Chapter VII PREVENTION OF GAMING

78. Opening, etc., of certain forms of gaming. (1) Whoever,— (a) being the owner or occupier or having the use of any building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place, or at cyber café or online gaming involving wagering or betting including computer resource or mobile application or internet or any communication device as defined in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Central Act 21 of 2000) opens, keeps or uses the same for the purpose of gaming,— (i) on a horse-race, or (ii) on the market price of cotton, bullion or other commodity or on the digits of the number used in stating such price, or (iii) on the amount or variation in the market price of any such commodity or on the digits of the number used in stating the amount of such variation, or (iv) on the market price of any stock or share or on the digits of the number used in stating such price, or (v) on the number of registration or on the digits of the number of registration of any motor vehicle using a public place, or (vi) on any transaction or scheme of wagering or betting in which the receipt or distribution of winnings or prizes in money or otherwise is made to depend on chance or skill of other; (vii) on any act on risking money or otherwise on the unknown result of an event including on a game of skill. (b) being the owner or occupier of any such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place knowingly or wilfully permits the same to be opened, occupied, kept or used by any other person for the purpose of gaming on any of the objects aforesaid, or (c) has the care or management of, or in any manner assists in, conducting the business of, any such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place opened, occupied, kept or used for the purpose of gaming on any of the objects aforesaid, or (d) advances or furnishes money for the purpose of gaming on any of the objects aforesaid with persons frequenting any such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place, shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both: Provided that in the absence of special reasons to be recorded in writing, the punishment to be imposed on an offender on conviction for an offence under this sub-section shall be imprisonment for not less than six months or fine of not less than ten thousand rupees or both. (2) Whoever is found in any building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place referred to in sub-section (1), gaming on any of the objects specified in that sub-section, or present, or aids or abets for the purpose of gaming on any such object shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both. Any person found in any such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place during any gaming therein on any of the objects specified in sub-section (1) shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have been there for the purpose of gaming on such object. (3) Whoever is found gaming on any of the objects specified in sub-section (1) in any public street or thoroughfare or in any place to which the public have or are permitted to have access shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees, or with both.

79. Keeping common gaming-house, etc. Any person who,— (a) opens, keeps or uses any building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel, or place for the purpose of a common gaming-house; (b) being the owner or occupier of any such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel, or place knowingly or wilfully permits the same to be opened, occupied, kept or used by any other person for the purpose aforesaid; (c) has the care or management of, or in any manner assists in conducting the business of, any such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel, or place opened, occupied, kept or used for the purpose aforesaid; or (d) advances or furnishes money for the purpose of gaming with persons frequenting any such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel, or place, shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years and with fine up to rupees one lakh: Provided that,— (a) for a first offence, such imprisonment shall not be less than six months and fine shall not be less than ten thousand rupees; (b) for a second offence, such imprisonment shall not be less than one year and fine shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees; and (c) for a third or subsequent offence, such imprisonment shall not be less than eighteen months and fine shall not be less than twenty thousand rupees. In section 79 of the Principal Act,- (i) in the hanging para, for the words "one year" the words "three years" shall be substituted and after the word "fine" the words "up to rupees one lakh" shall be inserted; (ii) in the proviso,- (a) in clause (a) for the words "three months" the words "six months" and for the words "five hundred" the words "ten thousand" shall be respectively substituted; (b) in clause (b) for the words "six months" the words "one year" and for the words "five hundred" the words "fifteen thousand" shall be respectively substituted; and (c) in clause (c) for the words "nine months" the words "eighteen months" and for the words "one thousand" the words "twenty thousand" shall be respectively substituted.

Whoever is found in any common gaming-house gaming or present for the purpose of gaming shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years and with fine up to rupees one lakh: Provided that,— (a) for a first offence such imprisonment shall not be less than six months and fine shall not be less than ten thousand rupees; (b) for a second offence such imprisonment shall not be less one year and fine shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees; and (c) for a third or subsequent offence such imprisonment shall not be less than eighteen months and fine shall not be less than twenty thousand rupees. In section 80 of the Principal Act,- (i) for the words "one year" the words "three years" shall be substituted and after the word "fine" the words "upto rupees one lakh" shall be inserted; (ii) in the proviso,- (a) in clause (a) for the words "one month" the words "six months" and for the words "two hundred" the words "ten thousand" shall be respectively substituted; (b) in clause (b) for the words "three months" the words "one year" and for the words "two hundred" the words "fifteen thousand" shall be respectively substituted; and (c) in clause (c) for the words "six months" the words "eighteen months" and for the words "five hundred" the words "twenty thousand" shall be respectively substituted.

81. Entry, search, etc., by police officers in gaming-house. It shall be lawful for a Police Officer,— (i) in the City of Bangalore not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector and either empowered by general order in writing or authorised in each case by special warrant issued by the District Magistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or Commissioner of Police or Superintendent of Police; or Deputy Commissioner of Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police, and (ii) elsewhere not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector of Police and either empowered by general order in writing or authorised in each case by special warrant issued by a District Magistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or by a Magistrate specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf or by a Superintendent of Police or by an Assistant or Deputy Superintendent of Police,— (a) to enter, with the assistance of such persons as may be found necessary, by night or by day, and by force, if necessary, any building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place, which he has reason to suspect is used as a common gaming-house or for the purpose of gaming on any of the objects referred to in sub-section (1) of section 78; (b) to search all parts of the building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place which he shall have so entered, when he shall have reason to suspect that any instruments of gaming are concealed therein, and also the persons whom he shall find therein, whether such persons are then actually gaming or not; (c) to take into custody and bring before a Magistrate all such persons; (d) to seize all instruments of gaming and all moneys and securities for money and articles of value which are reasonably suspected to have been used or intended to be used for the purpose of gaming, and which are found therein: Provided that no officer shall be authorised by special warrant unless the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of Police or Magistrate or

82. Presumptive proof of keeping or gaming in common gaming-house. (1) When any instrument of gaming has been seized in any building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place entered or searched under section 81 or on a person found therein, and in the case of any other thing so seized, if the court is satisfied that the police officer who entered such building, room, tent, or place, enclosure, vehicle, vessel, had reasonable grounds for suspecting that the thing so seized was an instrument of gaming, the seizure of such instrument or thing shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that such building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place is used as a common gaming-house and the persons found therein were then present for the purpose of gaming, although no gaming was actually seen by the police officer or by any person acting under the authority of either of them. (2) Any person found in any common gaming-house during any gaming therein shall be presumed until the contrary is proved, to have been there for the purpose of gaming.

On conviction of any person under sections 78, 79 or 80 the convicting Magistrate may order all the instruments of gaming found in the building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or place or on the persons of those who were found therein, to be forthwith destroyed or forfeited to the Government, and may also order all or any of the securities for money and other articles seized, not being instruments of gaming, to be sold and the proceeds thereof, with all moneys seized therein, to be forfeited to the Government. (a) contravenes the provisions of section 28; or (b) is guilty of cowardice; or (c) resigns his office or withdraws himself from the duties thereof in contravention of section 27; or (d) is guilty of any wilful breach, or neglect of any provision of law or of any rule or order which, as such Police Officer, it is his duty to observe or obey, or (e) is guilty of any violation of duty for which no punishment is expressly provided by any other law in force, shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to Rs. 100, or with both. (2) A Police Officer who, being absent on leave, fails, without reasonable cause, to report himself for duty on the expiration of such leave, shall, for the purposes of sub-clause (c) of clause (ii) of sub-section (1) be deemed to withdraw himself from the duties of his office within the meaning of section 27.

84. Proof of playing for money not required for conviction. It shall not be necessary, in order to convict a person of an offence under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 78 or under section 80 to prove that any person found gaming was playing for any money, wager, bet or stake.

85. Indemnification of persons concerned who are examined as witnesses. Every person who shall have been concerned in any gaming contrary to this Act, and who shall be examined as a witness by or before a Magistrate on the trial of any charge against the owner, keeper or occupier or other person under sub-section (1) of section 78 or under section 79 touching gaming, and who upon such examination shall make true and faithful discovery to the best of his knowledge of all things as to which he shall be so examined, and who shall thereupon receive from the said Magistrate a certificate in writing to that effect, shall be freed from all prosecutions under this Act for anything done before that time in respect of such gaming.

86. Payment of portion of fine to informer. The Magistrate trying any case under the provisions of sections 78, 79 and 80, may award any portion, not exceeding one-half of any fine which may be levied under any of the said sections, or any part of the proceeds of articles or money seized and ordered to be forfeited under section 83, among the Police Officers and other persons who may have given assistance in the detection or investigation of the offence.

Whoever is found gaming or reasonably suspected to be gaming or aiding or abetting such gaming in any public street, or thoroughfare, or in any place to which the public have or permitted to have access or in any race-course shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both and where such gaming consists of wagering or betting, any such person so found gaming shall, on conviction, be punishable in the manner and to the extent referred to in section 80 and all moneys found on such person shall be forfeited to the Government. Any police officer may seize all things reasonably suspected to be instruments of gaming found in such public street, thoroughfare, place or race-course or on or about the person of those whom he shall so arrest, and the Magistrate may, on conviction of the offender, order such instruments to be forthwith destroyed. When anything has been found on or about any person and a court is satisfied that the police officer had reasonable grounds for suspecting that such thing was an instrument of gaming, such circumstance shall, until the contrary is proved, be evidence that such thing was an instrument of gaming and that the person on or about whom the thing was found was present for the purpose of gaming. In section 87 of the Principal Act,- (a) after the words "suspected to be gaming" the words "or aiding or abetting such gaming" shall be inserted; (b) for the words "three months" the words "six months" and for the words "three hundred" the words "Ten thousand" shall be respectively substituted.

88. Power to arrest without warrant persons gaming in public places. A police officer may arrest and search without warrant, any person gaming or reasonably suspected to be gaming in contravention of sub-section (3) of section 78 or section 87.

89. Assembling in streets for gaming. Whoever,— (i) assembles with others in a street gathered for the purpose of gaming or; (ii) joins any such assembly for the purpose of gaming; shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to fifty rupees.

90. Printing, publishing or distributing any news or information. (1) No person shall print, publish, sell, distribute or in any manner circulate any newspaper, news-sheet or other document or any news or information with the intention of aiding or facilitating gaming. (2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six months and with fine. (3) Any Police Officer may enter and search any place for the purpose of seizing, and may seize all things reasonably suspected to be used or to be intended to be used, for the purpose of committing an offence under this section. (4) Any Police Officer may arrest without warrant any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1).

(1) If the person committing an offence under section 78, 79 or 90 is a company, the company, as well as every person in charge of, and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business at the time of the commission of the offence shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that, nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under section 78, 79, or 90 has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or that the commission of the offence is attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. (3) For the purposes of sections 78, 79 and 90, a ‘firm’ shall be deemed to be a person. Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,— (a) “company” means a body corporate, and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b) “director” in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.