§ 431 — Purpose of article

§ 431. Purpose of article. The purpose of this article is to implement\nsection nine of article one of the state constitution, as amended by\nvote of the people at the general election in November, nineteen hundred\nfifty-seven. The legislature hereby declares that the raising of funds\nfor the promotion of bona fide charitable, educational, scientific,\nhealth, religious, civic and patriotic causes and undertakings, where\nthe beneficiaries are indefinite, is in the public interest. It hereby\nfinds that, as conducted prior to the enactment of this article, bingo\nwas the subject of exploitation by professional gamblers, promoters, and\ncommercial interests. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the\nlegislature that all phases of the supervision, licensing and the\nregulation of bingo and of the conduct of bingo games, should be closely\ncontrolled and that the laws and regulations pertaining thereto should\nbe strictly construed and rigidly enforced; that the conduct of the game\nand all attendant activities should be so regulated and adequate\ncontrols so instituted as to discourage commercialization in all its\nforms, including the rental of commercial premises for bingo games, and\nto ensure a maximum availability of the net proceeds of bingo\nexclusively for application to the worthy causes and undertakings\nspecified herein; that the only justification for this article is to\nfoster and support such worthy causes and undertakings, and that the\nmandate of section nine of article one of the state constitution, as\namended, should be carried out by rigid regulation to prevent\ncommercialized gambling, prevent participation by criminal and other\nundesirable elements and prevent the diversion of funds from the\npurposes herein authorized.\n