S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 4052--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 29, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of A. CUSICK, MILLER, LAVINE, SKOUFIS -- Multi-Spon-
  sored by -- M. of A. HEVESI, LUPINACCI -- read once  and  referred  to
  the  Committee  on Racing and Wagering -- recommitted to the Committee
  on Racing and Wagering in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec.  2  --
  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
  recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to poker  tourna-
  ments

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1.  Section 185 of the general municipal law,  as  amended  by
chapter 574 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
  S  185.  Short  title; purpose of article. This article shall be known
and may be cited as the games of chance licensing law.  The  legislature
hereby declares 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 exploita-
tion  by professional gamblers, promoters, and commercial interests, AND
IT FINDS FURTHER THAT TOURNAMENTS OF  THE  VARIOUS  GAMES  OF  POKER  AS
OFFERED  BY  AUTHORIZED  ORGANIZATIONS  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION TWO OF
SECTION NINE OF ARTICLE I OF THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION, SHOULD  BE
REGULATED  UNDER THIS ARTICLE. It is hereby declared to be the policy of
the legislature that all phases of the supervision, licensing and  regu-
lation  of games of chance and of the conduct of games of chance, should
be closely controlled and that the laws and regulations pertaining ther-
eto should be strictly construed and rigidly enforced; that the  conduct
of  the  game  and  all  attendant activities should be so regulated and
adequate controls so instituted as to  discourage  commercialization  of
gambling  in  all its forms, including the rental of commercial premises

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03321-03-6
              

A. 4052--A                          2

for games of chance, and to ensure a maximum  availability  of  the  net
proceeds  of  games  of chance exclusively for application to the worthy
causes and undertakings specified herein; that  the  only  justification
for  this article is to foster and support such worthy causes and under-
takings, and that the mandate of section nine  of  article  one  of  the
state  constitution,  as  amended,  should be carried out by rigid regu-
lations to prevent commercialized  gambling,  prevent  participation  by
criminal  and  other  undesirable  elements and prevent the diversion of
funds from the purposes herein authorized.
  S 2. Subdivision 3 of section 186 of the  general  municipal  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  531  of  the  laws  of 2011, is amended to read as
follows:
  3. "Games of chance" shall mean and include only the  games  known  as
"merchandise wheels", "coin boards", "merchandise boards", "seal cards",
"event  games",  "raffles", "POKER TOURNAMENTS" and "bell jars" and such
other specific games as may be authorized by the board, 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 includ-
ing games commonly known as "bingo or lotto" which are controlled  under
article  fourteen-H of this chapter and also not including "bookmaking",
"policy or numbers games" and "lottery" as defined in section 225.00  of
the  penal law. No game of chance shall involve wagering of money by one
player against another player.
  S 3. Section 186 of the general municipal law is amended by  adding  a
new subdivision 3-f to read as follows:
  3-F.  "POKER  TOURNAMENTS"  SHALL  MEAN  AND INCLUDE CONTESTS IN WHICH
PARTICIPANTS COMPETE BY PLAYING POKER GAMES THAT  ARE  APPROVED  BY  THE
BOARD. PLACEMENT IN A POKER TOURNAMENT SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE NUMBER
OF  POKER CHIPS THAT ARE ACCUMULATED DURING THE COURSE OF PLAY OR BY THE
VARIOUS TIMES THAT CONTESTANTS ARE ELIMINATED FROM THE TOURNAMENT DURING
THE COURSE OF PLAY. POKER CHIPS SHALL  BE  ALLOTTED  TO  CONTESTANTS  IN
ACCORDANCE WITH RULES THAT ARE ADOPTED BY THE BOARD.
  S  4.  Subdivision  14 of section 186 of the general municipal law, as
amended by chapter 531 of the laws  of  2011,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  14.  "One  occasion"  shall  mean the successive operations of any one
single type of game of chance which results in the awarding of a  series
of  prizes  amounting  to  five  hundred dollars or four hundred dollars
during any one license period, in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of
subdivision eight of section one hundred eighty-nine of this article, as
the  case may be. For purposes of the game of chance known as a merchan-
dise wheel or a raffle, "one occasion" shall mean the  successive  oper-
ations  of  any one such merchandise wheel or raffle for which the limit
on a series of prizes provided by subdivision six of section one hundred
eighty-nine of this article shall apply. For purposes  of  the  game  of
chance  known  as  a  bell jar, "one occasion" shall mean the successive
operation of any one such bell jar, seal card, event game,  coin  board,
or merchandise board which results in the awarding of a series of prizes
amounting  to  three  thousand  dollars. For the purposes of the game of
chance known as raffle "one occasion" shall mean a calendar year  during
which successive operations of such game are conducted.  FOR THE PURPOSE
OF  POKER TOURNAMENTS, "ONE OCCASION" SHALL MEAN THE PERIOD OF TIME FROM
THE COMMENCEMENT OF SUCH TOURNAMENT UNTIL A WINNER OR WINNERS ARE DETER-
MINED OR A PRE-DETERMINED TIME  TO  CONCLUDE  THE  TOURNAMENT  HAS  BEEN
REACHED.

A. 4052--A                          3

  S  5.  Subdivision  5  of section 189 of the general municipal law, as
amended by chapter 455 of the laws  of  2012,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  5.  No  single  prize  awarded by games of chance other than raffle OR
POKER TOURNAMENT shall exceed the sum or value of three hundred dollars,
except that for merchandise wheels, no single prize shall exceed the sum
or value of two hundred fifty dollars. No single prize awarded by raffle
shall exceed the sum or value of one hundred thousand dollars. No single
wager shall exceed six dollars  and  for  bell  jars,  coin  boards,  or
merchandise  boards,  no  single prize shall exceed five hundred dollars
provided, however, that such limitation shall not apply to the amount of
money or value paid by the participant in a raffle in return for a tick-
et or other receipt. For coin boards and merchandise boards,  the  value
of  a prize shall be determined by its costs to the authorized organiza-
tion or, if donated, its fair market value.
  S 6. Subdivision 8 of section 189 of the  general  municipal  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  455  of  the  laws  of 2012, is amended to read as
follows:
  8. Except for merchandise wheels [and], raffles AND POKER TOURNAMENTS,
no series of prizes on any one occasion shall aggregate more  than  four
hundred  dollars when the licensed authorized organization conducts five
single types of games of chance during any one  license  period.  Except
for  merchandise wheels, raffles [and], bell jars AND POKER TOURNAMENTS,
no series of prizes on any one occasion shall aggregate more  than  five
hundred  dollars when the licensed authorized organization conducts less
than five single types of games  of  chance,  exclusive  of  merchandise
wheels,  raffles  [and], bell jars AND POKER TOURNAMENTS, during any one
license period. No authorized organization shall award by raffle  prizes
with  an aggregate value in excess of two million dollars during any one
license period.
  S 7. Section 195-d of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter
637 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
  S 195-d. Charge for admission and  participation;  amount  of  prizes;
award  of  prizes. A fee may be charged by any licensee for admission to
any game or games of chance conducted under  any  license  issued  under
this  article. The clerk or department may in its discretion fix a mini-
mum fee.  NO MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS SHALL BE CHARGED AS AN ADMIS-
SION FEE TO A POKER TOURNAMENT. FIFTY  PERCENT  OF  SUCH  FEE  SHALL  BE
APPLIED  TO  A  PRIZE  OR PRIZES, AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY THE AUTHORIZED
ORGANIZATION, AND FIFTY PERCENT OF SUCH FEE SHALL  BE  RETAINED  BY  THE
AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATION, SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION SIX OF
SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  EIGHTY-SIX OF THIS ARTICLE. With the exception of
bell jars, coin boards, seal cards,  merchandise  boards,  and  raffles,
every  winner  shall  be determined and every prize shall be awarded and
delivered 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 game of chance.
  S 8. Section 195-e of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter
94 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
  S 195-e. Advertising games. A licensee may advertise  the  conduct  of
games  of  chance to the general public by means of newspaper, circular,
handbill and poster, and by one sign not exceeding sixty square feet  in
area,  which  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 such sign may be displayed on or

A. 4052--A                          4

adjacent to the premises in which the games are to be conducted.   Addi-
tional signs may be displayed upon any fire fighting equipment belonging
to any licensed authorized organization which is a volunteer fire compa-
ny, or upon any equipment of a first aid or rescue squad in and through-
out  the  community  served by such volunteer fire company or such first
aid or rescue squad, as the case may be.  All  advertisements  shall  be
limited to the description of such event as "Games of chance" [or], "Las
Vegas Night" OR "POKER TOURNAMENT", the name of the authorized organiza-
tion  conducting such games, the license number of the authorized organ-
ization as assigned by the clerk or department and  the  date,  location
and time of the event.
  S 9. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
authorized  to  be  made  and completed by the state racing and wagering
board on or before such date.