§ 1605 — Lottery sales agents and other licensees

§ 1605. Lottery sales agents and other licensees. a. The division may\nlicense as agents to sell lottery tickets such persons as in its opinion\nwill best serve public convenience, except that no license shall be\nissued to any person to engage in business exclusively as a lottery\nsales agent. The division may license such persons as in its opinion are\nsuitable to participate in video lottery gaming pursuant to section\nsixteen hundred seventeen-a of this article.\n b. For purposes of this article the term "person" shall be construed\nto mean and include an individual, partnership, limited liability\ncompany, association, organization, club, company, corporation, trust,\nestate, society, joint stock company, receiver, trustee, assignee,\nreferee, or any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative\ncapacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise, and any combination\nof individuals. "Person" shall also be construed to mean and include\nagencies and instrumentalities of the state, and counties, cities, towns\nand villages.\n c. The division may, upon application approved by a local school\ndistrict board or by the governing board of a non-public school, license\nas agents persons to sell lottery tickets for one lottery drawing with\nthe compensation to be paid to the designated local school district or\nnon-public school, provided however, that in no event may either such\nperson be licensed, or any such local school district or non-public\nschool receive the compensation from such a special license more than\nonce in any calendar year.\n d. Before issuing a license to any person, the division shall\nconsider, with respect to such person:\n 1. Financial responsibility and security of the business or activity\nin which such person is engaged.\n 2. Accessibility of the place of business or activity to the public.\n 3. Sufficiency of existing licenses to serve public convenience.\n 4. Whether place of business or activity is predominantly frequented\nby persons under the age of eighteen years.\n 5. Volumes of expected sales.\n e. The division is hereby authorized to obtain criminal background\ninformation on any applicant for, or holder of, a lottery license for\nthe purpose of determining whether a license should be granted,\nsuspended, or revoked. The sources of such information include the\nlicense applicant or holder, the division of criminal justice services,\nand any licensing agency which is currently considering a licensing\napplication or which has been granted a presently-held license to the\nsame license applicant or holder. The division shall require each\nlicense applicant to submit identifying information which shall include\nfingerprints unless they are already on file with the division or other\nstate agencies. The fingerprints so obtained shall be forthwith\nforwarded, and the applicable fee transmitted, to the division of\ncriminal justice services or any other state or federal government\nagency having facilities for checking fingerprints for the purpose of\ndetermining whether or not criminal charges are pending against the\napplicant or whether or not the applicant had previously been convicted\nof a crime, and such agency shall promptly report a finding of such\npending charges and previous convictions, if any, to the division in\nwriting or by electronic means or any other method agreed upon by the\ndivision and such agency. Prior to or upon making a determination not to\napprove an application for a lottery license based upon an applicant's\ncriminal history record, the division shall provide such applicant with\na copy of article twenty-three-A of the correction law, and inform such\napplicant of his or her right to seek correction of any incorrect\ninformation contained in such record pursuant to regulations and\nprocedures established by the division of criminal justice services. In\nits discretion, the division may decline to act on any application\npending the disposition of any pending charges against the applicant.\nThe division may, after providing notice and an opportunity for a\nhearing pursuant to the state administrative procedure act, deny a\nlicense to any person found to have committed a felony under the laws of\nthe United States or under the laws of the state of New York or any\nother state or foreign jurisdiction or any crime relating to gaming\nactivities or that is otherwise found to have engaged in conduct which\nwould be prejudicial to public confidence in the state lottery. All\ndeterminations to grant or deny a license pursuant to this section shall\nbe in accordance with subdivision sixteen of section two hundred\nninety-six of the executive law and article twenty-three-A of the\ncorrection law. Notwithstanding the provisions of article six of the\npublic officers law or any other law to the contrary, the division may\nwithhold from public disclosure any criminal history information except\nthat criminal convictions may not be withheld under this provision.\n For purposes of this article, a licensee may include: a lottery sales\nagent; a video lottery gaming agent; a vendor; a vendor's subcontractor;\nan employee of an agent, vendor or vendor's subcontractor; or an\nofficer, director, partner, trustee or owner of an agent, vendor or\nvendor's subcontractor.\n f. No employee of a lottery sales agent shall be required as a\ncondition of employment to sell lottery tickets if his or her religious\nbeliefs militate against such activity.\n g. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the\ncontrary, in considering the issuance of a license to a benevolent order\nor any other association, organization or club that is distinctly\nprivate in its nature under section forty of the civil rights law, the\ndivision is not required to consider paragraph two of subdivision d of\nthis section. In conducting activities pursuant to the license, such\nbenevolent order, association, organization or club shall comply with\nsection forty-c of the civil rights law to the extent that such section\napplies.\n