Lottery Office Keepers Act 1779
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1779 c. 21 |
| Year | 1779 |
(19 Geo. 3) C A P. XXI.
Most Gracious Sovereign,
'WE your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal Subjects, the Commons ofGreat Britain , in Parliament assembled, think it will be for the Advantage of the Public, and that it will prevent many fraudulent Practices used by Persons dealing in Lottery Tickets, and in Shares and Chances of Lottery Tickets, to grant unto your Majesty the Duty upon Licences, and to establish the several Regulations herein-after mentioned;' and therefore do most humbly beseech your Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That, from and after the fifth Day ofApril , one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, no Person or Persons whatsoever shall, publicly or privately, set up, exercise, keep, or open, by himself, or any other Person or Persons, any Office or Place for buying, selling, insuring, registering, giving, or otherwise dealing in, any Tickets or Chances, or Parts thereof, or on the Number or Numbers of any Ticket or Tickets in any Lottery whatsoever, or shall, by Writing or Printing, publish the setting up or using any such Office or Place, without first taking out a Licence for that Purpose, in Manner hereafter mentioned, before he, she, or they, shall so set up, keep open, or publish, any such Office or Place as aforesaid.
II Each Licence to cost 50 l.
II. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That, from and after the said fifth Day ofApril , one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, for every Licence to be taken out by any Person or Persons, for every such Office or Place used for dealing in or concerning Lottery Tickets, as aforesaid, there shall be paid unto his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors (over and above all other Duties to which the Person or Persons taking out the same may be respectively liable, as Brokers, or otherwise), the Sum of fifty Pounds, immediately upon taking out such Licence; and every such Licence shall be granted under the Hands and Seals of two or more of the Managers and Directors of the Lottery for the Time being, and the Duty for the same shall be paid at their Office inLondon , or at such other Place, and to such Person or Persons, as the said Managers and Directors shall appoint to deliver out such Licences respectively, and to receive the said Duties; and they are hereby respectively authorised and required to grant and deliver such Licences to all Persons applying for the same, upon their Payment of fifty Pounds for each Licence as aforesaid.
III Licence to set forth the Name of the Person taking out the same, &c, and to continue in Force for one Year.
III. And it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every such Licence shall set forth the true Name and Place of Abode of the Person or Persons taking out the same; and also the Place where such Business or Dealing shall be carried on; and such Licence shall continue in Force for twelve Calendar Months from the Date thereof, and no longer; and every Person acting or dealing in any of the Matters therein contained, after the Expiration of such Licence, without first taking out such Licence, and renewing the same yearly, in Manner aforesaid, shall respectively forfeit, for each Offence, the Sum of one hundred Pounds; to be recovered and distributed in Manner hereafter mentioned.
IV Persons keeping any Office contrary to this Act, to forfeit 100 l.
IV. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person who, after the said fifth Day ofApril , one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, shall publish, open, set up, or keep, any such Office or Place, under any of the Denominations aforesaid, or any like Denominations, contrary to the Intent and Meaning of this present Act, shall forfeit, for every such Offence, the Sum of one hundred Pounds.
V Produce of the Duty on Licences to be applied towards defraying the Expences of the Lottery.
V. And be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all the Monies to arise by the Duty hereby granted for Licences as aforesaid, shall be applied towards defraying the Expences attending the Commission to be made forth for managing, directing, and drawing, the Lottery established by an Act, made in this Session of Parliament (intituled,An Act for raising a certain Sum of Money by way of Annuities, and for establishing a Lottery ), in such Manner as the Commissioners of the Treasury, or any three or more of them, or the High Treasurer for the Time being, shall direct, authorise, and approve.
VI No Person to sell any Share of a Ticket less than a Sixteenth,
'VI. And whereas the dividing of Chances or Tickets in a Lottery into very small Shares, has been found mischievous,' be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons, so licensed as aforesaid, shall sell any Share or Shares of any Ticket or Tickets in the said Lottery, or of the Chance or Chances of any Ticket or Tickets in the said Lottery, in any smaller Share or Proportion than One-sixteenth Part or Share only, or shall publish any Proposals for selling any Share or Shares of any Ticket or Tickets in the said Lottery, or of any Chance of any Ticket or Tickets in the same, in any smaller Share or Proportion than One-sixteenth Part or Share, contrary to the true Intent and Meaning of this Act; every Person who shall offend in any of the said Mattersshall forfeit and Pay, for every such Offence, the Sum of fifty Pounds, to be recovered and distributed in Manner hereafter mentioned; and every such Sale or Contract, and every Agreement relating thereto, shall be, and is hereby declared null and void.
VII Penalty on Persons promising to pay any Money upon any Chance...
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