2019 New York Laws
PML - Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law
Article 5-A - Off-Track Pari-Mutuel Betting
523 - General Limitations on Off-Track Betting.

§  523.  General  limitations  on  off-track  betting. The board shall
require that any  regional  corporation  conduct  off-track  pari-mutuel
betting in accordance with this section.
  1.  The  system  of  off-track  betting  operated by such corporation,
except as otherwise provided  in  this  section,  shall  result  in  the
combination  of  all  off-track  wagers  with  on-track  wagers so as to
produce common pari-mutuel betting pools for the calculation of odds and
the determination of payouts from such pool, which payout shall  be  the
same  for all winning tickets, irrespective of whether a wager is placed
off-track or on-track.
  2. Exotic and multiple bets on races  run  within  the  state  may  be
approved  by the board without a comparable on-track pool, provided that
the corporation or association conducting such races  shall  have  filed
with  the  board a written consent for such off-track exotic or multiple
bets on races held at its track.
  3. The board may approve separate off-track  pools  on  races  run  in
other  states  subject  to  the  limitations  of  this  section  and  of
subdivision eight of this section in particular.
  4. No regional corporation authorized to conduct off-track betting  by
the  board  shall  accept  off-track  wagers on races run at any harness
track located without its region while a harness track within its region
is conducting a race meeting involving pari-mutuel betting  without  the
approval  of  the  regional  operating harness track; provided, however,
that for the purposes of  this  subdivision,  the  Suffolk  region,  the
Nassau region, the New York city region, and the portion of the Catskill
region  outside  a special betting district shall be considered a single
region; and further provided, however, that for  the  purposes  of  this
subdivision,  there shall be created a harness special betting district,
consisting of the counties  of  Cayuga,  Chenango,  Cortland,  Franklin,
Herkimer,  Jefferson,  Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego,
St. Lawrence and Tompkins in which no off-track betting on races run  at
a harness track without such special betting district shall be permitted
while a harness track within such special betting district is conducting
a race meeting involving pari-mutuel betting.
  4-a. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of subdivision four of
this   section,  regional  off-track  betting  corporations  are  hereby
authorized and empowered in each year to  accept  wagers  on  the  races
known as the "Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial Trot" and "Empire Commission's
Cup"  (A  pace)  to  be  run  under  the  auspices of the New York State
Industrial Exhibit Authority.
  5. Except for races conducted by a thoroughbred track in the  Catskill
region  during  a  mixed  meeting,  no regional corporation shall accept
wagers on any thoroughbred or steeplechase race run on any  thoroughbred
or steeplechase track located without its region while a thoroughbred or
steeplechase  track  within  its  region  is  conducting  a race meeting
involving pari-mutuel betting without  the  approval  of  the  operating
regional  thoroughbred  or  steeplechase track, except that the Catskill
and Suffolk regional corporations may accept wagers on any  thoroughbred
track outside its region while a thoroughbred track within the region is
conducting such a race meeting provided the regional corporation accepts
wagers  on such track within the region; provided, however, that for the
purposes of this subdivision, there  shall  be  created  a  thoroughbred
special  betting  district,  consisting  of  the  counties  of  Orleans,
Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, Monroe, Livingston, Steuben, Wayne, Ontario,
Yates, Seneca, Schuyler, Cayuga, Tompkins,  Onondaga  and  Cortland,  in
which   no   off-track  betting  on  races  run  at  a  thoroughbred  or
steeplechase track without such special district including such a  track
within  the  Catskill  region shall be permitted while a thoroughbred or

steeplechase track within such special district  is  conducting  a  race
meeting  involving  pari-mutuel  betting  without  the  approval  of the
operating  regional  thoroughbred  or  steeplechase   track;   provided,
however, that within such district in the counties of Wyoming, Allegany,
Steuben  and  Schuyler  off-track  betting  on races run at a track by a
franchised corporation without such special district shall be permitted.
Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent  provision  in  the  foregoing,   the
regional  off-track  betting  corporations  are  hereby  authorized  and
empowered to accept all wagers on races known as the  "Belmont  Stakes",
the  "Travers  Stakes",  the  "Breeders'  Cup  Series" and the "New York
Derby"; and such corporation,  outside  of  a  harness  special  betting
district,  is  hereby  authorized  and empowered to accept wagers on the
races comprising the seven-day  race  meeting  known  as  the  "Syracuse
Mile".
  6.  a.  No  regional  corporation  may accept wagers on races run at a
thoroughbred or steeplechase track in another state or country  while  a
thoroughbred  or  steeplechase  track  within this state is conducting a
race meeting involving  pari-mutuel  betting;  provided,  however,  that
notwithstanding  any  inconsistent provision, the board may designate no
more than fifteen thoroughbred or steeplechase races per year  as  races
of  special  interest  on  which  off-track  pari-mutuel  betting may be
accepted by regional corporations, provided further that for purposes of
this subdivision the acceptance of wagers on a series of races known  as
the  "Breeders'  Cup"  shall  be  considered as a single thoroughbred or
steeplechase race of special  interest  and  all  such  races  shall  be
determined in accordance with article nine of this chapter.
  b.  When  a  race  meeting  is  not  being  conducted  by a franchised
corporation and a thoroughbred race meeting  is  being  conducted  at  a
track located within the thoroughbred special betting district, regional
corporations   and   portions  of  regional  corporations  outside  such
district, shall, in addition to accepting wagers on races at such track,
also be permitted to accept wagers on thoroughbred races run in  another
state.  In  the  event  that  wagers are accepted on races run at both a
track located in the thoroughbred special  betting  district  and  at  a
track  located  in  another  state, the balance of the amount payable to
tracks within this state pursuant to paragraph f of subdivision  one  of
section five hundred twenty-seven of this article, but (i) not less than
one  per  centum  on regular and multiple wagering and two per centum on
exotic  wagers,  shall  be  paid  to  the  track  located   within   the
thoroughbred  special  betting  district running thoroughbred races, and
(ii) not less than three-quarters of  one  per  centum  of  regular  and
multiple  wagering  and  one and one-quarter per centum on exotic wagers
shall be paid to the harness track operator conducting racing within the
region within which the wagers on such out-of-state races are placed.
  c. If as a result of the authorization granted in paragraph b of  this
subdivision,  the  average daily distribution to harness track operators
from regional off-track betting corporations  and  attributable  to  the
conduct  of  off-track betting on thoroughbred races run concurrently by
both an in-state and an out-of-state track operator  during  the  period
from   June   first,   nineteen   hundred   seventy-eight   through  May
thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine and each  succeeding  twelve
month  period  thereafter is less than the average daily distribution to
such operators from off-track betting corporations and  attributable  to
the  conduct  of  racing by a thoroughbred racing association during the
base period of June first, nineteen hundred  seventy-seven  through  May
thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  seventy-eight, such operators shall be
entitled to a credit against the state tax imposed upon its  pari-mutuel
revenues.  The tax credit for any twelve month period shall be an amount

calculated  by  multiplying  the  shortfall   in   the   average   daily
distribution  by  the  number  of  days in each twelve month period that
regional off-track betting corporations conduct betting on  thoroughbred
races  run  concurrently  by  both an in-state and an out-of-state track
operator. The board shall so certify to the  state  tax  commission  the
amount of credit applicable to each harness track operator no later than
thirty days following the close of each twelve month period.
  7. No regional corporation may accept wagers on races run at a harness
track  in  another  state  or  country while a harness track within this
state is  conducting  a  race  meeting  involving  pari-mutuel  betting;
provided,  however, that notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions the
board may designate no more than fifty harness races per year  as  races
of  special  interest  on  which  off-track  pari-mutuel  betting may be
accepted by regional corporations.
  8. Pools permitted by  subdivisions  three,  six  and  seven  of  this
section  shall  be  combined  into  a  single  statewide  pool  for  the
calculation of odds and the determination  of  payouts  which  shall  be
uniform throughout the state.
  9.  (a)  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  this  article any
regional corporation having a missed pool as defined in this subdivision
shall dispose of such pool as follows:
  (1) Any missed pools of wagers placed  at  off-track  betting  parlors
subsequent  to  December  thirty-first,  nineteen hundred eighty-two and
prior to August first, nineteen hundred ninety-four which were not  used
to calculate payouts to winning bettors because such wagers failed to be
transmitted  to  and  were  not  included  in  the statewide pari-mutuel
betting pool shall be retained by  such  corporation  for  its  ordinary
operating expenses.
  (2)  On or before August first, nineteen hundred ninety-four the board
shall promulgate rules  and  regulations,  which  direct  said  regional
corporations  and said missed pools to the in-state track conducting the
race on which the wager was placed to be used  for  the  next  available
common pool.