.
47. Subject to the provisions of
this Act, all lotteries are unlawful.
48.(1) Subject to the provisions of this section,
every person who in connection with any lottery promoted or proposed to be
promoted either in Jamaica or elsewhere-
(a) prints any tickets for use in the
lottery; or
(b) sells or distributes, or offers or
advertises for sale or distribution, or has in his possession for the purpose of
sale or distribution, any tickets or chances in the lottery; or
(c) prints, publishes or distributes, or
has in his possession for the purpose of publication or distribution-
(i) any advertisement of the lottery; or
(ii) any list, whether complete or not, of
prize winners or winning tickets in the lottery; or
(iii) any such matter descriptive of the
drawing or intended drawing of the lottery, or otherwise relating to the
lottery, as is calculated to act as an inducement to persons to participate in
that lottery or in other lotteries; or
(d) brings, or invites any person to send,
into Jamaica for the purpose of sale or distribution any ticket in, or
advertisement of, the lottery; or
(e) sends or attempts to send out of
Jamaica any money or valuable thing received in respect of the sale or
distribution, or any document recording the sale or distribution, or the
identity of the holder, of any ticket or chance in the lottery; or
(f) uses any premises, or
causes or knowingly permits any premises to be used, for purposes connected with
the promotion or conduct of the lottery; or
(g) causes, procures or
attempts to procure any person to do any of the above mentioned acts, shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding four hundred
dollars or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding
twelve months.
(2) In any proceedings
instituted under subsection (1) it shall be a defense to prove either-
(a) that the lottery to which the
proceedings relate was a lottery permitted or declared not to be unlawful by
section 49, 50, 51, 52 or 54 as the case may be, and that at the date of the
alleged offence the person charged believed, and had reasonable ground for
believing, that none of the conditions required by that section to be observed
in connection with the promotion and conduct of the lottery had been broken; or
(b) that the lottery to which the
proceedings relate was also a game of chance and that at the time of the alleged
offence the person charged believed, and had reasonable ground for believing
that it was being conducted in such circumstances that no offence under Part VI
was committed.
(3) Proceedings under sub-paragraph (iii)
of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) in respect of any matter published in a
newspaper shall not be instituted except by, or by direction of, the Director of
Public Prosecutions.
49. The Commission in accordance with Part II may
grant a licence to any person to promote a lottery and any such lottery which is
promoted in accordance with terms and conditions of the licence shall not be
unlawful. .
In this section the expression
"promote" includes organize and conduct.
50.(1) Where a lottery is promoted as an incident of
an entertainment to which this section applies, that lottery shall not be
unlawful but the conditions set out in subsection (2) shall be observed in
connection with its promotion and conduct and, if any of those conditions is
contravened, every person concerned in the promotion or conduct of the lottery
shall be guilty of an offence unless he proves that the contravention occurred
without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to
prevent it.
(2) The conditions referred
to in subsection (1) are that-
(a) the whole proceeds of the entertainment
(including the proceeds of the lottery) after deducting-
(i) the expenses of the entertainment,
excluding expenses incurred in connection with the lottery;
(ii) the expenses incurred
in printing tickets in the lottery; and
(iii) such sum, if any, not
exceeding twenty dollars as the promoters of the lottery think fit to
appropriate on account of expenses incurred by them in purchasing prizes in the
lottery, shall be devoted to purposes other than private gain;
(b) tickets or chances in
the lottery shall not be sold or issued, nor shall the result of the lottery be
declared, except on the premises on which the entertainment takes place and
during the progress of the entertainment; and
(c) the facilities afforded for
participating in lotteries, or those facilities together with facilities offered
by virtue of section 42 for taking part in gaming, shall not be the only, or the
only substantial, inducement to persons to attend the entertainment.
(3) The entertainments to which this
section applies are-
(a) bazaars, sales of work, fetes, dinners,
dances, fairs and other entertainments of a similar character, whether limited
to one day or extended over two or more days; and
(b) entertainments approved in writing by a
Justice of the Peace after notification to an officer of police not below the
rank of Assistant Superintendent.
51. -(1) Any three or more persons ordinarily
resident in Jamaica may organize a lottery for the purpose of raising funds to
be used for any religious, charitable or educational purpose, or promotion of
athletic sports or games or cultural activities or otherwise for the promotion
of the welfare of the community or any part thereof, subject to the following
conditions-
(a) the organizers of the
lottery shall-
i. obtain the prior approval of the
Minister for organizing the lottery;
ii. undertake to declare the purposes
for which the proceeds of the lottery will be applied;
iii. enter into a bond with the
Accountant General for payment to him of fifteen per cent of the gross receipts
therefrom, which amount is in this section referred to as the duty payable on
the lottery;
iv. pay to the Accountant-General
within fourteen days after the lottery has been conducted the duty payable on
the lottery evidenced by a statement of account duly verified by a Chartered or
Certified or Approved Accountant;
v. (b) the Minister
responsible for finance may waive or refund in whole or in part, the duty
payable on the lottery, and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (c), the
conditions imposed by sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (a) shall be
construed accordingly;
(c) where the duty payable
on a lottery has been waived or refunded in whole or in part, the
Accountant-General may, nevertheless, in his discretion, collect from the
organizers of the lottery the full amount of such duty and pay over to the
organization in whose favour the lottery has been organized the amount waived or
refunded.
(2) Should any organizer of
such a lottery fail to observe and comply with the terms of this section or
section 53 or render a false statement of account such organizer shall be guilty
of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding four hundred dollars
or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding twelve
months.
(3) For the purposes of
subsection (1) "Approved Accountant" means-
(a) in relation to a lottery the gross
receipts of which do not exceed five hundred dollars, a person (not being
connected with the conduct of the lottery) approved by the Minister responsible
for finance for the purpose of verifying the statement of account;
(b) in relation to a
lottery the gross receipts of which exceed five hundred dollars, an approved
auditor under section 12 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act.
52.(1) The companies mentioned in the Fourth
Schedule shall each be entitled to conduct not more than two sweepstakes or such
greater number as may be prescribed, in each calendar year on any race-meeting
promoted by such company subject to the following conditions that is to say-
(a) that such company is
licensed pursuant to the Jamaica Racing Commission Act, to operate the
racecourse;
(b) that within fourteen
days after the advertised date for the draw for any sweepstake fifteen per cent
of the gross receipts from such sweepstake evidenced by a statement
of account duly verified by the auditors of the company shall be paid by the
company conducting the same to the Accountant-General to be applied by the
Government in such manner as it thinks fit for the improvement or benefit of the
public hospitals in Jamaica;
(c) that such company shall
undertake to the satisfaction of the Jamaica Racing Commission to organize and
run not less than the prescribed number of races in each year to be confined to
native bred two and three year old horses with a purse of not less than two
thousand dollars or such greater sum as may be prescribed for each such race the
nomination or entrance money for which shall not exceed two per cent of the
purse;
(d) that the payment of any
purse to be raced for as provided by paragraph (c) shall be guaranteed by the
company in such manner as the Jamaica Racing Commission may stipulate in writing
from time to time and such payment shall only be made upon proof to the
satisfaction of the Jamaica Racing Commission that the race has been run in
accordance with the provisions of this section and the advertised conditions of
the race, and in the absence of such proof within fourteen days of the
advertised date for the race the purse shall be forfeited to the Government of
Jamaica and be paid to the Accountant General to be applied by the Government in
such manner as it thinks fit for the improvement or benefit of the public
hospitals in Jamaica;
(e) that if the company
fails to observe and comply with the terms of this section or section 53 or
render a false statement of account the name of the company shall be removed
from the Fourth Schedule in manner provided by subsection (2) and the
company shall forfeit to the Government of Jamaica any purse, the payment of
which was guaranteed pursuant to paragraph (d) and the same shall be applied by
the Government in such manner as it thinks fit for the improvement or benefit of
the public hospitals in Jamaica.
(2) The Minister may from
time to time by order published in the Gazette amend the Fourth Schedule by
adding thereto the name of any company registered in Jamaica and promoted for
the encouragement of horseracing or horse-breeding in Jamaica or by removing the
name of any company therefrom.
(3) In this section -
"public hospitals" includes-
(a) all the public institutions and
services operated in the interest of the public health and subject to the
directions of the Minister responsible for health; and
(b)alms-houses regulated
under the Poor Relief Act;
"gross receipts"
means the nominal value of tickets sold in a sweepstake less-
(a) any commission to a
vendor; and
(b) the value of bonus tickets;
"prescribed" means prescribed by
regulations made by the Jamaica Racing Commission subject to the approval of the
Minister responsible for finance.
53. The accounts relative to any entertainment at
which accounts gaming is carried on pursuant to section 42 or to any sweep stake
or lottery permitted under this Act or to any totalisator on a racecourse or
track shall at all times be open to the inspection of the Government of Jamaica
and the Minister responsible for finance may, if and whenever he so desires, appoint
an auditor to examine the said accounts at the cost of the organizer of such
entertainment, sweepstake or lottery or the operator of such totalisator.
54.-(1) In this section, the expression
"private lottery" Exemption means a lottery in Jamaica which is
promoted for, and in which the sale of tickets or chances by the promoters is
confined to, either-
(a) members of one society
established and conducted for purposes not connected with gaming, betting or
lotteries; or
(b) persons all of whom
work on the same premises; or
(c) persons all of whom
reside on the same premises, and which is promoted by persons each of whom is a
person to whom under the foregoing provisions of this subsection tickets or
chances may be sold by the promoters and, in the case of a lottery promoted for
the members of a society, is a person authorized in writing by the governing
body of the society to promote the lottery; and for the purposes of this
section, the expression "society" includes a club, institution,
organization or other association of persons by whatever name called, and each
local or affiliated branch or section of a society shall be regarded as a
separate and distinct society
(2) A private lottery shall
not be unlawful, but the following conditions shall be observed in connection
with its promotion and conduct, that is to say-
(a) whole proceeds, after deducting only
expenses incurred for printing and stationery, shall be devoted to the provision
of prizes for purchasers of tickets or chances, or, in the case of a lottery
promoted for the members of a society, shall be devoted either-
i. to the provision of prizes as
aforesaid; or
ii. to purposes which are purposes of
the society; or
iii. as to part to the provision of prizes
as aforesaid and as to the remainder to such purposes as aforesaid;
(b) there shall not be
exhibited, published or distributed any written notice or advertisement of the
lottery other than-
i. a notice thereof exhibited on the
premises of the society for whose members it is promoted or, as the case may be,
on the premises on which the persons for whom it is promoted work or reside; and
ii. such announcement or
advertisement thereof as is contained in the tickets or list of chances;
(c) the prices of all
tickets or chances shall be the same, and the price of any ticket shall be
stated on the ticket or, if there are no tickets, on the list of chances;
(d) every ticket shall bear
upon the face of it the name and address of each of the promoters, a statement
of the persons to whom the sale of tickets or chances by the promoters is
restricted, and a statement that no prize won in the lottery shall be paid or
delivered by the promoters to any person other than the person to whom the
winning ticket or chance was sold by them, and no prize shall be paid or
delivered except in accordance with that statement;
(e) no tickets in the
lottery shall be sent through the post.
(3) If any of the
conditions set out in subsection(2) is contravened, each of the promoters of the
lottery, and where the person by whom the condition is broken is not one of the
promoters, that person also, shall be guilty of an offence:Provided that it
shall be a defence for a person charged only by reason of his being a promoter
of the lottery to prove that the contravention occurred without his consent or
connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent it.
55.
Nothing in this Part shall affect the
operation of the Art Unions Legalization Act and any lottery promoted or
conducted in accordance with that Act shall not be unlawful.
56.-(1) Without prejudice to the generality of the pro-
visions of section 48, every person who-
(a) has in his possession without lawful
excuse (the proof whereof shall lie upon him) any peaka peow ticket or any drop
pan ticket; or
(b) being the occupier of any premises,
without lawful excuse (the proof whereof shall lie upon him) uses or permits
those premises to be used for the storage of any peaka peow tickets; or
(c) uses any printing press or other
printing machine for the purpose of printing peaka peow tickets; or
(d) gives or sells or offers for sale any
peaka peow ticket or any drop pan ticket; or
(e)attends or assembles in any public or
private place for the purpose of ascertaining or waiting for the result of any
event or contingency of or relating to any game, pretended game or lottery known
as peaka peow or drap pan or to any game of a similar nature, shall be guilty of
an offence.
(2) For the purposes of this section-
(a) "peaka peow ticket" means-
i. any paper, ticket, or document
authorizing or for the purpose of enabling or entitling any person to receive
any money or valuable thing on any event or contingency of or relating to any
game, pretended game or lottery called or known as peaka peow or any game of a
similar nature;
ii. any paper, ticket or document
printed with characters or symbols of a type commonly used in connection with
any such game, pretended game or lottery as aforesaid whether or not such paper,
ticket or document is, for the time being, being used in relation to such game,
pretended game or lottery as aforesaid;
(b)"drop pan
ticket" means any paper, ticket or document authorizing or for the purpose
of enabling or entitling any person to receive any money or valuable thing on
any event or contingency of or relating to any game, pretended game or lottery
known as drop pan or any game of a similar nature.
(3) Where any person is
convicted of any offence under this section the Court may order the destruction
of any books, records, papers and other articles relating to the offence which
may be found in his possession and in the case of an offence against paragraph
(c) of subsection (1), may order the destruction of any printing press or other
printing machine used in connection with the offence.
(4) Any constable may
arrest without warrant any person committing an offence under this section and
may detain any article, printing press or other printing machine liable to be
destroyed thereunder.
57. The Postmaster-General with the approval of the
Minister responsible for communications may from time to time make such
regulations as he thinks fit for preventing the sending or delivery by post of
letters, circulars, being sent by advertisements or tickets of or concerning any
lottery whether such letters, circulars or tickets be posted in Jamaica or
elsewhere.
58.(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, it
shall Restriction be unlawful to conduct in or through any newspaper, in
connection with any trade or business or the sale of any petitions.
article to the public-
(a) any competition in
which prizes are offered for the forecast of the result either-
(i) of a future event; or
(ii) of a past event, the
result of which is not yet ascertained or not yet generally known;
(b) any other competition
success in which does not depend to a substantial degree upon the exercise of
skill, and in relation to which any entrance fee, stake, contribution or
subscription is payable for or in respect of the right to enter or to
participate.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) with respect
to the conducting of competitions in connection with a trade or business shall
apply in relation to sanctioned pool betting or in relation to pool betting
operations carried on by a person authorized by the Commission pursuant to
section 18 or to any competition which is authorized by the Minister under this
section.
(3) The Minister may, by order, authorize
any person to conduct a competition under this section on such terms as he
thinks fit, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing and
notwithstanding anything in the Stamp Duty Act, any such order may include a
provision exempting from stamp duty under that Act in whole or in part letters
or other instruments submitted by any person for the purpose of obtaining a
right to enter for, or participate in, any such competition.
(4) Any person who
contravenes the provisions of this section or, being a person authorized to
conduct a competition under this section, fails to comply with any terms imposed
by the Minister in relation to such competition pursuant to subsection (3)
shall, without prejudice to any liability to be proceeded against under section
48, be guilty of an offence.
59.
Any money or money's worth paid or deposited for or in respect of any
lottery other than a lottery permitted pursuant to this Part or for or in
respect of the purchase of a ticket in any such lottery shall be recoverable as
money had and received to or for the use of the person from whom the same was
received and every sale or contract for sale of such a ticket is hereby declared
to be void and no action shall be maintainable by any person in respect of any
such sale or contract except by the purchaser for the return of the money or
other consideration (if any) paid thereon