Prohibition of Gaming Machines Act 2001
PROHIBITION OF GAMING MACHINES ACT 2001

1989 Revision 1

BERMUDA
2001 : 19

PROHIBITION OF GAMING MACHINES ACT 2001

[Date of Assent: 27 June 2001]

[Operative Date: 27 June 2001]

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Short title
2 Commencement
3 Interpretation
4 Machines to which this Act applies
5 General prohibition
6 Importation of machines prohibited
7 Repeal

WHEREAS it is expedient to prohibit the use, sale, supply and
importation of gaming machines:

Be it enacted by The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Assembly of
Bermuda, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Prohibition of Gaming Machines Act
2001.

PROHIBITION OF GAMING MACHINES ACT 2001

2 1989 Revision

Commencement
2 (1) This section, sections 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 shall come into
operation on the day in the session when this Act is subscribed by the
Governor as being assented to by him.

(2) Section 5 shall come into operation on 1 July 2004 or such
earlier date as the Minister may appoint by notice published in the
Gazette.

Interpretation

3 (1) In this Act
"charge for play" means an amount paid in money or money's

worth by or on behalf of a player in order to play one or more
games by means of a machine to which this Act applies;

"game of chance" includes a game of chance and skill combined
and a pretended game of chance or of chance and skill
combined;

"gaming" means the playing of a game of chance for winnings in
money or money's worth, whether any person playing the
game is at risk of losing any money or money's worth or not;

"machine" includes any apparatus;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for lotteries;

"premises" includes any place or vessel;

"vessel" includes any ship, boat, raft or other apparatus
constructed or adapted for floating on water;

"winnings" includes any prizes or other winnings of any kind and
any reference to the amount or to the payment of winnings
shall be construed accordingly.

(2) For the purposes of this Act a machine shall be taken not to
be used for gaming if it is used in such a way that no game played by
means of the machine can result in a player, or a person claiming under
a player, receiving or being entitled to receive, any article, benefit or
advantage other than one (but not both) of the following, that is to say

(a) an opportunity afforded by the automatic action of the
machine to play one or more further games without the
insertion of cash or token;

(b) the delivery by means of the machine of one or more
coins or tokens as a prize in respect of a game where one
or more coins or tokens of an equal or greater value or

PROHIBITION OF GAMING MACHINES ACT 2001

1989 Revision 3

aggregate value were inserted into the machine by or on
behalf of the player in order to play that game.

(3) In determining for the purposes of this Act whether a game,
which is played otherwise than against one or more other players, is a
game of chance and skill combined, the possibility of superlative skill
eliminating the element of chance shall be disregarded.

Machines to which this Act applies
4 (1) This Act applies to any machine which

(a) is constructed or adapted for the playing of a game of
chance by means of the machine; and

(b) has a slot or other aperture for the insertion of money or
money's worth in the form of cash or tokens.

(2) In subsection (1), the reference to playing a game of chance
by means of a machine includes playing a game of chance partly by
means of a machine and partly by other means if the element of chance
in the game is provided by means of the machine.

(3) For the purposes of the application of this Act, the Minister
may by order amend paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) or add
additional paragraphs thereto.

(4) An order made under subsection (3) shall be subject to
negative resolution procedure.

General prohibition
5 (1) No person shall permit any other person to use on any
premises a machine to which this Act applies for gaming.

(2) No person shall whether as principal or as a servant or
agent, sell or supply a machine to which this Act applies.

(3) No person acting as principal shall

(a) undertake for valuable consideration to maintain the
mechanism of a machine to which this Act applies; or

(b) cause or permit another person to enter into such an
undertaking on his behalf.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), a person who, in
pursuance of any concession, licence or other right granted to him,
places a machine, or causes a machine to be placed, on premises which
are not in his occupation shall be treated as supplying the machine at a
time when it is placed on those premises.

PROHIBITION OF GAMING MACHINES ACT 2001

4 1989 Revision

(5) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsections
(1), (2) or (3) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a
fine of $25,000; and the court before which he is convicted may order
any machine shown to its satisfaction to relate to the offence, to be
forfeited and destroyed or dealt with in such other manner as the court
may order.

Importation of machines prohibited
6 (1) Subject to subsection (3), no person shall import or cause to
be imported into Bermuda

(a) a machine to which this Act applies;

(b) any part or accessory for such a machine.

(2) Any customs officer or police officer may seize or detain any
machine, part or accessory which he has reason to believe has been
imported in contravention of subsection (1).

(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the importation of gaming
machines, their parts and accessories by virtue of their being on board
passenger ships in transit in Bermuda where such machines, parts and
accessories are provided for the use of the passengers.

(4) Any person who imports a machine, part or accessory in
contravention of this section is guilty of an offence and liable on
summary conviction to a fine of $10,000; and the court before which he
is convicted may order any machine, part or accessory shown to its
satisfaction to relate to the offence, to be forfeited and destroyed or dealt
with in such other manner as the court may order.

(5) In this section "passenger ships" has the same meaning as
in the Passenger Ships Act 1972.

Repeal
7 The Prohibition of Importation of Gaming Equipment Act 1999 is
repealed.