Title 9 Part 4820

The officers of every authorized organization licensed to conduct bingo shall designate a bona fide, active member of the licensee to be in charge of and primarily responsible for the conduct of the games of bingo on each occasion. The member in charge shall supervise all activities on the occasion for which such member is in charge, shall not permit any person to participate in any unauthorized game of chance of any kind other than bingo, and shall be responsible for the making of the required report thereof (BC-7). The member in charge shall be familiar with the provisions of the Bingo Licensing Law, the ordinances or local laws, the rules and regulations of the commission and the terms of the license. The member in charge shall be present on the premises continuously during the occasion.

In those municipalities that permit children under the age of 18 years to attend bingo occasions, the adults accompanying such children shall assert control and be responsible for the actions of such children throughout the bingo occasions. Children may participate in ancillary non-gaming activities as set forth in General Municipal Law section 486.

No person shall assist in the conduct of bingo except an active member of the licensee, an active member of an organization that is an auxiliary to the licensee, an active member of an organization of which the licensee is an ancillary, or an active member of an organization that is affiliated with the licensee by being, with it, auxiliary to another organization. Before a member of any organization assists the licensee in the conduct of bingo, such organization must register with the commission and secure an identification number. Children may assist in ancillary non-gaming activities as set forth in General Municipal Law section 486.

The member in charge, those assisting such person, including the caller and the caller’s assistant, shall wear badges approved by the commission, containing the name, signature and address of the wearer, the name of the organization for which the wearer is working, the name of the organization of which the wearer is a member, and the wearer’s photograph. Each member shall also have in such member’s possession valid identification, containing such member’s name and address, which must be exhibited upon the request of a representative of the commission or municipality.

The officers of a licensee shall designate an officer to be in full charge of, and primarily responsible for, the proper utilization of all monies derived from the conduct of bingo in accordance with the Bingo Licensing Law and this Chapter. Not less than two members shall be responsible for counting the bingo proceeds.

No commission, salary, compensation, reward, recompense, reimbursement of expenses or gift shall be paid to any person for conducting or assisting in the conduct of games of bingo except for the bookkeepers or accountants who assist by rendering their professional services. No tip, gratuity or gift may be given or accepted by any person conducting or assisting in the conduct of games of bingo either directly or indirectly, and one or more signs prohibiting tipping shall be prominently displayed in each playing area. No person shall solicit or receive any gift or donation on the premises during the conduct of an occasion of bingo.

Bookkeepers and accountants shall limit their professional services to one organization duly licensed to conduct bingo games and the duly licensed organizations that are affiliated with, or auxiliary to, that parent organization during any calendar year. Bookkeepers and accountants receiving compensation for their services shall not participate or assist in any capacity in the conduct of the games. The fees paid for bookkeeping or accounting services shall not exceed those set forth in the following schedule:

No more than $5 shall be charged by any licensee for an admission card or cards required to enter any room or place in which any game or games of bingo are to be conducted, which admission fee shall entitle the person paying the same to participate, without additional charge, in all regular games of bingo to be played under such license during such occasion. An admission card may be offered as part of a package that includes extra regular cards and special cards provided such admission card is readily distinguishable from all other bingo opportunities sold and provided identical admission cards are also offered for sale separately by the licensee for a price not to exceed $5. No person shall be permitted entry into any room or place in which any bingo game is to be conducted without purchasing at least an admission card, except a person licensed to manage or assist in the conduct of bingo or licensed games of chance, a person authorized to operate the food concession, security personnel or, when present solely to effect repairs on the premises of a lessor, the licensed lessor or an agent thereof. No person shall be permitted to participate in any bingo game without purchasing at least an admission card. No person shall be required to purchase any bingo opportunity other than an admission card or cards to gain entry, and no person shall be sold or shall be permitted to play more than one admission card or package per bingo occasion. The provisions of this section shall not apply to limited period bingo.

The premises where any game of bingo is conducted, or where it is intended that any game of bingo shall be conducted or where it is intended that any equipment be used, shall, at all reasonable times, be open to inspection by the commission and the municipal governing body, and the officers, agents and employees thereof.

The licensee shall not conduct any bingo game with any equipment that such licensee does not own absolutely or lease from a bingo supplier licensed by the commission or another authorized organization, except such equipment that a lessor undertakes to provide by the terms of a written lease. No licensee shall agree to purchase supplies in consideration of receiving the use of any equipment, goods or supplies without charge. The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to permit an authorized organization to engage in the business of selling or leasing bingo supplies or equipment.

The sale of offering for sale of any merchandise within one-half hour prior to, during, or within one-half hour after the conclusion of any bingo occasion is prohibited, except for the sale or offering for sale of bingo supplies by the licensee or the sale of food or refreshments, if authorized by the licensee.

No regular bingo cards or special game cards shall be sold after the completion of the scheduled game marking the half-way point in an occasion, except with respect to supercards and opportunities to participate in a jackpot game. The licensee shall keep an accurate count in separate categories of the number of admission cards sold, the number of extra regular cards sold, the number of special game cards sold, the number, count and price of each package of opportunities sold, the number of early bird cards sold, the number of player select cards sold, the number of supercards sold, the number of pre-drawn bingo cards sold, the number of quick bingo cards sold and, where applicable, the number of limited period bingo cards sold, which information shall be available for inspection at the close of each occasion. The admission cards, special cards and extra regular cards shall be clearly different and readily distinguishable from each other.

There shall be two persons present at the receptacle from which the objects, or balls are drawn; one person shall remove the ball from the receptacle, observe the letter and the number, and hand it to the other person who shall raise the ball to display the letter and number to the players and announce the letters and the complete numbers being called accurately and audibly to all players present. Where there is an audio-video system in operation, the caller may be the sole person present at the receptacle from which the objects or balls are drawn, provided the caller positions each ball before the camera to clearly display the letter and number appearing on each ball to the players via the video monitor(s). When an audio-video system is in operation, the caller shall announce the next letter and number in its entirety while the image of that letter and number are clearly displayed on the video monitor(s) and shall raise the ball to display the letter and number to the players before placing it in the appropriately numbered space at the caller's station. The caller shall not be required to handle the ball when a hands-free bingo receptacle approved by the commission is utilized, but shall be required to announce both the letter and the number while the image of that letter and number are clearly displayed on the video monitor(s). Speed-up games such as the wild number game in which players mark those numbers appearing on their face-cards whose second digits match the wild number's single digit number (or its second digit if the wild number is a two-digit number) so designated by the licensed authorized organization are permitted only when the bingo system utilized has a wild number function that automatically causes the bingo display board to illuminate the wild number and all numbers corresponding with it. Once removed, no ball shall be returned to the receptacle until after the conclusion of the game.

The receptacle, the caller and the assistant caller removing the objects or balls from the receptacle shall be visible to the majority of players at all times. During occasions in which an audio-video system is used, the video monitors of such system shall be visible to a majority of the players at all times and shall be maintained in good working order. The pre-drawing of the numbers in a pre-drawn bingo game shall begin not more than 45 minutes prior to the start of the game, and shall not begin unless there are a number of players equal to at least 10 percent of the bingo seating capacity present to verify the integrity of the pre-drawing of the numbered balls.

The particular arrangement of numbers required to be covered in order to win the game (the "winning pattern") and the amount of the prize for each game shall be listed on the licensed authorized organization's bingo program and shall be clearly and audibly described and announced to the players immediately prior to the calling of the first ball drawn in that game. If a game is divided into multiple parts, the winning pattern and the amount of the prize for each part of the game shall be listed on the licensed authorized organization's application for bingo license and on the bingo program and shall be audibly announced to the players immediately prior to each multiple game. The aggregate amount of the prizes comprising all parts of a multiple-part game shall not exceed the amount set forth in General Municipal Law sections 479(5) and 481(1)(a).

No arrangement of numbers on any face-card shall be required to be covered in order to win a game other than the following:

With the exception of supercard and player select no winning pattern shall require a player to cover or daub fewer than four numbered spaces on any single face-card, nor shall any winning pattern require the covering or daubing of numbers on more than three bingo face-cards.

A bonus prize may be awarded on the basis of either a specific winning pattern or the type of face-card required to win a game provided the amount of the bonus prize is listed on the application for bingo license and on the licensed authorized organization's bingo program required under section 5820.39 of this Part, and provided the winning pattern and the type of bingo face-card to be used have been approved by the commission in accordance with section 4820.19(j) of this Part.

Any player shall be entitled to call for a verification of all numbers drawn at the time a winner is determined, and for a verification of the objects or balls remaining in the receptacle and not yet drawn. The verification shall be made in the immediate presence of the member in charge of the occasion and in the immediate presence of one or more disinterested players.

A verification of the numbers appearing on the winning card at the time a winner is determined shall be made in the immediate presence of one or more disinterested players.

No licensee shall conduct more than 35 bingo games on a single occasion. In the case of limited period bingo, no licensee shall conduct more than 60 games on a single occasion, and at least 20 minutes shall elapse between occasions conducted on the same day.

No unlicensed bingo or game of chance, whether any separate or additional charge or wager is required or not, shall be conducted or allowed during any occasion of bingo. New York State Lottery tickets, licensed raffle tickets and/or licensed bell jar tickets may be sold or offered for sale at any occasion when bingo is played by the licensed bingo organization, or a licensed organization that is affiliated with or auxiliary to the licensed bingo organization when permitted by the licensed bingo organization. When a licensed authorized organization's premises are leased to another authorized organization for the conduct of bingo, the lessor shall not sell its bell jar tickets nor raffle tickets within such demised premises for a period commencing one hour prior to the starting time of the occasion specified on the lessee's bingo license and terminating one hour after the conclusion of such occasion.

When any merchandise prize is awarded in a game of bingo, its value shall be its cost to the licensee or, if donated, its fair market value. The fair market value of merchandise prizes donated to the licensee shall not be reported as an expenditure in the financial statement of bingo operations. No merchandise prize shall be redeemable or convertible into cash directly or indirectly by the licensee. The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to circumvent the statutory prize limits set forth in General Municipal Law 479(5) and 481(1)(a).

When more than one player is determined to be the winner on the call of the same number in the same game, the designated prize shall be divided equally to the nearest nickel but not to exceed the amount of the designated prize.

Within the limits heretofore established, the prizes offered may be varied depending upon the number of people who attend the occasion, provided the application for bingo license and the license so specify. If a licensee avails itself of the provisions of this section, it must announce at the beginning of the occasion the number of people present and the prizes to be awarded. If such option is exercised, it must apply to all games. In the conduct of limited period bingo, the licensee may vary the prize for each game depending upon the number of people participating in each game, and the prize for each game shall be announced before the commencement of each game.

No licensee shall offer, distribute or give any service, thing of value, or opportunity to play bingo, without charge.

Except in the case of limited period bingo, no person shall be permitted entry into any room or place in which any bingo game is to be conducted without purchasing an admission card, except a person licensed to manage or assist in the conduct of bingo or licensed games of chance, a person authorized to operate the food concession, security personnel or, when present solely to effect repairs on the premises of a lessor, the licensed lessor or an agent thereof. No person shall be permitted to participate in any bingo game without purchasing an admission card. No person shall be required to purchase any bingo opportunity other than an admission card or cards to gain entry, and an authorized organization shall not sell a person or otherwise permit a person to play more than one admission card or package per bingo occasion. In the case of limited period bingo, no admission fee shall be charged.

No licensee shall offer, distribute or give any prize consisting of real estate or an interest therein, bonds, shares of stock, securities or evidence of indebtedness, or any merchandise refundable in any of the foregoing.

No games of bingo shall be held in any building that has not been approved by the municipal governing body for public assembly, if required by law.

The rent charged a licensed authorized organization, for use of premises in which to conduct bingo, shall be paid in full by check within 48 hours after the conclusion of each bingo occasion.

No licensee shall permit any person who has participated or assisted in the management or conduct of the bingo occasion to participate as a bingo player or purchase bell jar tickets or raffle tickets at any time during such occasion.

No person shall act as a caller or assistant to the caller in the conduct of any game of bingo unless such person has been a member in good standing of the licensee conducting such game or one of such licensee’s registered auxiliaries for at least one year immediately prior to the date of such game, be of good moral character and never been convicted of a crime.

The entire net proceeds of all games of bingo must be devoted to one or more of the lawful purposes as defined in the Bingo Licensing Law and this Chapter. An organization failing to comply with this section will be required to show cause before the commission why such organization’s right to conduct games of bingo should not be revoked.

Any organization licensed to conduct games of bingo that does not report net profits during any one-year period may be required to show cause before the commission why such organization’s license to conduct games of bingo should not be revoked.

Each player must be furnished at no additional charge with a chair and a place with sufficient room to be able to play. Each player shall also be furnished with a bingo program listing the name and bingo identification number of the licensed authorized organization conducting the occasion, the house rules adopted by the licensee, and a schedule of all games and the prizes to be awarded therein, including the amount or odds to be paid out in each supercard game and the percentage of the receipts to be awarded as a prize in each early bird game. Each premises in which bingo is conducted shall comply with all Federal, State and local smoking laws.

No licensee shall provide, by contract or otherwise, for transportation of patrons to or from the place where any game of bingo is conducted, unless prior written authorization is obtained from the commission. The application for this authorization must be in writing and must establish to the satisfaction of the commission that the licensee has good cause for such request. Any authorization granted by the commission may be suspended or revoked by the commission if the commission determines that there is no further need for this transportation, or that the licensee has violated any of the provisions of the Bingo Licensing Law or this Chapter, or that in the opinion of the commission the transportation of patrons to and from bingo games should no longer be authorized.

No authorized organization licensed to conduct bingo shall purchase or receive any bingo supplies or equipment from other than a licensed supplier or another authorized organization.

The provisions of this section shall only be construed so as to authorize and permit an authorized organization to dispose of bingo supplies or equipment no longer required by it for the conduct of bingo.

Every licensed authorized organization shall so supervise, regulate and conduct games of bingo, in accordance with the Bingo Licensing Law and this Chapter, so as to afford and ensure all players an equal opportunity to win and to eliminate any influence that has or may have as its purpose the predetermination or selection of any winner or winners.

No licensee, its members or agents, shall cash any check out of bingo funds.

Each card shall be used for one game only and be indelibly marked by the player while in use in such manner as to render such card void and unusable thereafter. Limited period bingo cards shall not be used in the conduct of any other type of bingo games.

A licensee may advertise the conduct of an occasion of bingo to the general public as provided for in General Municipal Law section 490. No advertising shall include any misleading information or representations.

Player select is a special game of bingo in which players purchase specially constructed player select cards approved by the commission upon which players enter bingo numbers of their choice. Player select is conducted as follows:

Pre-drawn bingo game means a special bingo game in which a pre-determined number of bingo balls are pre-picked at random from the receptacle, and in which either a predetermined primary prize or a consolation prize will be awarded based on whether or not a player obtains a winning full-card bingo pattern in the number of calls specified in the application for bingo license and on the bingo program. Pre-drawn bingo games may be conducted as an early bird game in which the primary and consolation prize is based on a percentage of the gross receipts from bingo opportunities sold pursuant to section 4820.50 of this Part, as a progressive game in which the primary prize is increased after each occasion that the winning pattern is not obtained within the specified number of calls pursuant to section 4820.20 of this Part, or the prizes may be based on fixed primary and consolation prizes listed on the organization's application for license and bingo program. Each pre-drawn bingo game shall be conducted as follows:

Licensed authorized organizations shall adopt house rules to inform the players how situations not addressed by law, rule or regulation will be handled. Such house rules shall include, but need not be limited to, the licensee's policy stating whether or not seat reservations are permitted, how late calls of bingo will be addressed, the effects of electrical power interruptions, participation by minors, and the licensee's policies determining whether or not a player's winning bingo pattern must contain the last number called in that game, and whether or not another ball must be drawn and announced when a single player obtains two parts of a multiple-part game on the same call. House rules shall be prominently posted, listed in the bingo program required by section 4820.39 of this Part, and shall be audibly announced prior to the commencement of each licensed bingo session.

Licensed authorized organizations shall, pursuant to section 4820.53 of this Part, adopt a house rule either permitting or denying their members in charge the authority to reserve seats for players, and shall include that house rule in its bingo program. When seat reservations are permitted, each player shall be afforded an equal opportunity to reserve a seat. Seats may be reserved with "Reserved Seat" signs but, under no circumstances, shall seats be reserved by placing bingo opportunities, daubers or other supplies on tables before unoccupied seats. Licensed authorized organizations opting not to permit seat reservations shall adopt a house rule prohibiting seat reservations entirely.