Section 476. Definitions

As used in this article, the following terms shall
  have the following meanings:
    1.  "Municipality"  shall  mean  any  city, town or village within the
  state.
    2. "Control commission" or "commission" shall mean  the  state  racing
  and wagering board.
    3. "Bingo" or "game" shall mean and include 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.
    4.  "Authorized  organization"  shall  mean  and include any bona fide
  religious  or  charitable  organization  or   bona   fide   educational,
  fraternal,  civic  or  service organization or bona fide organization of
  veterans, volunteer firefighters, or volunteer ambulance workers,  which
  by  its  charter,  certificate of incorporation, constitution, or act of
  the legislature, shall have among its dominant purposes one or  more  of
  the lawful purposes as defined in this article, provided that each shall
  operate  without  profit  to  its  members,  and provided that each such
  organization has engaged in serving one or more of the  lawful  purposes
  as defined in this article for a period of one year immediately prior to
  applying for a license under this article.
    5.  "Bingo control law" shall mean article nineteen-B of the executive
  law.
    6. "Lawful purposes" shall mean one or more of the  following  causes,
  deeds or activities:
    (a) Those which shall benefit needy or deserving persons indefinite in
  number  by  enhancing  their  opportunity  for  religious or educational
  advancement, by relieving them from disease, suffering or  distress,  or
  by  contributing  to  their  physical  well-being,  by assisting them in
  establishing themselves in life as worthy and  useful  citizens,  or  by
  increasing  their  comprehension  of and devotion to the principles upon
  which this nation was founded  and  enhancing  their  loyalty  to  their
  governments;
    (b)  Those which shall initiate, perform or foster worthy public works
  or shall enable  or  further  the  erection  or  maintenance  of  public
  structures;
    (c)  Those  which  shall initiate, perform or foster the provisions of
  services to veterans by encouraging the gathering of such  veterans  and
  shall  enable  or  further the erection or maintenance of facilities for
  use by such veterans which shall be used  primarily  for  charitable  or
  patriotic  purposes,  or  those  purposes which shall be authorized by a
  bona fide organization of veterans, provided however that such  proceeds
  are disbursed in accordance with the rules and regulations of the racing
  and wagering board.
    (d) Those which shall otherwise lessen the burdens borne by government
  or  which  are  voluntarily  undertaken by an authorized organization to
  augment or supplement services which government would normally render to
  the people.
    7. "Net proceeds" shall mean (a) in relation  to  the  gross  receipts
  from  one or more occasions of bingo, the amount that shall remain after
  deducting the reasonable sums  necessarily  and  actually  expended  for
  bingo  supplies and equipment, prizes, stated rental if any, bookkeeping
  or  accounting  services  according  to  a  schedule   of   compensation
  prescribed  by  the commission, janitorial services and utility supplies
  if any, license fees, and the cost of bus transportation, if  authorized
  by  the  control  commission,  and  (b)  in  relation  to the gross rent
  received by an organization licensed to conduct bingo for the use of its
  premises by  another  licensee,  the  amount  that  shall  remain  after

  deducting  the  reasonable  sums  necessarily  and actually expended for
  janitorial services and utility supplies directly  attributable  thereto
  if any.
    8.  "Net  lease"  shall  mean a written agreement between a lessor and
  lessee  under  the  terms  of  which  the  lessee  is  entitled  to  the
  possession,  use  or  occupancy  of  the whole or part of any commercial
  premises for which the lessee pays  rent  to  the  lessor  and  likewise
  undertakes  to pay substantially all of the regularly recurring expenses
  incident to the operation and maintenance of such leased premises.
    9. "Authorized  commercial  lessor"  shall  mean  a  person,  firm  or
  corporation  other than a licensee to conduct bingo under the provisions
  of this article, who or which shall own or be a net lessee  of  premises
  and  offer  the  same  for  leasing  by  him  or  it  to  an  authorized
  organization for any consideration whatsoever, direct or  indirect,  for
  the  purpose of conducting bingo therein, provided that he or it, as the
  case may be, shall not be
    (a) a person convicted of a crime who has not received a pardon  or  a
  certificate of good conduct;
    (b)  a  person  who  is or has been a professional gambler or gambling
  promoter or who for other reasons is not of good moral character;
    (c) a  public  officer  who  receives  any  consideration,  direct  or
  indirect,  as  owner  or  lessor  of premises offered for the purpose of
  conducting bingo therein;
    (d) a firm or corporation in which a  person  defined  in  subdivision
  (a), (b) or (c) above or a person married or related in the first degree
  to  such  a  person  has greater than a ten percentum (10%) proprietary,
  equitable or credit interest or in which such  a  person  is  active  or
  employed.
    Nothing  contained  in  this subdivision shall be construed to bar any
  firm or corporation which is not organized for pecuniary profit  and  no
  part  of  the  net  earnings  of  which  inure  to  the  benefit  of any
  individual, member, or shareholder, from being an authorized  commercial
  lessor  solely  because a public officer, or a person married or related
  in the first degree to a public officer, is a member of,  active  in  or
  employed by such firm or corporation.
    10.  "Limited  period  bingo"  shall  mean  the  conduct of bingo by a
  licensed authorized organization, for a period of not more than seven of
  twelve consecutive days in any one year, at a festival, bazaar, carnival
  or similar function conducted by such licensed authorized  organization.
  No  authorized  organization  licensed  to  conduct limited period bingo
  shall be otherwise eligible to conduct bingo pursuant to this article in
  the same year.
    11. "Supercard" shall mean a bingo card on which prizes  are  awarded,
  which  card  is  selected  by  the  player,  containing  five designated
  numbers, colors or symbols, corresponding to the letters B, I, N, G,  O,
  displayed  on  the bingo board of the bingo premises operator, which can
  be played concurrently with the other bingo cards played during the game
  of bingo.
    11-a. "Early bird" shall mean a  bingo  game  which  is  played  as  a
  special  game, conducted not more than twice during a bingo occasion, in
  which  prizes  are  awarded  based  upon  a  percentage  not  to  exceed
  seventy-five  percent  of the sum of money received from the sale of the
  early bird cards and which  is  neither  subject  to  the  prize  limits
  imposed   by   subdivisions   five  and  six  of  section  four  hundred
  seventy-nine and paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  one  of  section  four
  hundred  eighty-one,  nor  the  special  game  opportunity  charge limit
  imposed by  section  four  hundred  eighty-nine  of  this  article.  The
  percentage  shall be specified both in the application for bingo license

  and the license. Not more than one dollar shall be charged per card with
  the total amount collected from the sale of the early bird cards and the
  prize for each game to be announced  before  the  commencement  of  each
  game.
    11-b.  "Bonus  ball"  shall  mean  a  bingo  game  that  is  played in
  conjunction with one or more regular or special bingo  games  designated
  as  bonus  ball games by the licensed authorized organization during one
  or more consecutive bingo occasions in which a prize is awarded  to  the
  player  obtaining a specified winning bingo pattern when the last number
  called by the licensed authorized organization is the  designated  bonus
  ball  number.  The  bonus ball prize shall be based upon a percentage of
  the sales from opportunities to participate in bonus ball games  not  to
  exceed  seventy-five  percent of the sum of money received from the sale
  of bonus ball opportunities or six thousand dollars, whichever shall  be
  less,  and  which  is  not  subject  to  the  prize  limits  imposed  by
  subdivisions five and six  of  section  four  hundred  seventy-nine  and
  paragraph  (a)  of subdivision one of section four hundred eighty-one of
  this article. The percentage shall be specified both in the  application
  for  the  bingo  license  and  the license. Notwithstanding section four
  hundred eighty-nine of this article, not more than one dollar  shall  be
  charged  per  player for an opportunity to participate in all bonus ball
  games conducted during a single bingo occasion,  and  the  total  amount
  collected  from  the  sale of bonus ball opportunities and the amount of
  the prize to be awarded shall be announced prior to the  start  of  each
  bingo occasion.
    12.  "Prize",  where  supercard  is played as set forth in subdivision
  eleven of this section, shall mean the sum of money or actual  value  of
  merchandise  awarded  to  the  winner or winners on a game card during a
  game of bingo and the sum  of  money  or  actual  value  of  merchandise
  awarded  to  the winner or winners on a supercard in excess of the total
  receipts derived from the sale of supercards for that specific game.