NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3967
SPONSOR: Pretlow TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to requiring a
New York state legend on all bell jar tickets sold in New York state
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
To amend § 195-n and § 195-0 of the General Municipal Law to require
that bell jar tickets sold in New York State contain an imprint of a
legend approved by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board (the
"Board").
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Amends General Municipal Law § 195-n to require that licensed manufac-
turers of bell jar tickets imprint an approved New York State legend on
all bell jar tickets sold in New York State. Amends § 195-0 of the
General Municipal Law to require that licensed distributors who purchase
bell jar tickets for resale in New York purchase and resell only tickets
with the approved New York State legend. An exception is created for
bell jar tickets that are banded single-sided single-tabbed, double-sid-
ed single-tabbed or folded bell jar tickets.
EXISTING LAW:
There is no statutory requirement for a New York State symbol or legend
on bell jar tickets.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This bill (with different text) was introduced in 2003 as S.3797 and
referred to Racing, Gaming and Wagering. 201C - A2495 - referred to
racing and wagering
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:
A New York State legend would relieve administrative burdens on volun-
teer organizations who conduct games of chance, licensed bell jar ticket
distributors and local governments who license games of chance. All bell
jar tickets sold in New York State must be approved by the New York
State Racing and Wagering Board prior to sale in New York State to
ensure that the game complies with games of chance statutes and the
rules and regulations of the Board. There are literally thousands of
different types of bell jar games that have been approved over the last
fifteen years, and hundreds more that are submitted every year to the
Board. In many cases, there are bell jar games that are very similar in
name and appearance to an approved game when, in fact, the game has not
been approved. Licensed authorized organizations may only sell bell jar
tickets that have been approved by the Board..It is often difficult for
such organizations, which are comprised of volunteers, to keep track of
the thousands of approved bell jar tickets and discern between an
approved bell jar game and an unapproved one. By requiring an approved
New York State legend on approved bell jar tickets, organizations and
New York State distributors could simply look at a ticket to determine
if it has been approved for sale in New York, thereby reducing their
respective paperwork load and erroneous purchases of unapproved tickets.
Furthermore, an approval legend would be a valuable tool for law
enforcement, local municipal inspectors and licensing officials who
regulate games of chance. The presence of the legend would facilitate
the tracking of tickets and the absence of the legend would be evidence
that the ticket is unlawful for sale. Several states have adopted the
requirement of a state logo or approval statement. An exception to the
requirement is created for bell jar tickets that are banded single-sided
single-tabbed, double-sided single-tabbed or folded because their size
makes the requirement impracticable. This exception is consistent with
Board Rule (9 N.Y.C.R.R.) 5608.3(e), which excludes such tickets from
certain construction standards applicable to other bell jar tickets.
The Board would prescribe a unique seal, such as a letters "NYSRWB"
configured in a unique shape or the geographic shape of New York State.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A9994 05/03/16 referred to racing and wagering
A9994 05/11/16 reported referred to codes
A4402 04/23/18 passed assembly
A4402 04/23/18 delivered to senate
A4402 04/23/18 REFERRED TO RACING, GAMING AND WAGERING
A4623 03/14/19 passed assembly
A4623 11/25/19 vetoed memo.152
A9130 reported & advanced to third reading
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
year in which it shall have become a law, and shall apply to tickets
which are manufactured on or after such date, provided, however, that
any rules and regulations necessary for the timely implementation of
this act shall be promulgated on or before such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3967
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 29, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Racing and Wagering
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to requiring a
New York state legend on all bell jar tickets sold in New York state
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 195-n of the general municipal
2 law, as amended by chapter 637 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 1. Distribution; manufacturers. (a) For business conducted in this
5 state, manufacturers licensed by the board to sell bell jar tickets
6 shall [sell] : (i) only sell such tickets to distributors licensed by
7 the board; (ii) only sell such tickets that have been approved by the
8 board; and (iii) are imprinted with an approved legend prescribed by the
9 board in a manner prescribed by the board. Bell jar tickets that are
10 banded single-sided single-tabbed, double-sided single-tabbed or folded
11 bell jar tickets are excluded from the approved legend requirement.
12 Manufacturers of bell jar tickets, seal cards, merchandise boards, and
13 coin boards may submit samples, artists' renderings, or color photoco-
14 pies of proposed bell jar tickets, seal cards, merchandise boards, coin
15 boards, payout cards, and flares for review and approval by the board.
16 Within thirty days of receipt of such sample or rendering, the board
17 shall approve or deny such bell jar tickets. Following approval of a
18 rendering of a bell jar ticket, seal card, merchandise board, or coin
19 board by the board, the manufacturer shall submit to the board a sample
20 of the printed bell jar ticket, seal card, merchandise board, coin
21 board, payout card, and flare for such game. Such sample shall be
22 submitted prior to the sale of the game to any licensed distributor for
23 resale in this state. For coin boards and merchandise boards, nothing
24 herein shall require the submittal of actual coins or merchandise as
25 part of the approval process. (b) Any licensed manufacturer who [will-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08914-01-1
A. 3967 2
1 fully] intentionally violates the provisions of this section shall:
2 [(a)] (i) upon such first offense, have their license suspended for a
3 period of thirty days; [(b)] (ii) upon such second offense, participate
4 in a hearing to be conducted by the board, and surrender their license
5 for such period as recommended by the board; and [(c)] (iii) upon such
6 third or subsequent offense, have their license suspended for a period
7 of one year and shall be guilty of a class E felony. Any unlicensed
8 manufacturer who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty
9 of a class E felony.
10 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 195-o of the general municipal law, as
11 amended by chapter 637 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as
12 follows:
13 1. Distribution; distributors. Any distributor licensed in accordance
14 with section one hundred eighty-nine-a of this article to distribute
15 bell jar tickets shall purchase bell jar tickets only from licensed
16 manufacturers and may manufacture coin boards and merchandise boards
17 only as authorized in subdivision one-a of this section. Licensed
18 distributors who purchase bell jar tickets for resale in New York state
19 shall only purchase and resell bell jar tickets imprinted with an
20 approved legend prescribed by the board in a manner prescribed by the
21 board, or bell jar tickets that have been approved by the board that are
22 banded single-sided single-tabbed, double-sided single-tabbed or folded
23 bell jar tickets. Licensed distributors of bell jar tickets shall sell
24 such tickets only to not-for-profit, charitable or religious organiza-
25 tions registered by the board. Any licensed distributor who [willfully]
26 intentionally violates the provisions of this section shall: (a) upon
27 such first offense, have their license suspended for a period of thirty
28 days; (b) upon such second offense, participate in a hearing to be
29 conducted by the board, and surrender their license for such period as
30 recommended by the board; and (c) upon such third or subsequent offense,
31 have their license suspended for a period of one year and shall be guil-
32 ty of a class E felony. Any unlicensed distributor who violates this
33 section shall be guilty of a class E felony.
34 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
35 ing the year in which it shall have become a law and shall apply to
36 tickets which are manufactured on or after such date. Effective imme-
37 diately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
38 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
39 authorized to be made and completed on or before such date.
