In this chapter:
I. "
Applicant
" means an individual applying for a license under this chapter.
II. "
Bona fide member
" means a person who has held full and regular membership in the charitable organization for a period of not less than 60 days immediately prior to the games of chance in which such person intends to participate. To qualify as a bona fide member of a charitable organization, a person shall:
(a) Satisfy all criteria for membership in the charitable organization.
(b) Pay all lawful fees or dues required by the charitable organization.
(c) Not have become a member solely for the purpose of operating games of chance.
III. "
Games of chance
" means any game involving gambling as defined by RSA 647:2, II, or any lottery prohibited by RSA 647:1, but shall not include any game involving the use of a slot machine or any other device in the nature of a slot machine, 50/50 raffles as defined in RSA 287-A:1, III, or ice-out contests as defined in RSA 287-D:1, VI.
IV. (a) "
Charitable organization
" means any bona fide religious, charitable, civic, veterans’, or fraternal or church organization, including police and firemen’s organizations and houses of worship which shall have been registered with the secretary of state for at least one year, and in existence and organized under the laws of this state for at least one year in a town or city in this state. To be eligible for licensure under this chapter, a charitable organization shall do all of the following:
(1) Document that the organization has tax exempt status under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(7), 501(c)(8), 501(c)(10), or 501(c)(19) or is covered under a group ruling issued by the Internal Revenue Service under the authority of those sections.
(2) Establish that the religious, civic, fraternal, veterans, or charitable purposes for which it was organized, other than charitable gambling, are furthered through activities conducted in the town or city in which the charitable organization is organized.
(3) Document registration with the secretary of state for at least one year and, if required under RSA 7:19-32-a, with the director of charitable trusts.
(4) Maintain a current list of bona fide members.
(b) A charitable organization shall not include auxiliary units, committees, or other entities organized under the auspices of a charitable organization eligible for licensure under this chapter, when such auxiliary unit, committee, or other entity is organized for the primary purpose of conducting games of chance.
V. "
Commission
" means the lottery commission established under RSA 284:6-a.
VI. "
Ice-out contest
" means a contest conducted by a charitable organization whereby a marker is placed on a frozen lake and the person most closely estimating the day and time the marker falls through the ice wins
1/2 the contest proceeds collected by the charitable organization.
VII. "
Game operator
" means a primary game operator or a secondary game operator.
VIII. "
Game operator employer
" means a primary game operator or a business entity who employs, supervises, and controls game operators and who is hired by a charitable organization to operate games of chance on its behalf. The owner of 10 percent or more of the entity, partner, managing member, or chief executive of a business entity who serves as a game operator employer must be licensed as a primary game operator.
IX. "
Gaming equipment
" means a collective reference to table game devices and their associated equipment.
X. "
Primary game operator
" means any person other than a bona fide member of the charitable organization, involved in conducting, managing, supervising, directing, or running games of chance.
XI. "
Secondary game operator
" means any person other than a bona fide member of the charitable organization, involved in dealing, running a roulette wheel, handling chips, or providing accounting services or security functions.
XII. "
Wager
" means a monetary agreement between 2 or more persons that a sum of money or other valuable thing shall be paid to one of them on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. Wager may be used synonymously with the term "bet."
Source. 2014, 329:1. 2015, 276:127, eff. July 1, 2015. 2021, 174:2, eff. Sept. 28, 2021.