Case Information

*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Honorable Ii~iner I&UTiSOli, 3r., Director

Departaant ot Publlo SafrtT

kUBti)l, Tea6

Dear Sir:

$8 hare ror rep1 the opinion of

requr6ting 6tat6d QU66tiOn. IOUr l-6

eratad in the ocredurr of pilling nuabra fr6lu ruate preoodure f6 to ua* b63.i6 into slot6 to determine the win- #a priZ66 rOr 6UOh numb6Z6 t0 I36 ertifioate& whiah me @xv3 atrarl- OUB bU6$66S6 astebllabs@ntswithin the @ftJT. *TheBe operator6 cl&i that dua to the ruot that darts or ball8 me used that the oh- aant or chnnoe ie reamed and that tk ~WWD be- aone one oi 8kiU. The oaly differenoe betrscm *2 682 honorable %oztn Garrison, Jr., Page Z

thie oplsratian and the old bingo game ie the mfa~er in whioh the winning numb4r6 are seleet- ed and the giting of ~perchandise oextlfl~ater ratbar than Frl6e6 giren by the operator. advise in8 whether or not, I.6 your "Pl6a66

oplnlon, thin operation would be 4 violation of, the ganbllng 6tatUt66 of our 8tate.w

Article6 619, 620 and 6Zl of the Fenal Cod* oi Tex~readi an rOuOW6:

*Art. 619. If any person eh611 dlreotly, or a6 agent or employ8 for another, or through my agent or agents, keep or sxhiblt ror,the ~~~068 0r ~aalng, cm* poiiO7 t36366, 6~ g66hg table, bank, wheel or device of lany mme or deroription whatever, or 6ny table, bank, who.1 or devioe for the purpoi34 or gmlngwblch ha6 90 name, or any c&et aaehime, any pigeon hole tabli, any Jersny-llnd table, or table ot any kind whfatwever , regardleeli or the 6~60 or whether nomad not, he 6hall be ooniined In the penitentiary not 1866 the6 tur, nor more thau rOID y@&.rS regardless Of whether (my Of abare mentioned tabl46, b6nk6, wheel6* -6, devioe6 slot aaohLne6 are by law or lieewmd not. any auoh table, bank, wheel, ruchlne or device shall bs oonaidered uaad ror gimlng, it money or anything or mlue ia betthsrwn.*

“#wt. 620. It bsing lstendsd byths tore- lng articl46 to include every speaies of gam- E ,~ g dsvioe known ~by th4 mm6 of table or bank, Of every kind WhateVer, thi6 prOVi6fw 6&n be oonstruod to lnolude my aad 6l.l g6mes whloh in to be played, dealt, oomon language are aald kept or erhlbft4d.a

"art. 621. The following garp~s BFB within the acanlqg and intartloo of the tro pre6ediag artlole6, vie.: Faro, aonte, vLrigt et un, rouge et noir, roulette, A.&C., chuckeluak, irerio am% rondo; but the 6muum6tioa 0r thea6 me6 6h6ll not exclude ana otimr properly dthln the aean- lag of the two prs6wliW krtfole6."

lionorabla Homer Carrieon, Jr., Page 3

In Opinion NO. 0466, this department held that a "bingo* &au14 operated under l plan elmoet ldsntloal to the one deeoribed in your letter wher61n a player via6 permltted to pitch e ball into e box end the number the ball stop6 on wa6 Odhd by the keOpOr, We6 fn violation Or the three Al-tlC~46 of our Pan61 Cob4 quotsd eEoVa. P1e 666 no reewn to hold airrermiy rhea the.ganu 16 plafld by l eah partlolpaat throwing e dart Into a board with the number hit by euch dart being oalled out by the operator Oftbgapw.

Indeed, a “gaae" a6 prohibited by &tiCl~B 619, 880, end 621 of the Penal Co&, 18 a trial of eklll or ohanoe, between two or'mre wntendlng partlee, aowrdlng to 6oma rule by whloh each one my rail auooeed in the rkill, a6 ohe66 or bllliarde; of ahence, aa raf- trial; fler and 6finplo lotterle8; or of ohanoo and ekill wmbined, a6 beokga63ion, whbt, rm0, eta. Stearne8 v8. State, Sl Tax. 693; Faaoett v.'State, 4b Tax. Cr. Bep. ll3, 79 5. W.

64th Condaqtuntly, 6vsn ohoul& tho gm66 of bl.nga goo 4e- roribe be oharecterl6ed 86 R grew of 6kill ratl*r than cimnae, (and which we do not ccncede) the 6ame would 6tlll bo e *gamer the keeping or which 16 prohibited by Artlalo 619 of the Penal Code. see Opinion I!Io. 0-S66, oogy o? whtoh mnal.ord.

?or anothm rea6on we feel that tha opentlon 0r the bingo guu in parstlonrould be In violation or-the Penal Larr-or thir State. seotlon.47 of Artiolo S of tho OonstltG road6 as fO~OW6: tion of fiXA6

"The kgi616ture shell pa66 laws prohlblt- e6tabll6hmaat 0r l4tterler end &tt ingtho enterprlee8 in thi6 Itate, a6 wll:ca6 6d@

0r ticket6 in lotterlo6, gift enterpri606, t2r otbr eveslone imolviag the lottery grfnolple, 66tabii6hed or 6XiBtlnl(. in 0th.l 6t6.t06.'

P ureuent to l ueh aoIQLaad tba Leglalature em&ted article 664 0r the Peti code, which read6 a8 io110661

*If any pereon shall l rtabllrh a lottery Or dlBp46C Or R12y~6EifafOp rGR1 Or POrwmti. 1 by lottery, he 6hd51 be tin6d. not 16~6 th66 0~. mdred nor pylfe then Oae thagsend dol-

lagi oc ii WY WSWR 6hdl 64~. 0rrsr ior sale or keep for eelo any ticket or part t&O- in any lottery, he shall be rlned aot k& *4 ifonorabla Eomer Garrison, Jr., Page 4

less then ten nor WBIDP~ than fifty doL1ert.v

In the ais 0r city 0r ivink V. mfritb gw80am bX+pMy, 100 Y. K. (Zd) 696 (Tax. Sup. Ct.), the aourt said:

'The atata penal coda dome not darlna a lottery, but our eourta have Interpreted It In accordauoe with public usage, to prep a schaae OP plan whloh provldaa for diafributlon Or p~:wS by OhMfM ~MIOAI%, thOM) Wh0 hat4 paid or agreed to pay a uonaldaratlcm ror the right to psrtiolpnte therein. 26 Tex. Jur. p. 409, emu. 2, and cases olted in the nota~.* ,

xn the OQW 0r tairrith IlrPweua 00. V. fiorlppn. 98 9. 3;. (26) BCC, it wa# held that the elements essential to Constitute e lottery ara (1) a prize in aimnay OP thing of rake; (2) dlatrlbution by thanom, end (3) paymamt, either d1racC.y EZ: lndiractlp or a valgablo~conalderetion ror the uhanca to win the prlee. 34~ also city of vi'lnk v. brlrfith Amusasient CO.. supre; ~Featharatone v. Independent Sarvlaa Station Ass*n., 10 9. X. (2dJ 124; 3aak v. 3. S., 61 Fed. (Zd) 973; Grant v. State, ll.2 3. V. 106S; aa State V. Pa&al, 41 Tog. 298, and iIolamn v. State, 47 8. ST. 830, wherein lt wee held thet any soheaa ior the distribution or prlraa by chenea is a lottery.

In the lusta.nea of the "bingo! gsme in ~uastlon 0 conai6aratloa la paid by the patren for the right'to gsrtl&%peta In the g&us, and ii he is so iortanate as to win Be m~alvan a mrehendlse oartlrlaata or e pri~a. Thererare we take It the only question In your mind as to whether OPT not the opaPatlan or such e gama'is lnvioW&xi or the lottery laws or this state. is whether or not the clamant of ohance exiatm. 58 bold that It does. the eklll of an fndlviduel patron might be ax-

%%ile erclaed when it ooaes his turn to throw the dart into the board toss the bell into the alot, how osn It be .zaeloteI.md that the entire &aua aonstltutaa ona of akill~rather then Or ehxnaa when eucoess of the indivldtml patron in riming dapmda not only upon him own skill but also upon the skU1 or lQsPtltuda or his rellow patrona? We aeunot believe that a petron baaauaa his skiil has any better ohsmae of tinniag under aoeh e eehe1pa than ha aould bve In playing a slot machine. In PanQargast v. State, 41 Tex. Cr. Ii. '358, 37 9. W. 651, the latter device Was held to constftute a lottery.

Eonorabla Himer hrrimn, Jr., Page J we hold end pu are raapeotrallp Cogaeyuantly,

edvlaad tbet the oparatioa or a gam or "bingo* under the plan daaorlba8 la your latter would, in addition to balu .+n viol~tfon of urtlolas 619, ba0, and Ml ol tha Penal Coda ef this State, be in viol.ation of rrtlela 6&d of our Panal Code ralatiss to the a8tabll8hmsnt or lottarlaa.

vary truly yotue ATTIBtBEY GEBEWiL OF !PEXAS