[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cheektowaga 10-21-1985
as Ch. 10 of the 1985 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Games of chance — See Ch. 130.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Cheektowaga Bingo
Licensing Law."
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise, the
following terms shall have the following meanings:
Any bona fide religious, charitable or nonprofit organizations of
veterans, volunteer firemen and similar nonprofit organizations.
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 Lottery Control Commission.
The Town Board of the Town of Cheektowaga, New York.
A license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
The Town of Cheektowaga, New York.
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Cheektowaga, New York,
hereby provides that 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 Cheektowaga, subject
to such provisions of this chapter, the provisions of Article 14-G of the
General Municipal Law[1] and the provisions of the State Lottery Control Law.
[1]
Editor's Note: Now Article 14-H of the General Municipal Law.
B.
This chapter shall not become operative or effective
unless and until it shall have been approved by majority of the qualified
electors of this municipality voting on a proposition therefor submitted at
a general or special election held within the Town of Cheektowaga, New York.
A.
No person, firm, association, corporation or organization,
other than an authorized organization licensed under the provisions of this
chapter and the General Municipal Law, shall be permitted to conduct such
games.
B.
The entire net proceeds of any game shall be exclusively
devoted to the lawful purposes of the organization permitted to conduct the
same.
C.
No single prize shall exceed the sum or value of $250.
D.
No series of prizes on any one occasion shall aggregate
more than $1,000.
E.
No person except a bona fide member of any such organization
shall participate in the management or operation of such games.
F.
No person shall receive any remuneration for participating
in the management or operation of any such game.
G.
The unauthorized conduct of a bingo game and any willful
violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute and be punishable
as a misdemeanor.
A.
Each applicant for a license shall file with the Town
Clerk of the municipality a written application therefor in the form prescribed
in the rules and regulations of the Control Commission, duly executed and
verified, in which shall be stated the name and address of the applicant,
together with sufficient facts relating to its incorporation and organization
to enable the governing body of the municipality to determine whether or not
it is a bona fide authorized organization; the names and addresses of its
officers, the specific kinds of games of chance intended to be held, operated
and conducted by the applicant, and the place or places where, the date or
dates and the time or times when such games of chance are intended to be held,
operated and conducted by the applicant under the license applied for; the
items of expense intended to be incurred or paid in connection with the holding,
operating and conducting of such games of chance, and the names and addresses
of the persons to whom, and the purposes for which, they are to be paid; the
specific purposes to which the entire net proceeds of such games of chance
are to be devoted and in what manner; that no commission, salary, compensation,
reward or recompense will be paid to any person for holding, operating or
conducting such game or games of chance or for assisting therein, except as
otherwise provided in this chapter or in the General Municipal Law; and that
no prize or aggregate of prizes will be offered or given under such license
of a value in excess of the sum or value authorized by this chapter or the
General Municipal Law, and a description of all prizes to be offered and given
in all such games of chance to be held, operated and conducted under such
license, and such other information as shall be prescribed by such rules and
regulations.
B.
In each application there shall be designated an active
member or members of the applicant organization under whom the game or games
of chance described in the application are to be held, operated or conducted,
and to the application shall be appended a statement executed by the applicant
and by the member or members so designated, that he or they will be responsible
for the holding, operating and conduct of such games of chance in accordance
with the terms of the license and the provisions of the rules and regulations
governing the holding, operation and conduct of such games of chance, the
Town of Cheektowaga ordinance and the General Municipal Law, if such license
is granted.
C.
In the event that any premises upon which any such game
of chance is to be held, operated or conducted, or which is to be used for
any other purpose in connection with the holding, operating or conducting
thereof, is to be leased from any person, persons or corporation, a written
statement shall accompany the application, signed and verified under oath
by such person or persons or executed and verified under oath on behalf of
such corporation, stating his or its address and the amount of rent which
will be paid for such premises and that such lessor or lessors, or, if a corporation,
all of its officers and each of its stockholders who hold 10% or more of its
stock issued and outstanding, are of good moral character and have not been
convicted of crime.
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Cheektowaga, New York,
shall make 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 it shall determine that the applicant is duly qualified to be licensed
under the chapter and the General Municipal Law to hold, operate and conduct
games of chance under the provisions of this chapter and the General Municipal
Law and the rules and regulations governing the holding, operation and conduct
thereof in the municipality; that the member or members of the applicant designated
in the application to hold, operate or conduct the games of chance which the
license was applied for 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 this chapter, the General Municipal Law and in accordance
with the rules and regulations governing the holding, operation and conduct
thereof, and that the proceeds thereof are to be disposed of as provided by
this chapter and the General Municipal Law, and if the governing body is satisfied
that 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, any such games of chance, except
as in this chapter and the General Municipal Law 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, it
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 $10 for each occasion upon which games of chance
are to be conducted under such license.
B.
On or before the 30th day of each month, the fiscal officer
of this municipality, pursuant to the General Municipal Law, shall transmit
to the State Comptroller a sum equal to 50% of all license fees collected
by such municipality pursuant to this section during the preceding calendar
month.
C.
No license for holding, operation or conduct of any game
or games of chance shall be issued under the 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 governing body 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 application and the merits of the application.
B.
Any license issued under this chapter and the General
Municipal Law may be amended, upon application made to the governing body
of the municipality 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 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
description of the kind of games of chance authorized to be held, operated
and conducted thereunder; 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 such games of chance will be held, operated and conducted, of the number
of times or the hours during which such games of chance are authorized to
be conducted, and the place or places where and the date or dates and time
or times when such games of chance are to be conducted, and of the specific
purposes to which the entire net proceeds of such games of chance are to be
devoted; if any prize or prizes are 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 or games of chance
shall be conspicuously displayed at the place where same is to be conducted
at all times during the conduct thereof.
The governing body of this municipality issuing any license under this
chapter and the General Municipal Law shall have and exercise control and
supervision over all games of chance held, operated or conducted under such
license, to the end that the same are fairly held, operated and conducted
in accordance with the provisions of such license, the rules and regulations
promulgated by the Control Commission, the provisions of the chapter and the
General Municipal Law governing the holding, operation and conduct of the
same; and such governing body and the Control Commission shall have the power
and authority to suspend any license issued by such governing body and to
revoke the same, after notice and hearing, for violation of any such provision,
and shall have the right of entry, by their respective officers and agents,
at all times into any premises which any such game of chance is being held,
operated and conducted or where it is intended that any such game of chance
shall be held, operated and 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.
Games of chance licensed under this chapter may be conducted on the
first day of the week, commonly known and designated as Sunday.
No person under the age of 18 years shall be permitted to participate
in any game or games of chance held, operated and conducted pursuant to any
license issued under this chapter and the General Municipal Law, unless accompanied
by an adult.
No games or games of chance shall be held, operated or conducted under
any license issued under this chapter and the General Municipal Law oftener
than on six days in any one calendar month, or in any room or outdoor area
where alcoholic beverages are sold or served during the progress of the game
or games.
No person shall hold, operate or conduct any game or games of chance under any license issued under this chapter and the General Municipal Law 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 chance under such license except 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 of which such licensee is an auxiliary 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 chance shall be conducted with any equipment except such as shall be owned absolutely 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 chance held, operated or conducted pursuant to any license issued under this chapter and the General Municipal Law, except such as are bona fide items of reasonable amount for goods, wares and merchandise furnished or services rendered which are reasonably necessary to be purchased or furnished for the holding, operating or conducting thereof, under any circumstances whatever; no rental shall be paid for the use of any premises for holding, operating or conducting any such game of chance thereon or for any other purpose in connection with the holding, operating or conducting thereof unless the amount of such rental is stated in a statement annexed to the application for the license as provided in § 63-5 of this chapter, which is in excess of the sum stated as the rental to be charged therefor in such statement; and no commission, salary, compensation, reward or recompense whatever shall be paid or given, directly or indirectly, to any person holding, operating or conducting, or assisting in the holding, operation or conduct of, any game of chance so held, operated or conducted, except that reasonable compensation may be paid to bookkeepers or accountants for bookkeeping or accounting services rendered according to a schedule of compensation prescribed by the rules of the Control Commission.
No more than $1 shall be charged by any licensee for admission to any
room or place in which any game or games of chance are to be held, operated
and conducted under any license issued under this chapter and the General
Municipal Law, 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 chance 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. No prizes greater in amount or value than $250 shall be offered
or given in any single game conducted under any such license, and the aggregate
value of all prizes offered or given in all games played on a single occasion
shall not exceed $1,000, and 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 beverages 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 and the General Municipal Law 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 where the game will be played,
and an additional sign may be displayed on or adjacent to the premises where
the prize or prizes are displayed, and additional signs may be displayed upon
any fire fighting 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.
Within 15 days after the conclusion of the holding, operating and conducting
of any such game of chance, the authorized organization which held, operated
or conducted the same, and its members who were in charge thereof, shall furnish
to the Town Clerk of the municipality a duly verified statement showing the
amount of the gross receipts derived from each game of chance, which shall
include receipts from the sale of shares, tickets or rights in any manner
connected with participation in said game or the right to participate therein,
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 profit derived from each
such game of chance and the use to which such net profit has been or is 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 report.
The governing body of the municipality and the Control Commission shall
have power to examine or cause to be examined the books and records of any
authorized organization to which any such license is issued so far as they
may relate to any transaction connected with the holding, operating and conducting
of any game of chance thereunder, and to examine any manager, officer, director,
agent, member or employee thereof under oath in relation to the conduct of
any such game of chance under any such license, but 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 and the General Municipal Law.
Any applicant for or holder of any license issued or to be issued under
this chapter and the General Municipal Law, aggrieved by any action of the
municipal governing body of the municipality to which such application has
been made or by which such license has been issued, may appeal to the Control
Commission from the determination of said governing body by filing with the
governing body 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 governing body, 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 said governing body and all parties to said appeal.
No person or corporation lawfully conducting or participating in the
conduct of; possessing, selling or in any manner disposing of any shares,
tickets or rights to participate in; or permitting the conduct upon any premises
owned by him or it of any game of chance conducted or to be conducted under
any license lawfully issued pursuant to this chapter and the General Municipal
Law, shall be liable to prosecution or conviction for violations of any provision
of Article 130 of the Penal Law[1] or any other law or ordinance to the extent that such conduct
is specifically authorized by this chapter and the General Municipal Law,
but this immunity shall not extend to any person or corporation knowingly
conducting or participating in the conduct of any game of chance under any
license obtained by any false pretense or statement made in any application
for such license or otherwise, or possessing, selling or disposing of shares,
tickets or rights to participate in, or permitting the conduct upon any premises
owned by him or it of, any game of chance conducted under any license known
to him or it to have been obtained by any false pretense or statement.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Penal Law § 225.00 et seq. and
General Obligations Law §§ 5-415, 5-417 and 5-423.
Any person, association or corporation who or which shall make any false statement in any application for any such license or in any statement annexed thereto, or shall pay any rental for the use of any premises for holding, operating or conducting any game of chance under this chapter and the General Municipal Law or for any other purpose in connection with the holding, operating or conducting thereof, unless the amount of such rental is stated in a statement annexed to the application for the license as provided in § 63-5 of this chapter, or shall pay or receive any sum for such rental in excess of the sum stated as the rental to be charged therefor in such statement executed by him or on its behalf, or shall fail to keep such books and records as shall fully and truly record all transactions connected with the holding, operating and conducting of games of chance under any such license, or shall falsify or make any false entry in any books or record so far as they relate to any transaction connected with the holding, operating or conducting of any game of chance under any such license, or shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter and the General Municipal Law or of any term of such license, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall forfeit any license issued to it under this chapter and General Municipal Law and be ineligible for a license under this chapter and the General Municipal Law for one year thereafter.
The Town Board of the Town of Cheektowaga hereby delegates its authority
under this chapter in relation to the issuance and receipt of applications,
the issuance of licenses and the collection and transmission of fees, to the
Town Clerk of the Town of Cheektowaga, New York, and delegates the authority
granted to it in relation to the conduct of investigations and the supervision
of the operation of games of chance, to the Chief of Police of the Town of
Cheektowaga, New York.
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person
or circumstances shall be adjudged unconstitutional by any court of competent
jurisdiction, the remainder of this chapter or the application thereof to
other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby, and the Town
Board hereby declares that it would have enacted this chapter without the
invalid provision or application, as the case may be, had such invalidity
been apparent.
