Gaming Commission

The State Racing and Wagering Board was created in 1973 (Chapter 346) to consolidate responsibility for the licensing and regulation of racing and wagering activities that had formerly been exercised by five separate commissions. A State Racing Commission, consisting of three gubernatorial appointees, was created in 1926 (Chapter 440) to issue or deny annual licenses to corporations conducting horse races and steeplechases. In 1940 (Chapter 254) this commission was transferred to the Department of State and granted additional powers to appoint stewards for race meetings and to issue licenses for and regulate pari-mutuel betting. By the same year, a State Harness Racing Commission, consisting of three gubernatorial appointees, was placed in charge of a new division in the Department of State and given regulatory responsibilities for harness racing similar to those of the State Racing Commission for other racing.

Two laws enacted in 1970 further expanded the Department of State's responsibility for regulating racing and wagering. A State Quarter Horse Racing Commission was granted jurisdiction over pari-mutuel quarter horse racing activities (Chapter 1023), and a State Off-track Pari-Mutuel Betting Commission governed the operation of an off-track betting system (Chapter 143).

In 1973 these four commissions, along with the State Lottery Commission from the Department of Taxation and Finance, were consolidated under the newly created State Racing and Wagering Board, with the original commissions remaining as advisory bodies to the board in their respective areas of jurisdiction. In 1976 (Chapter 960), the State Bingo Control Commission, formerly in the Department of State, was transferred to the board and the board's authority over wagering was expanded to include all bingo games or other games of chance held by approved nonprofit corporations. In that same year, however, responsibility for the State Lottery was removed from the board and reassigned to the Division of the Lottery in the Department of Taxation and Finance (Chapter 92). The Racing and Wagering Board consisted of three members appointed by the governor, and one of the members is designated board chairperson and chief executive officer. In 1993, the board was given the authority to regulate Class III Indian gaming in the State pursuant to compacts entered into between the State of New York and the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.

Although lotteries were a major source of state revenue in the early nineteenth century, New York did not operate any state lotteries for nearly 150 years because the state constitutions of 1821, 1846, and 1894 specifically prohibited them. At the 1966 general election the constitution was amended to allow the establishment and operation of a state lottery. The following year (Ch. 278, L. 1967) enabling legislation created the lottery and designated that net proceeds be used for public education and scholarships. To administer the lottery a Division of the Lottery was set up in the Department of Taxation and Finance, which operated the lottery with advice from a State Lottery Commission appointed by the Governor. In 1973 (Ch. 346) the division was transferred to the State Racing and Wagering Board in the Executive Department, and the State Lottery Commission became an advisory body to the board.

In 1976 (Ch. 92), the Lottery operated by the Racing and Wagering Board was abolished, and a "separate and independent division of the lottery" was created within the Department of Taxation and Finance. The Division was headed by a director appointed by the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance, but the director had "sole charge of the administration of the division," including the power to establish and operate state lotteries. Initially two games--instant and weekly--were created, and from 1977 to 1980 an Olympic Lottery was also held. The amended New York State Lottery for Education Law (Article 34 of the Consolidated Tax Law) stipulates that forty-five percent of total revenue be allocated for education, forty percent for prizes, and fifteen percent for administration.

In 2012 (Ch. 60), the Division of the Lottery and the New York State Racing and Wagering Board were merged to form the New York State Gaming Commission. The commission is responsible for regulating all aspects of gaming and gambling activity in the state, including horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering, Class III Indian Gaming, the state lottery (including video lottery terminals) and charitable gaming.