ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I
 Preliminary

     SECTION

                 1.        Short title

                 2.        Interpretation

PART II
Lotteries

                 3.        Lotteries deemed lawful

                 4.        Conditions to be observed in promotion of and conduct of lottery

                 5.        Penalties

                 6.        Returns to be made by promoters

PART III
Games of Chance

                 7.        Certain games of chance not unlawful

                 8.        Returns to be made by the promoters

PART IV
Totalizator Control

                 9.        Delegation

                10.        Use of unlicensed totalizator an offence

                11.        Lottery conducted on totalizator not unlawful

                12.        Licensing of totalizator

                13.        Totalizator transactions to be recorded

                14.        Persons under 18 years may not use totalizator

                15.        Limiting commission and prescribing tax

                16.        Act does not validate betting transactions

                17.        Police powers of entry and inspection

                18.        Penalties

PART V
Gaming and Betting

                19.        Gaming houses

                20.        Gaming machines

                21.        Betting houses

                22.        Lotteries

                23.        Keeper of premises defined

PART VI
Miscellaneous

                24.        Regulations

                25.        Declaration of a race

Law 28, 1961,
Law 2, 1963,
Law 3, 1963,
L.N. 55, 1965,
L.N. 84, 1966,
L.N. 94, 1966,
Act 5, 1967,
Act 1, 1980,
Act 25, 1980,
Act 6, 1981,
Act 6, 1983,
Act 15, 1983.

An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to lotteries, betting and gaming and matters connected therewith.

[Date of Commencement: 8th May, 1962]

            (1) A lottery shall be deemed to be lawful if it is promoted on behalf of-

     (a)     a society; or

     (b)     an institution or organization prescribed as a charitable institution,

and is promoted and conducted in accordance with the provisions of section 4.

            (2) Regulations may prescribe such institutions or organizations which are considered to be charitable institutions or organizations for the purposes of this Act.

4.       Conditions to be observed in promotion of and conduct of lottery

            The following conditions shall for the purposes of section 3 be observed in the promotion and conduct of a lottery-

     (a)     the promoter of the lottery shall be a member of the society authorized in writing by the governing body of the society to act as such;

     (b)     no remuneration shall be paid in respect of the lottery to the promoter, or to any person employed by him in connection therewith;

     (c)     no ticket or chance shall be sold at a price exceeding P2;

     (d)     the whole proceeds, after deducting sums lawfully appropriated on account of expenses or for the provisions of prizes, shall be applied to the purposes of the society;

     (e)     subject to the provisions of paragraph (ii) of the proviso to section 5, the amount of the proceeds appropriated on account of expenses shall not exceed the expenses actually incurred, or 10 per cent of the whole proceeds, whichever is the less, and the amount of the proceeds appropriated for the provision of prizes shall not exceed 65 per cent of the whole proceeds;

     (f)      the price of every ticket or chance shall be the same, and the price of any ticket shall be stated on the ticket;

     (g)     no money received by the promoter for or on account of a ticket or chance shall in any circumstances be returned;

     (h)     every ticket and every notice or advertisement of the lottery lawfully exhibited, distributed or published, shall specify the name of the society, the name and address of the promoter and the date on which the draw, determination or event by or by reference to which the prizewinners are ascertained will take place;

     (i)      no person shall be admitted to participate in the lottery in respect of a ticket or chance except after payment to the promoter of the whole price of the ticket or chance:

                      Provided that a person employed by the promoter to sell tickets or chances in a lottery may be admittted to participate in such lottery in respect of such free tickets or chances as the promoter may award to him, which award shall not exceed more than one free ticket or chance for each 20 tickets or chances sold by such person in such lottery;

     (j)      subject to the provisions of paragraph (ii) of the proviso to section 5 no payment on account of expenses or prizes shall be made out of moneys of the society not being proceeds of the lottery; and

     (k)     no ticket or chance shall be sold by or to a person under the age of 16 years.

5.       Penalties

            If any condition required by section 4 to be observed in respect of a lottery promoted in accordance with the provisions of section 3 is contravened, the promoter of the lottery and any other person who is a party to the contravention shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P200 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both:

            Provided that-

      (i)     it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence only by reason of his being the promoter to prove that the contravention took place without his knowledge;

      (ii)     it shall be a defence for any person charged with an offence in respect of an appropriation or payment made in contravention of section 4(e) or (j) to prove that the proceeds of the lottery fell short of the sum reasonably estimated, that the appropriation or payment was made in respect of expenses actually incurred or in order to fulfil an unconditional undertaking as to prizes given in connection with the sale of the relevant tickets or chances, and that the total amounts appropriated or paid in respect of expenses and prizes did not exceed the amounts which could lawfully have been appropriated out of the proceeds of the lottery under the said paragraph (e) if the said proceeds had amounted to the sum reasonably estimated.

6.       Returns to be made by promoters

            (1) The promoter of a lottery to which section 3 applies shall, within one month from the date on which the winners of prizes in the lottery are ascertained, send to the Registrar a return certified by two other members of the society being persons of full age authorized in writing by the governing body of the society for such purpose showing-

     (a)     the whole proceeds of the lottery;

     (b)     the sums appropriated out of the proceeds on account of expenses and on account of prizes respectively;

     (c)     the particular purpose or purposes to which the proceeds of the lottery were applied in pursuance of section 4(d), and the amount applied for that purpose, or for each of those purposes, as the case may be; and

     (d)     the dates between which tickets or chances in the lottery were sold.

            (2) The Registrar shall preserve any return made under subsection (1) for a period of at least one year and during that period shall keep it at his office and permit any member of the public to inspect it during office hours.

            (3) Any person who fails to send a return in accordance with the provisions of this section, or who in any return sent by him thereunder knowingly gives any information which is false or misleading or who certifies any return to be sent under this section knowing it to contain any such false or misleading information, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P200 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.