets] JARS only
from licensed manufacturers and may manufacture coin boards and merchan-
dise boards only as authorized in subdivision [one-a] TWO of this
section. Licensed distributors of bell [jar tickets] JARS shall sell
such [tickets] only to [not-for-profit, charitable or religious]
LICENSED AUTHORIZED organizations registered by the board.
S. 7165 3
(B) SANCTIONS. Any licensed distributor who willfully violates the
provisions of this section shall:
[(a)] (I) upon such first offense, have their license suspended for a
period of thirty days;
[(b)] (II) upon such second offense, participate in a hearing to be
conducted by the board, and surrender their license for such period as
recommended by the board; and
[(c)] (III) upon such third or subsequent offense, have their license
suspended for a period of one year and shall be guilty of a class E
felony. [Any unlicensed distributor who violates this section shall be
guilty of a class E felony.
1-a] 2. Coin boards and merchandise boards. Distributors of bell [jar
tickets] JARS may manufacture coin boards and merchandise boards only if
such boards have been approved by the board and have a bar code affixed
to them setting forth all information required by the board. Except that
for coin boards and merchandise boards, delineation of the prize or
prize value need not be included on the game ticket sold in conjunction
with a coin board or merchandise board. In lieu of such requirement, the
distributor shall be required to disclose the prize levels and the
number of winners at each level and shall print clearly on the game
ticket that a ticket holder may obtain the prize and prize value for
each prize level by referencing the flare. Such coin boards shall only
be sold by licensed distributors to licensed authorized organizations
registered by the board in accordance with the provisions of this arti-
cle.
[2] 3. Business records. A distributor shall keep at each place of
business complete and accurate records for that place of business,
including itemized invoices of bell [jar tickets] JARS held and
purchased. The records must show the names and addresses of purchasers,
the inventory at the close of each period for which a return is
required, all bell [jar tickets] JARS on hand, and other pertinent
papers and documents relating to the purchase, sale, or disposition of
bell [jar tickets] JARS as may be required by the board. Books, records,
itemized invoices, and other papers and documents required by this
section shall be kept for a period of at least four years after the date
of the documents, or the date of the entries appearing in the records,
unless the board authorizes in writing their destruction or disposal at
an earlier date. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
[3] 4. Sales records. A distributor shall maintain a record of all
bell [jar tickets] JARS that it sells. The record shall include, but
need not be limited to:
(a) the identity of the manufacturer from whom the distributor
purchased the product;
(b) the serial number of the product;
(c) the name, address, and license or exempt permit number of the
organization or person to which the sale was made;
(d) the date of the sale;
(e) the name of the person who ordered the product;
(f) the name of the person who received the product;
(g) the type of product;
(h) the serial number of the product;
(i) the account number identifying the sale from the manufacturer to
distributor and the account number identifying the sale from the
distributor to the licensed organization; and
S. 7165 4
(j) the name, form number, or other identifying information for each
game.
[4] 5. Invoices. A distributor shall supply with each sale of a bell
jar product an itemized invoice showing the distributor's name and
address, the purchaser's name, address, and license number, the date of
the sale, the account number identifying the sale from the manufacturer
to distributor and the account number identifying the sale from the
distributor to the licensed organization, and the description of the
deals, including the form number, the serial number and the ideal gross
from every deal of bell [jar or similar game] JARS.
[5] 6. Reports. A distributor shall report quarterly to the board, on
a form prescribed by the board, its sales of each type of bell [jar deal
or tickets] JARS. This report shall be filed quarterly on or before the
twentieth day of the month succeeding the end of the quarter in which
the sale was made. The board [may] SHALL require that a distributor
submit the quarterly report and invoices required by this section via
magnetic media or electronic data transfer.
[6] 7. The board may inspect the premises, books, records, and inven-
tory of a distributor without notice during the normal business hours of
the distributor.
[7] 8. Certified physical inventory. The board may, upon request,
require a distributor to furnish a certified physical inventory of all
bell [jar tickets] JARS in stock. The inventory shall contain the infor-
mation requested by the board.
S 4. Section 195-p of the general municipal law, as added by chapter
309 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
S 195-p. Transfer restrictions. [Not-for-profit, charitable or reli-
gious] 1. LICENSED AUTHORIZED organizations authorized to sell bell [jar
tickets] JARS in accordance with this article shall purchase bell [jar
tickets] JARS only from distributors licensed by the board. No [not-
for-profit, charitable, or religious] LICENSED AUTHORIZED organization
shall sell, donate, or otherwise transfer bell [jar tickets] JARS to any
other [not-for-profit, charitable or religious] LICENSED AUTHORIZED
organization.
2. AN AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATION NOT MAINTAINING CONTINUITY OF LICENSE
SHALL, WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF LICENSE EXPIRATION, DISPOSE OF ALL BELL
JARS POSSESSED IN A MANNER DIRECTED BY THE BOARD.
S 5. Subdivision 2 of section 225.20 of the penal law is amended to
read as follows:
2. Of a kind commonly used in the operation, promotion or playing of
BELL JARS OR a lottery or policy scheme or enterprise, and constituting,
reflecting or representing more than five hundred plays or chances ther-
ein.
S 6. This act shall take effect on the first day of January next
succeeding the year in which it shall have become a law; provided,
however, that any rules and regulations necessary for the timely imple-
mentation of this act shall be promulgated on or before such date.