OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Hon. Clint A. Barham
County Attorney
Erath-coullty
BtqhentQl;le,
or. All or those pa*
in thee* numberaa aeatu
e~~softhe&ow,andatthi and
or the show atitenaatata
rolle a
eel around 005tabliU6 (111the
0 aeats 05 small tlOket8. 805a
to draw a nunbar end the man ait-
tlng lo the seat whose number omzegponds wltb
the number that .lsdrawn is &mm t&O raoney
Ln addition tcithis the cbai68105 tan
$?&rtidrnight 1e iire omts high&r than
it is on the othbr,weeknfBhls8.”
Hon. Clint A. Barham, April E6, 1939, Page 2
asotion 47) Article 3 of the State Constitution
reads as follows:
Vhe Leglslauureshall pass laws prohlblt-
ing the establishmentof lotteries aad gift
enterprisesIn this state, as well as the sale
or tickets in lotteries,gift enterprisesor
other evasions Involvingthe lottery principle,
establishedor ex.ist&ngin other 5tates.v
Ori a5y person shall establl5helott#q
or bispme or any eetate, real or per8Onal*by
lottery, he &all be Sined not leas than 050
hundred nor more~thau 05e thoiman4 dollars1
.or.If my pewon sh+l aal& gffer r0r sale or
keep *or:we. any tfa$et or part ticket in auy
ldttery, a+-1 be $+¬ leas tha5 taq~:
. nor:mr+ th&u ~lft~.d~Ilara~~~
The te& *lOttarf'.hasno teoh5ioal slgnUloi-.
tion~In the law'and srioaeopt statute does .notpr@lbe
& definition;lta wqning mat be deteirained from popular
utlagq. doooavling~to?&atWqti a lottery'lsa #ohm@ for
the distributionoi.prIcea~.by lot e.ohanoa amo5g Wore
who have paid oi hare agreedit pay a aonslderatloP,i~
.t@ right to partialpateth@r~in~~.ar the dietributtoa~lt-
State t(l.Randle U.Tex$-dpQI;Featherstaa T&
$&~Ieu$ Seqvioa St&ion &asoahtlon of Texaa,,~lO 81
&d lB4; Bodtright',vfL .StA$a;58 BW,$htd87; Te% W.
'Vol. 2S, yage UQ.~:
In the:'oase'of
Featheratonevs. IndependentBar-
. vim Station fi+n+tion; >upira;the oourt gave the iollow-
ing derlnlt$onto,~
a lott?:',
*A lottery ror all praotioal purposes w
bs derined airany soheme ror the distribution
0r ~ieekt, by lot or ohcL50dr for one on swing
money or giving ,othaything of.vslue to another
obtains a token yhiah.entitlee h* to xeeeive
a larger or am@ler value or noqbe, aa scma
tormula or ahanae may.:detarx&W&_
T,
Eon. Clint A. Sarham, April 26, 1939,'Page3
The Federal Cirauit Court of Appeals in the
case Peek VB. United Safes, 61 Fed 2nd 973, deiined
OS
: a-,lottery
as:
-‘A
scheme for the distributionof prizes
or thingsor value by lot or chanoe emong
personswho have paid or agreed to pay a velu-
able aonsiderat3.on for the change to obtain a
prize. A~hame by whioh a rent&% Is reaohed
by some aotion or m t&ma; In whIoh result
mm's oholoe or uIll hu no part, nob &II hmran
PeMOIl, Mgaolty or duIg5 enable hlilto knew
or deter&m umtIl tha.? h+ 'beenaeoomplIsbad.a
The SupresteC&t la the #~e.oi City Ot id
vs. Orlillt Amwmment 00.; loosws5d 695;usadths+ollaw-
lnglanguage:
Wmr0 a theatai eonduoted '8ank l?lgit*
at whl money weusawarded, after rihowiug
P
or the%mvIng pietWo, by drari56 number front
lque &araphemalIdby members .oZaudlenoe,
xi at publio oould pattloipatewithout paylx@
a&n$asIonor ~t;hoat'sate.ring theater did not
prevent the ~ohkme'fmm~'beInglottery.
wQmio'e at a prlzq d&gnated aitfree awl .
glvin with purohaee q'not'bn raot tree though
artlole pmohasml b.wcuth &ll ploe as re-
speots whether triwaotion eeonatltutes a lottery
-but paymeat for~qhanoe Is embraoed in part or
purchase prIoei*"
In the aase.of Qraqt vs. State, 112 Sk'lC68, the
court he&d, among other thlngs,'thatr
;
*2verydrawIn& &are money.or property la
offered a8 prlees to JM dfltributedby ohahoe
aocording to a specktied soheme or.plan and a
ticket or tickets-soldwhIoh entitles the holder
to money or property and whlal:is dependentupon
ohanoe, is a lottery."
Hon. Clint A. Berhsm, April 26, 1939, Page 6
You are respectfullyadvised that It Is the
opinion of this Departmentthat a number system used by
a theaterwhere each seat In the theater Is mmbered and
where a ticket Is selected or drawn from a number of
tickets containingall the numbers on the seats end a
money award or other thing ot value Is given to the per-
son sitting In the seat that has a number corresponding
with the nwnber drawn Is a lottery and the operation
thereor 1s.a violationof .@tIcle 654 of the Penal Code.
'lhstingthat the f@regolnganswers your in-
quiry, we remeln
.
._