Sec.7-185-17b. Frog-race raffles

(a) Any sponsoring organization qualified to conduct a bazaar or raffle may operate a frog-race raffle once each calendar year. Such raffles shall conform to the provisions of sections 7-170 to 7-186, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, and the administrative regulations governing the operation of bazaars and raffles adopted pursuant thereto.

(b) A frog-race raffle shall allow for the sale of consecutively numbered tickets with correspondingly numbered stubs, entitling the holders of such tickets to the temporary possession of an artificial frog for purposes of the frog-race raffle.

(c) Each organization intending to sponsor or conduct a frog-race raffle shall furnish with its application for a permit, a diagram of a naturally moving stream of water, displaying the area to be utilized for such raffle in which the numbered artificial frogs, each corresponding to a numbered frog-race raffle ticket, will be utilized to conduct the event.

(d) Each organization conducting a frog-race raffle shall provide for a suitable natural stream of water with a steady current on which the frog-race activity is to be conducted. The finishing point of the frog-race raffle activity shall be constructed so as to allow for the passage of one artificial frog at a time and the area immediately beyond the finishing point shall be sufficiently enclosed so as to confine all artificial frogs utilized in the conduct of the frog-race raffle. The area shall be adequately marked so as to identify the starting point and the finishing point of the frog-race raffle. The number of artificial frogs to be utilized shall correspond to the number of frog-race raffle tickets to be sold.

(e) The manner in which winners in a frog-race raffle are determined shall be clearly stated prior to the commencement of a frog-race raffle drawing and each sponsoring organization shall conspicuously post an information board, prescribed by the executive director, which shall display the water area to be utilized in the event and the starting point and the finishing point of the frog-race raffle. Such information board shall be posted at the location from which the frog-race raffle is to be conducted.

(f) A frog-race raffle shall commence at a designated time and shall continue until all winners of authorized prizes have been determined.

(g) No person may guide, direct or handle any artificial frog utilized in a frog-race raffle once the artificial frog has been entered into the water area from which winners will be determined.

(h) All artificial frogs shall contain water proof numbers which have been conspicuously printed on such artificial frogs, and all artificial frogs shall be identical as to size, composition, weight, shape and balance, and as to all other characteristics which may control their selection.

(i) All artificial frogs shall be present in a receptacle before the frog-race raffle is started. An active designated member, and no other person, shall place the artificial frogs into the receptacle from which the artificial frogs are to be released. The active designated member shall inspect each artificial frog prior to the start of the frog-race raffle in order to ensure that a raffle ticket has been purchased for each artificial frog to be placed into the receptacle, and that there is no duplication of numbers on said artificial frogs, and to guard against the inclusion of artificial frogs which are counterfeit or illegitimate.

(Adopted effective January 2, 2007)