STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7615--A
IN SENATE
May 16, 2014
___________
Introduced by Sen. BONACIC -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wager-
ing -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
relation to out-of-state or out-of-country races; to amend the tax
law, in relation to video lottery terminal flex hours and increasing
free play at video lottery facilities; and to repeal certain
provisions of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law relat-
ing thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Clauses (E) and (F) of subparagraph 5 of paragraph b of
2 subdivision 1 of section 1016 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and
3 breeding law are REPEALED.
4 § 2. Clauses (F) and (G) of subparagraph 6 of paragraph b of subdivi-
5 sion 1 of section 1016 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding
6 law are REPEALED.
7 § 3. Section 1017 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding
8 law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2008, subdivision 2 as
9 amended by chapter 174 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
10 follows:
11 § 1017. Out-of-state or out-of-country races. [1.] Licensed simulcast
12 facilities may accept wagers and display the signal of out-of-state or
13 out-of-country thoroughbred tracks after 7:30 P.M. in accordance with
14 the provisions of this section. Such simulcasting may include mixed
15 meetings if such meetings are integral to such racing programs and all
16 such wagering on such races shall be construed to be thoroughbred races.
17 For facilities located within the special betting district, such
18 approval shall also be required from a thoroughbred racing corporation
19 during the period a racing program is being conducted at such track.
20 Such approval shall not be required on any day such thoroughbred racing
21 corporation is also accepting an out-of-state or out-of-country signal
22 and wager, as authorized by this section. The provisions of section one
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15207-03-4
S. 7615--A 2
1 thousand sixteen of this article shall be applicable to the conduct of
2 such simulcasting and the provisions of clauses (A) and (B) of subpara-
3 graph four of paragraph b of subdivision one of section one thousand
4 sixteen of this article shall apply to those facilities licensed in
5 accordance with sections one thousand eight and one thousand nine of
6 this article and the provisions of clauses (A) and (B) of subparagraph
7 six of paragraph b of subdivision one of section one thousand sixteen of
8 this article shall apply to those facilities licensed in accordance with
9 section one thousand seven of this article, when such provisions are in
10 full force and effect pursuant to such section. Provided, however, the
11 provisions of section one thousand fourteen of this article shall be
12 applicable to the conduct of such simulcasting, when such provisions are
13 in full force and effect pursuant to such section.
14 [2. a. Maintenance of effort. Any off-track betting corporation which
15 engages in accepting wagers on the simulcasts of thoroughbred races from
16 out-of-state or out-of-country as permitted under subdivision one of
17 this section shall submit to the commission, for its approval, a sched-
18 ule of payments to be made in any year or portion thereof, that such
19 off-track corporation engages in nighttime thoroughbred simulcasting. In
20 order to be approved by the commission, the payment schedule shall be
21 identical to the actual payments and distributions of such payments to
22 tracks and purses made by such off-track corporation pursuant to the
23 provisions of section one thousand fifteen of this article during the
24 year two thousand two, as derived from out-of-state harness races
25 displayed after 6:00 P.M. If approved by the commission, such scheduled
26 payments shall be made from revenues derived from any simulcasting
27 conducted pursuant to this section and section one thousand fifteen of
28 this article.
29 b. Additional payments. During each calendar year, to the extent, and
30 at such time in the event, that aggregate statewide wagering handle
31 after 7:30 P.M. on out-of-state and out-of-country thoroughbred races
32 exceeds one hundred million dollars, each off-track betting corporation
33 conducting such simulcasting shall pay to its regional harness track or
34 tracks, an amount equal to two percent of its proportionate share of
35 such excess handle. In any region where there are two or more regional
36 harness tracks, such two percent shall be divided between or among the
37 tracks in a proportion equal to the proportion of handle on live harness
38 races conducted at such tracks during the preceding calendar year. Fifty
39 percent of the sum received by each track pursuant to this paragraph
40 shall be used exclusively for increasing purses, stakes and prizes at
41 that regional harness track. For the purpose of determining whether such
42 aggregate statewide handle exceeds one hundred million dollars, all
43 wagering on such thoroughbred races accepted by licensed multi-jurisdic-
44 tional account wagering providers from customers within New York state
45 shall be excluded.]
46 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 1012 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering
47 and breeding law, as amended by chapter 174 of the laws of 2013, is
48 amended to read as follows:
49 1. Racing associations and corporations, franchised corporations,
50 off-track betting corporations and multi-jurisdictional account wagering
51 providers may form partnerships, joint ventures, or any other affil-
52 iations or contractual arrangement in order to further the purposes of
53 this section. Multi-jurisdictional account wagering providers involved
54 in such joint affiliations or contractual arrangements shall follow the
55 same distributional policy with respect to retained commissions as
56 [their in-state affiliate or contractual partner] a multi-jurisdictional
S. 7615--A 3
1 account wagering provider defined in this article; provided, however,
2 that such joint affiliation or contractual arrangement entered into on
3 or after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand
4 fourteen that amended this subdivision shall be subject to the review
5 and approval of the New York state gaming commission to determine if
6 such affiliation or contractual arrangement is in the best interest of
7 the racing industry of this state.
8 § 5. Clause (H) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph 1 of subdivision b
9 of section 1612 of the tax law, as amended by section 1 of part BB of
10 chapter 59 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
11 (H) notwithstanding clauses (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) and (G) of
12 this subparagraph, the track operator of a vendor track shall be eligi-
13 ble for a vendor's capital award of up to four percent of the total
14 revenue wagered at the vendor track after payout for prizes pursuant to
15 this chapter, which shall be used exclusively for capital project
16 investments to improve the facilities of the vendor track which promote
17 or encourage increased attendance at the video lottery gaming facility
18 including, but not limited to hotels, other lodging facilities, enter-
19 tainment facilities, retail facilities, dining facilities, events
20 arenas, parking garages and other improvements that enhance facility
21 amenities; provided that such capital investments shall be approved by
22 the division, in consultation with the state racing and wagering board,
23 and that such vendor track demonstrates that such capital expenditures
24 will increase patronage at such vendor track's facilities and increase
25 the amount of revenue generated to support state education programs. The
26 annual amount of such vendor's capital awards that a vendor track shall
27 be eligible to receive shall be limited to two million five hundred
28 thousand dollars, except for Aqueduct racetrack, for which there shall
29 be no vendor's capital awards. Except for tracks having less than one
30 thousand one hundred video gaming machines, and except for a vendor
31 track located west of State Route 14 from Sodus Point to the Pennsylva-
32 nia border within New York, each track operator shall be required to
33 co-invest an amount of capital expenditure equal to its cumulative
34 vendor's capital award. For all tracks, except for Aqueduct racetrack,
35 the amount of any vendor's capital award that is not used during any one
36 year period may be carried over into subsequent years ending before
37 April first, two thousand fifteen. Any amount attributable to a capital
38 expenditure approved prior to April first, two thousand fifteen and
39 completed before April first, two thousand seventeen; or approved prior
40 to April first, two thousand nineteen and completed before April first,
41 two thousand twenty-one for a vendor track located west of State Route
42 14 from Sodus Point to the Pennsylvania border within New York, shall be
43 eligible to receive the vendor's capital award. In the event that a
44 vendor track's capital expenditures, approved by the division prior to
45 April first, two thousand fifteen and completed prior to April first,
46 two thousand seventeen, exceed the vendor track's cumulative capital
47 award during the five year period ending April first, two thousand
48 fifteen, the vendor shall continue to receive the capital award after
49 April first, two thousand fifteen until such approved capital expendi-
50 tures are paid to the vendor track subject to any required co-invest-
51 ment. In no event shall any vendor track that receives a vendor fee
52 pursuant to clause [(F) or] (G) of this subparagraph be eligible for a
53 vendor's capital award under this section. Any operator of a vendor
54 track which has received a vendor's capital award, choosing to divest
55 the capital improvement toward which the award was applied, prior to the
56 full depreciation of the capital improvement in accordance with general-
S. 7615--A 4
1 ly accepted accounting principles, shall reimburse the state in amounts
2 equal to the total of any such awards. Any capital award not approved
3 for a capital expenditure at a video lottery gaming facility by April
4 first, two thousand fifteen shall be deposited into the state lottery
5 fund for education aid; and
6 § 6. Subdivision b of section 1617-a of the tax law, as amended by
7 section 5 of part K of chapter 57 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
8 read as follows:
9 b. Video lottery gaming shall only be permitted for no more than twen-
10 ty consecutive hours per day and on no day shall such operation be
11 conducted past [4:00] 6:00 a.m.
12 § 7. Paragraph 3 of subdivision f of section 1617-a of the tax law, as
13 added by section 2 of part O of chapter 61 of the laws of 2011, is
14 amended to read as follows:
15 (3) For each video lottery facility, the annual value of the free play
16 allowance credits authorized for use by the operator pursuant to this
17 subdivision shall not exceed an amount equal to [ten] fifteen percent of
18 the total amount wagered on video lottery games after payout of prizes.
19 The division shall establish procedures to assure that free play allow-
20 ance credits do not exceed such amount.
21 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
