§ 11-19-35. Pull-tab lottery tickets. (a) The Rhode Island lottery is empowered to sell and regulate the sale of pull-tab lottery tickets to religious, fraternal, civic, educational, veterans', or charitable organizations. The lottery shall determine, consistent with this section, those organizations that are authorized to sell pull-tab lottery tickets. As part of such determination, the Rhode Island lottery shall require criminal background checks of the applicant and any individual the lottery deems appropriate and said individuals shall apply to the bureau of criminal investigation of the Rhode Island state police or the Rhode Island department of the attorney general for a national criminal records check with fingerprinting. The individual whose criminal records check is being conducted shall be responsible for the payment of the costs of said criminal records check. The Rhode Island state police or the Rhode Island department of attorney general, as applicable, shall send the results of such criminal check to the Rhode Island lottery. Once said results are sent to and received by the Rhode Island Lottery, the Rhode Island state police and the Rhode Island department of attorney general shall promptly destroy said fingerprint record(s). On or before February 1, 2011, the agency shall adopt rules and regulations establishing criteria to be used in determining whether based upon a criminal records check an application will be approved.

(b) The lottery shall insure that the pull tab lottery tickets to be distributed are secured for the purposes under which they are to be sold in terms of concealing the result of the tickets until the time that they are sold to the general public. Consistent with this section, those organizations authorized to sell the tickets are authorized to retain net profits as shall have been provided for by the commission.

(c) Notwithstanding any other section of the general laws to the contrary, pull-tab lottery tickets authorized by this section are declared to be legal.

History of Section. (P.L. 1983, ch. 188, § 2; P.L. 2010, ch. 252, § 1.)