Huntington, NY Gambling & Gaming: Charitable Bingo and Raffles (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing authority
- Town Clerk
- Bingo single-prize cap
- $5,000; $15,000 per occasion
- Games-of-chance prize cap
- $300 per game
- Games-of-chance application fee
- $25 ($50 for hall lessor)
- Minimum org age
- 3 years for games of chance
- Bingo violation penalty
- $250-$1,000, 1-yr license bar
Summary
Huntington locally adopted both the state Bingo Licensing Law and the Games of Chance Licensing Law, letting bona fide religious, charitable, veterans and volunteer-fire organizations run bingo and games like raffles and bell jars under Town Clerk-issued licenses, capped prizes, and misdemeanor penalties for violations.
Subject to the provisions of this Article and other state laws, rules or regulations, and then only when all requirements thereof have been, are being or will be complied with, it shall be lawful for authorized organizations to hold games of bingo within the town. ... No prize shall exceed the sum or value of $5,000 in any single game of bingo. ... No series of prizes on any one bingo occasion shall aggregate more than $15,000.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4940543; v75 updated 2026-06-09; through 06-09-2026).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 115 is split into two locally-adopted articles. Article I, Bingo (adopted 6-3-1969), authorizes only "bona fide religious, charitable or nonprofit organizations of veterans, volunteer firemen and similar nonprofit organizations having their principal meeting place" in Huntington to hold bingo (§115-1, §115-2). Section 115-3 caps any single bingo prize at $5,000 and any one occasion's total prizes at $15,000, bars paying anyone to run the game, bars renting halls on a percentage-of-receipts basis, and bars anyone under 18 from playing or operating a game (16- and 17-year-olds may do non-gaming ancillary tasks).
Article II, Other Games of Chance (adopted 10-12-1976 by voter referendum effective no earlier than January 1, 1977), covers raffles, seal cards, coin boards and bell jars for organizations that have existed at least three years with a qualifying charitable purpose. Section 115-7 caps any single game-of-chance prize at $300 unless otherwise provided, and defines a bell jar/raffle "license period" as a full calendar year while other games are capped at 14 consecutive hours per occasion. License applications go to the Town Clerk: a $25 fee to conduct games of chance (§115-8), a $50 fee for an organization licensed as a hall lessor (§115-9), with the Clerk investigating each applicant's bona fides, officer backgrounds and criminal history (§115-10) before issuing a license valid up to one year (§115-11).
Violations & Fines
Bingo violations under Article I are Class A misdemeanors punishable by a fine of $250 to $1,000 or up to one year imprisonment, or both, with automatic forfeiture of the license and a one-year disqualification from reapplying (§115-4). Games-of-chance violations under Article II carry the same $250 to $1,000 misdemeanor fine or up to a year in jail, or both, plus forfeiture of the license and a five-year bar from reapplying (§115-18). The Bureau of Administrative Adjudication may impose the same fine ranges administratively in either article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can legally run a bingo game in Huntington?
How much can a raffle or bell-jar prize be worth in Huntington?
What does a charity need to file to hold a games-of-chance event?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Huntington
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