N.Y. General Municipal Law 195-O – Distributor of bell jars; reports and records
§ 195-o. Distributor of bell jars; reports and records. 1. Distribution; distributors. Any distributor licensed in accordance with section one hundred eighty-nine-a of this article to distribute bell jar tickets shall purchase bell jar tickets only from licensed manufacturers and may manufacture coin boards and merchandise boards only as authorized in subdivision one-a of this section. Licensed distributors of bell jar tickets shall sell such tickets only to not-for-profit, charitable or religious organizations registered by the board. Any licensed distributor who willfully violates the provisions of this section shall: (a) upon such first offense, have their license suspended for a period of thirty days; (b) upon such second offense, participate in a hearing to be conducted by the board, and surrender their license for such period as recommended by the board; and (c) upon such third or subsequent offense, have their license suspended for a period of one year and shall be guilty of a class E felony. Any unlicensed distributor who violates this section shall be guilty of a class E felony.
Attorney's Note
Under the New York Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class E felony | between 1 and 4 years | up to $5,000 |
Terms Used In N.Y. General Municipal Law 195-O
- Bell jars: shall mean and include those games in which a participant shall draw a card from a jar, vending machine, or other suitable device or container which contains numbers, colors or symbols that are covered and which, when uncovered, may reveal that a prize shall be awarded on the basis of a designated winning number, color or symbol or combination of numbers, colors or symbols. See N.Y. General Municipal Law 186
- Board: shall mean New York state gaming commission created pursuant to section one hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law. See N.Y. General Municipal Law 186
- Flare: shall mean a poster description of the bell jar game, which shall include a declaration of the number of winners and amount of prizes in each deal, the number of prizes available in the deal, the number of tickets in each deal which contain the stated prize; the manufacturer's game form number, and the serial number of the deal which shall be identical to the serial number imprinted on each ticket contained in the deal. See N.Y. General Municipal Law 186
- merchandise board: shall mean a board used in conjunction with bell jar tickets which contains and displays various coins and/or merchandise as prizes. See N.Y. General Municipal Law 186
- Premises: shall mean a designated area within a building, hall, tent, or grounds reasonably identified for the conduct of games of chance. See N.Y. General Municipal Law 186
1-a. Coin boards and merchandise boards. Distributors of bell jar tickets may manufacture coin boards and merchandise boards only if such boards have been approved by the board and have a bar code affixed to them setting forth all information required by the board. Except that for coin boards and merchandise boards, delineation of the prize or prize value need not be included on the game ticket sold in conjunction with a coin board or merchandise board. In lieu of such requirement, the distributor shall be required to disclose the prize levels and the number of winners at each level and shall print clearly on the game ticket that a ticket holder may obtain the prize and prize value for each prize level by referencing the flare. Such coin boards shall only be sold by licensed distributors to licensed authorized organizations registered by the board in accordance with the provisions of this article.
2. Business records. A distributor shall keep at each place of business complete and accurate records for that place of business, including itemized invoices of bell jar tickets held and purchased. The records must show the names and addresses of purchasers, the inventory at the close of each period for which a return is required, all bell jar tickets on hand, and other pertinent papers and documents relating to the purchase, sale, or disposition of bell jar tickets as may be required by the board. Books, records, itemized invoices, and other papers and documents required by this section shall be kept for a period of at least four years after the date of the documents, or the date of the entries appearing in the records, unless the board authorizes in writing their destruction or disposal at an earlier date. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
3. Sales records. A distributor shall maintain a record of all bell jar tickets that it sells. The record shall include, but need not be limited to:
(a) the identity of the manufacturer from whom the distributor purchased the product;
(b) the serial number of the product;
(c) the name, address, and license or exempt permit number of the organization or person to which the sale was made;
(d) the date of the sale;
(e) the name of the person who ordered the product;
(f) the name of the person who received the product;
(g) the type of product;
(h) the serial number of the product;
(i) the account number identifying the sale from the manufacturer to distributor and the account number identifying the sale from the distributor to the licensed organization; and
(j) the name, form number, or other identifying information for each game.
4. Invoices. A distributor shall supply with each sale of a bell jar product an itemized invoice showing the distributor's name and address, the purchaser's name, address, and license number, the date of the sale, the account number identifying the sale from the manufacturer to distributor and the account number identifying the sale from the distributor to the licensed organization, and the description of the deals, including the form number, the serial number and the ideal gross from every deal of bell jar or similar game.
5. Reports. A distributor shall report quarterly to the gaming commission, on a form prescribed by the gaming commission, its sales of each type of bell jar deal or tickets. This report shall be filed quarterly on or before the twentieth day of the month succeeding the end of the quarter in which the sale was made. The gaming commission may require that a distributor submit the quarterly report and invoices required by this section via electronic media or electronic data transfer.
6. The board may inspect the premises, books, records, and inventory of a distributor without notice during the normal business hours of the distributor.
7. Certified physical inventory. The board may, upon request, require a distributor to furnish a certified physical inventory of all bell jar tickets in stock. The inventory shall contain the information requested by the board.