N.Y. Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law § 1012: Account wagering

§ 1012. Account wagering. Racing associations and corporations,

franchised corporations, off-track betting corporations and

multi-jurisdictional account wagering providers may apply to the

commission to be licensed to offer account wagering.

1. Racing associations and corporations, franchised corporations,

off-track betting corporations and multi-jurisdictional account wagering

providers may form partnerships, joint ventures, or any other

affiliations or contractual arrangement in order to further the purposes

of this section. Multi-jurisdictional account wagering providers

involved in such joint affiliations or contractual arrangements shall

follow the same distributional policy with respect to retained

commissions as a multi-jurisdictional account wagering provider defined

in this article.

2. The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to license

and regulate all phases of account wagering.

3. The commission shall specify a non-refundable application fee which

shall be paid by each applicant for an account wagering license or

renewal thereof.

4. Account wagering licensees shall utilize personal identification

numbers and such other technologies as the commission may specify to

assure that only the account holder has access to the advance deposit

wagering account.

5. Account wagering licensees shall provide for: a. withdrawals from

the wagering account only by means of a check made payable to the

account holder and sent to the address of the account holder or by means

of an electronic transfer to an account held by the verified account

holder or b. that the account holder may withdraw funds from the

wagering account at a facility approved by the commission by presenting

verifiable personal and account identification information.

6. Account wagering licensees may engage in interstate wagering

transactions only where there is compliance with chapter fifty-seven of

title fifteen of the United States code, commonly referred to as the

"interstate horse racing act".

7. The account holder's deposits to the wagering account shall be

submitted by the account holder to the account wagering licensee and

shall be in the form of one of the following: a. cash given to the

account wagering licensee; b. check, money order, negotiable order of

withdrawal, or wire or electronic transfer, payable and remitted to the

account wagering licensee; or c. charges made to an account holder's

debit or credit card upon the account holder's direct and personal

instruction, which instruction may be given by telephone communication

or other electronic means to the account wagering licensee or its agent

by the account holder if the use of the card has been approved by the

account wagering licensee.

8. a. Each wager shall be in the name of a natural person and shall

not be in the name of any beneficiary, custodian, joint trust,

corporation, partnership or other organization or entity.

b. A wagering account may be established by a person completing an

application form approved by the commission and submitting it together

with a certification, or other proof, of age and residency. Such form

shall include the address of the principal residence of the prospective

account holder and a statement that a false statement made in regard to

an application may subject the applicant to prosecution.

c. The prospective account holder shall submit the completed

application to the account wagering licensee. The account wagering

licensee may accept or reject an application after receipt and review of

the application and certification, or other proof, of age and residency

for compliance with this section.

d. No person other than the person in whose name an account has been

established may issue wagering instructions relating to that account or

otherwise engage in wagering transactions relating to that account.

9. A wagering account shall not be assignable or otherwise

transferable.

10. Except as otherwise provided in this article or in regulations

which the commission may adopt pursuant thereto, all account wagers

shall be final and no wager shall be canceled by the account holder at

any time after the wager has been accepted by the account wagering

licensee.

11. Dormant accounts shall be treated as abandoned property pursuant

to section three hundred of the abandoned property law.

12. Account wagering providers must possess appropriate totalizator

and accounting controls that will safeguard the transmission of wagering

data and will keep a system of accounts which will maintain a separate

record of revenues and an accounting of costs relative to the operation

of the wagering provider.

13. Wagers placed with the account wagering providers shall result in

the combination of all wagers placed with such provider with the

wagering pools at the host track so as to produce common pari-mutuel

betting pools for the calculation of odds and the determination of

payouts from such pools, which payout shall be the same for all winning

tickets, irrespective of whether a wager is placed at a host track or at

an account wagering provider.

14. Any account wagering licensee may require a minimum account

balance in an amount to be determined by such entity.

15. a. Any regional off-track betting corporation may suspend

collection of the surcharge imposed under section five hundred

thirty-two of this chapter on winning wagers placed in wagering accounts

maintained by such regional corporation.

b. In a city of one million or more any regional off-track betting

corporation, with the approval of the mayor of such city, may suspend

collection of the surcharge imposed under section five hundred

thirty-two of this chapter in winning wagers placed in wagering accounts

maintained by such regional corporation.

16. The maintenance and operation of such wagering accounts provided

for in this section shall be subject to rules and regulations of the

commission. The commission shall include in such regulation a

requirement that wagering account information pertaining to surcharge

and nonsurcharge wagering accounts shall be separately reported.

17. For the purposes of this section, "telephone wagering accounts"

shall mean and include all those wagers which utilize any wired or

wireless communications device, including but not limited to wireline

telephones, wireless telephones and the internet to transmit the

placement of wagers on races and special events offered by any regional

off-track betting corporation, and any harness, thoroughbred, quarter

horse racing association or corporation licensed or franchised to

conduct pari-mutuel racing in this state.

18. Every racing association, off-track betting corporation,

franchised corporation, harness, thoroughbred, quarter horse racing

association or corporation or other entity licensed or franchised in

this state to conduct pari-mutuel racing and wagering, or authorized to

conduct races within the state, which operates a wagering account for

the acceptance of wagers, shall locate the call center where such wagers

are received within the state of New York.