§ 9. 1. No law shall be passed abridging the rights of the people\npeaceably to assemble and to petition the government, or any department\nthereof; nor shall any divorce be granted otherwise than by due judicial\nproceedings; except as hereinafter provided, no lottery or the sale of\nlottery tickets, pool-selling, book-making, or any other kind of\ngambling, except lotteries operated by the state and the sale of lottery\ntickets in connection therewith as may be authorized and prescribed by\nthe legislature, the net proceeds of which shall be applied exclusively\nto or in aid or support of education in this state as the legislature\nmay prescribe, except pari-mutuel betting on horse races as may be\nprescribed by the legislature and from which the state shall derive a\nreasonable revenue for the support of government, and except casino\ngambling at no more than seven facilities as authorized and prescribed\nby the legislature shall hereafter be authorized or allowed within this\nstate; and the legislature shall pass appropriate laws to prevent\noffenses against any of the provisions of this section.\n 2. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, any city,\ntown or village within the state may by an approving vote of the\nmajority of the qualified electors in such municipality voting on a\nproposition therefor submitted at a general or special election\nauthorize, subject to state legislative supervision and control, the\nconduct of one or both of the following categories of games of chance\ncommonly known as: (a) bingo or lotto, in which prizes are awarded on\nthe basis of designated numbers or symbols on a card conforming to\nnumbers or symbols selected at random; (b) games in which prizes are\nawarded on the basis of a winning number or numbers, color or colors, or\nsymbol or symbols determined by chance from among those previously\nselected or played, whether determined as the result of the spinning of\na wheel, a drawing or otherwise by chance. If authorized, such games\nshall be subject to the following restrictions, among others which may\nbe prescribed by the legislature: (1) only bona fide religious,\ncharitable or non-profit organizations of veterans, volunteer\nfirefighter and similar non-profit organizations shall be permitted to\nconduct such games; (2) the entire net proceeds of any game shall be\nexclusively devoted to the lawful purposes of such organizations; (3) no\nperson except a bona fide member of any such organization shall\nparticipate in the management or operation of such game; and (4) no\nperson shall receive any remuneration for participating in the\nmanagement or operation of any such game. Unless otherwise provided by\nlaw, no single prize shall exceed two hundred fifty dollars, nor shall\nany series of prizes on one occasion aggregate more than one thousand\ndollars. The legislature shall pass appropriate laws to effectuate the\npurposes of this subdivision, ensure that such games are rigidly\nregulated to prevent commercialized gambling, prevent participation by\ncriminal and other undesirable elements and the diversion of funds from\nthe purposes authorized hereunder and establish a method by which a\nmunicipality which has authorized such games may rescind or revoke such\nauthorization. Unless permitted by the legislature, no municipality\nshall have the power to pass local laws or ordinances relating to such\ngames. Nothing in this section shall prevent the legislature from\npassing laws more restrictive than any of the provisions of this\nsection.\n
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