190-A - Raffles; license not required.

§  190-a.  Raffles;  license  not  required.  1.  Notwithstanding  the  licensing requirements set  forth  in  this  article  and  their  filing  requirements set forth in subdivision four of section one hundred ninety  of this article, an authorized organization may conduct a raffle without  complying  with such licensing requirements or such filing requirements,  provided, that such organization shall derive net proceeds from  raffles  in  an  amount less than five thousand dollars during the conduct of one  raffle and shall derive net proceeds from raffles in an amount less than  twenty thousand dollars during one calendar year.    2. (a) For the purposes of  this  section,  "authorized  organization"  shall   mean   and   include  any  bona  fide  religious  or  charitable  organization or bona fide educational, fraternal or service organization  or bona fide organization of veterans or volunteer firefighter, 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 three years immediately prior  to   being   granted  the  filing  requirement  exemption  contained  in  subdivision one of this section.    (b) No organization shall be deemed an authorized  organization  which  is  formed  primarily  for the purpose of conducting games of chance and  which does not devote at least seventy-five percent of its activities to  other than conducting games of  chance.  No  political  party  shall  be  deemed an authorized organization.    3.  No  person  under  the age of eighteen shall be permitted to play,  operate or assist in any raffle conducted pursuant to this section.    4. No raffle shall be conducted pursuant to this section except within  a municipality in which the authorized organization  is  domiciled  that  has  passed  a  local  law,  ordinance  or resolution in accordance with  sections one hundred eighty-seven and one hundred eighty-eight  of  this  article  approving the conduct of games of chance, and in municipalities  which have passed a local law, ordinance  or  resolution  in  accordance  with  sections  one hundred eighty-seven and one hundred eighty-eight of  this article approving the conduct of games of chance that  are  located  within  the county or contiguous to the county in which the organization  is domiciled.