Eases certain restrictions on the conducting of bingo games for charitable purposes

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Amends General Municipal Law section 476 to update definitions that are used in Article 14-H that govern the regulation of bingo games. Among the definitions that are modified are the inclusion of the term "auxiliary member". This definition is currently included in the law, but is buried in the body of the General Municipal Law. It updates the definition of "net proceeds" to better reflect the kinds of expenses that charitable organizations incur to operate bingo games. This provision slightly increases the number of times and number of games of bingo that that occur during the calendar year. Also, a definition for "reasonable expenses incurred by a volunteer" has been included

Section 2: Amends General Municipal Law section 479 to permit auxiliary members of a charitable organization to participate in the management and operation of such games. This provision was added to reflect the current problem that charitable organizations are facing in securing volunteers to manage and conduct bingo games. Further, it permits the charitable organization to reimburse volunteers for their reasonable expenses incurred to volunteer for conducting such games. The items would be limited transportation costs, babysitting costs to watch children while parents help conduct bingo games. To avoid abuse of this section, the Board could adopt rules or standards to specify the kinds of reimbursable expenses which could be allowed for volunteers. This provision also increases the prize limit from $ 1,000 to $ 1,500 and the aggregate prize value from $ 3,000 to $ 4,000 to reflect the devaluation of the prizes due to inflation. The last time the prize limits were increased was in 1957, the last year of the Governor Harriman Adminis- tration. Since 1957, New York has had Governors Rockefeller, Carey, Cuomo, Pataki, Spitzer, and now Andrew Cuomo.

Section 3: Amends General Municipal Law section 480 to revise how reasonable expenses of volunteers of a charitable organization can be paid for to increase the pool of volunteers who can assist in the conduct of bingo games.

Section 4: Amends General Municipal Law section 481 to update provisions related to those who have been convicted of a crime to conduct bingo games, if the charitable organization that is sponsoring such bingo games has as its charitable purposes the charge of assisting and rehabilitating those who have committed crimes or convicted of drug offenses. There are probably worse things that a formerly convicted individual could be doing once released from prison than helping to conduct a game of bingo that is under the supervision of a rehabilitation services program. This provision also slightly increases the ceiling on the single and aggregate prize award from, respectively, $ 1,000 to $ 1,500 and $3,000 to $ 4,000. Again, these caps were instituted in 1957, the same year that the '57 Chevy was manufactured.

Section 5: Amends General Municipal Law section 483 to delete references to the Bingo Control Board, which went out of existence in 1977, and whose duties were shifted to the Racing & Wagering Board in the same year.

Section 6: Amends General Municipal Law section 485 to change the default on conducting bingo games on Sunday from being prohibited unless authorized by the local municipality to being permitted unless the local municipality opts to prohibit such games on Sunday.

Section 7: Amends General Municipal Law section 466 to permit those who are 15 to 18 years old to help conduct games of bingo as long as they are accompanied by a parent or another adult. Under current law, children can participate in bingo games as long as they are accompanied by an adult. This bill will increase the pool of volunteers that could help to conduct bingo games, provide assistance at the snack stand and hand out bingo cards. Since 1957, the world has changed. With the expanded used of the internet, internet gambling, and questionable material that is readily available to children on the internet, it seems outdated that a teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 are prohibited from assisting their parents or other adults in passing out bingo cards to game participants. In today's society, there are probably much worse things that a teenager could be doing than helping a charitable organization conduct a bingo game.

Section 8: Amends General Municipal Law section 487 to increase the frequency at which bingo games can be conducted from 18 to 27 days in any three successive calendar months.

Section 9: Amends General Municipal Law section 468 to reformat this section so that the definition of auxiliary member of a charitable organization is contained not in this section, but shifted to the definitions section contained in bill section one.

Section 10: Amends General Municipal Law section 490 to modernize the types of advertising that can be done to promote bingo game nights. It permits the use of emails and government access television broadcasts. Also, it allows volunteer ambulance companies to display signs advertising bingo events as is now the case for volunteer fire companies. When this law was first enacted in 1957, ambulance corps were generally associated with a fire company. Since then, the free standing volunteer ambulance company is more common, so this provision was amended to include such free standing ambulance squads.

Section 11: Amends General Municipal Law section 491 to extend from 7 days to 10 days in which file municipal reports on gross receipts from bingo games. Since these reports are prepared and filed by charitable organization volunteers, this extension in the time period will in effect give them not just one, but two full weekends to prepare and file reports on gross receipts.

Justification

The conduct of bingo games, in the past, has raised substantial funds to support the charitable purposes of those organization that conduct such games. However, the total amount wagered and more importantly the profit that is retained by these charitable organizations has been steadily declining. In 2000, total bingo handle generated in New York was $178,011,000, however in 2010 that total handle declined by $104,000,000 to a total of $74,000,000. More importantly, the profits generated by bingo games has imploded from $38,047,000 in 2000 to $10,800,000 in 2010. That is an annual reduction in support for New York's charitable organizations of $27,200,000.

There are many reasons for this reduction in revenue generated to support charitable organizations. The most important is the reduced number and pool of volunteers available to conduct and manage such games. This bill addresses this by allowing volunteers to get at least some of their out-of-pocket expenses for volunteering to conduct such games such as child care costs and gas money when volunteering, and allowing teenagers over the age of 15 to assist other adults in conducting the games and operating the snack bar. second, the means of advertising bingo games needs to be modernized to include those forms of communication that are more commonly used now, i.e. The internet.

Legislative history

2012 - S. 6594 - Referred to Racing & Wagering Committee

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

January first after the act shall have become law.