ACT No. XXIV of 1981 AN ACT to p/'ovide fo/' the holding of Government lotteries.

l assent.

(L.S.)

ANTON BUrnGIEG

3rd JuJy, 1981

ACT No. XXIV of 1981

AN ACT to p/'ovide fo/' the holding of Government lotteries.

BE lT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this prcsent Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

This Act may be cited as the Government Lotteries Act, 1981.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"agent" means a person appointed by the Director to promote

the sale of tickets outside Malta;

"Department" means the Department of Public Lotto;

"Director" means the Director of Public Lotto and includes

any person designated by the Minister to perfonn any function or

duties pertaining to the Director;

"financial year" shall have the sa me meaning as is assigned to it

in the Constitution;

"lottery" means each single actuation of any scheme promoted

and conducted under the provisions of this Act and of any regula­

tions made thereul1der for distributing prizes which are won by

chance by stakers participating in such a scheme;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for finance;

"seller" means a person appointed by the Director to sell tickets

in Malta;

"staker" means a person who purchases 01' holds a ticket;

"ticket" means a ticket participating in a lottery held under

the provisions of this Act;

"winning ticket" means a ticket bearing

the letter

and /or

numbers drawn in a particular lottery.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations

made thereunder, the Minister may authorise the Director to promote

and conduct a Government lottery in accordance with such directions

as the Minister may deern fit to give for such purposes and, without

prejudice to the generality of the above, may authorize the Director to

do all such preparatory acts as the Director may deem necessary for

promoting and conducting any such lottery.

The Minister may make regulations to give effect to any of the

provisions of this Act, and in particular, and without prejudice to the

generality of the foregoing, such regulations may prescribe

(a ) the number of lotteries to be held dming any year and

the d a y time and place of the draw in any Government lottery;

,

(b)

the procedure to be fol1owed in the conduct of any such

lottery;

(c) the number and the value of the prizes to be allotted in

respect of each draw and the mode of payment of the pdzes;

(d) the powers and duties of any person whose presence is

required dming the draw;

(e) the price at which any ticket which may be used in any

suchJottery may be sold, and the tick€ts and other documents which

may be used in any such lottery;

(f)

the l1umber of tickets to be issued for sale in any partieu­

lar draw;

(g) the time within which and the manner in which prizes

may be c1aimed or paid;

(h) t he conditions under which unc1aimed prizes shall be for­

feited to Government;

(i) the punishment, not exeeeding a fine (multa) o f .flOO,

which may be awarded for any contravention of any re�ulation

made in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(j) any matter which is to be 01' m a y be preseribed under

this Aet and to make any fmther provision in respect of sueh matter

as he may deem appropriate.

(1) The Director may eause lottery tickets ta be s.old through

any public officer employed in the Department and may appoint sellers

and agents for such time as may be specified in the instrument of

appointment and may give such directions and impose sueh conditions

as the Director may deem fit in relation to the duties of sueh persons,

the time for the r em i tt a n c e of th e proceeds of the sale .of tickets. the

returns, forms and r e p .or t s which may be made and t h e information

which may be requested of s u e h persons by the Director in t h e execution

of his functions under t h i 5 Act.

(2) The Director may in his discretioJl refuse any request by

any person for appointment as seHer or as agent and may without

incurring any liabi1ity and without giving any reason, revoke any such

appointment at any time

Provided that the person in relation to whom such refusal or

revocation refers may apply to the Minister for consideration of his

Remittances, tickets and any other matter connected with a

lottery, which are sent through the post shall travel at the risk of the

sta ker.

(l) Notice of a winning ticket shall be given to the Director

within such time and in such mannel' as may be prescribed by the

Minister by notice in the Gazette.

(2) The winning ticket shall be presented to the Director for

examination in accordance with his instructions.

(3) The Director shall issue a receipt

in respect of every

winning ticket sa received by him.

(1) The Director may require from the holder of a winning

ticket such proof as he may deem necessary to estabJish the identity of

that person.

(2) The holder of a ticket purpOliing to be a winning ticket

shall not be entitled to a prize if the Director is satisfied that s11ch

ticket -

(a) contains any alteration, correction, erasure 01' abrasion of

the number and/or 1etter printed thereon, or

is mutilated, reconstituted, unreadable Of misprinted, Of

(b)

(c)

fails in any of the Department's confidential va1idation

tests

Provided that where the Director is satisfied that two 01' more

genuine tickets have the same winning number in respect of any particu­

lar prize in a particular draw, that prize shall be apportioned equally

among the holders of such winning tickets.

(3) The deeision of the Director in respeet of any matters

deaIt with under the provisions of subseetions (l) and (2) of this section

is fina!.

(1) The Director shall pay the prize due to a winning ticket

prize to wioni.ng

to the person who presents to him such ticket for that purpose.

ticket.

Where the Director is intirnated by a judicial act that the

(2)

ownership of a winning ticket or the prize due is or is about to form

the subjeet of litigation, the Director shall lodge the amount of the prize

due in the Registry of the competent Civil Court and such prize shall

not be withdrawn unti1 the matter is finally determined by the Court or

the dispute is otherwise settled. The Director shall cause a copy of the

Sehedule of Deposit to be served on the person in whose interest the

judicial act is fi1ed.

(3) Where any lodgment is made by the Director as provided

under subsection (2) of" this section and no judicial action is instituted

by any interested party in the competent court on the amount so

deposited within ninety days from such deposit, sueh amount shall be

forfeited to Govemrnent.

(4) Any judicial fees and expenses incurred by the Director

to comply with the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this seetion

shall be deducted by him from the amount so deposited or withdrawn.

as the case may be.

(l) All monies received from the sale of tickets or forfeited

to Governmel1t under the provisions of this Act shall be paid by the

Director into the Treasury and shall be credited to an account to be kept

in that Department to be styled "Government Lotteries Fund".

(2) There shall be paid out of the Government Lotteries

Fund, without any further appropriation other than this Act, the prizes,

the expenses of administration and all other charges connected therewith.

(3) Any credit balance after the closing of the accounts at the

end of the financial year shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

(4) If at any time the money to the credit of the Government

Lottcries Fund is insufficient to meet, either wholly or in part, the pay­

ment of prizes, the expenses of administration and other charges connect­

ed therewith, such deficit shall be made good by temporary advances

from the Treasury Clearance Fund, by warrants under the hand of the

Minister.

(5) A statement of the receipts and expendit u

, re

ment Lotteries Fund, shall, as soon as possible after the close of each

financial year and in any case not later than three months after the cIose

of such year, be forwarded by the Accountant General to the Director

of Audit.

Any person who sells any Government lottery ticket a t a price

either exceeding or less than that estabIished under the provisions of this

Act shall be gui1ty of an offence against this Act and shall, on cODvic­

tion, be liable to a fine (multa) of not less than f50 and not exceeding

E200.

Any seHer or agent who m is a ppJi e s any money entrusted to

him by reason of his functions under this Act shall be guilty of an offencc

against this Act and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa)

amounting to treble the amount so misapplied, or to imprisonment for

LI te r m not exceeding one year, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(1) Whosoever shall forge any ticket, coullteffoil, receipt Of

any other document issued in connection with a Government lottery

shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall, on conviction,

be liab1e to imprisonment for a term of from 13 months to 4 years.

(2) Where the offence is committed by a seller or agent Of,

public officer perfofming duties in the Department, the punishment shall

be of imprisonment for a term of not less than 2 years but not exceeding

5 ycars.

Where the fact which constitutes an offence under the provi­

sions of this Act aIso constitutes an offence under any other law and is

liab1e to a higher punishment under that law, such higher punishment

shall be applied.

All disputes arising 011 any matter to which this Act refers

shall be determined by the Courts in Malta in accordance with Maltese

law to the exc1usion of any other )aw.

The Civil action on any matter relating to the award or pay­

ment of any prize under t h e p r o vi s ions of t h i s Act or to any draw, may

not be instituted after the lapse of ninety da ys from the d a te of the draw.

The Govemment Lotteries Act, 1948, shall be repealed.

(l)

saving.

(2) Unti! such time as new regu)atiol1s are made under this

Act, the Government Lotteries Re g u ! a t i on s 1977, s h a lI continue in force

and shall, in 80 far as they are not incompatible with the provisiolJ.s of

this Act, be deemed to have been made under this Act and may be

varied, altered or revoked accordingly.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 518 of the 30th J une, 1981.

C. AGIUS

Speaker

C. MIFSUD

Clerk to the House of RepresentC/tives

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