COMMON GAMING HOUSES ACT 1953

LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 289 COMMON GAMING HOUSES ACT 1953 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 2 Laws of Malaysia ACT 289 COMMON GAMING HOUSES ACT 1953 First enacted … ... ... ... ... ... ... 1953 (F.M. Ordinance No. 26 of 1953) Revised 1983 (Act 289 w.e.f. 18 August 1983) … ... ... ... ... ... ... ... PREVIOUS REPRINT First Reprint … … … … … 2001 Common Gaming Houses LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 289 COMMON GAMING HOUSES ACT 1953 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation 3. Nuisance 3A. Specific game need not be stated or proved 4. Offences relating to common gaming houses 4A. Assisting in carrying on a public lottery, etc. 4B. Offences relating to dealing in gaming machines 5. Advancing or furnishing money for establishing or conducting 6. Gaming in common gaming house 7. Gaming in public 8. Instigating, promoting, or facilitating gaming in public 9. Buying lottery ticket 10. Money paid recoverable 11. Presumption against person selling lottery tickets, etc. 12. Sales of lottery tickets void 13. Responsibility of employers and overseers 14. Arrest by employer 15. Power to enter on premises 15 A. Closure of premises 16. Search warrant against premises 16 A. Forfeiture of seized gaming machines 17. Search warrant against persons 18. Entry and search by Magistrate or senior police officer 3 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 289 Section 19. Presumption against house and occupier 20. Presumption against house, occupier and owner 20A. Liability of office-bearers, etc. 21. Order for demolition of structural contrivances for facilitating gaming 21A. Disconnection of supply of energy 22. Protection of informers 22A. Protection of officers, etc. 23. Offenders as witnesses for prosecution 23A. Agent to secure evidence 24. Trial 25. Binding over on second conviction 26. Reward to informer 27. Saving 27A. Power to license promotion and organization of gaming by a company 28. Repeal FIRST SCHEDULE SECOND SCHEDULE THIRD SCHEDULE Common Gaming Houses 5 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 289 COMMON GAMING HOUSES ACT 1953 An Act relating to the suppression of common gaming houses, public gaming, and public lotteries. [Peninsular Malaysia—25 June 1953; Sabah and Sarawak—15 April 1992, P.U. (B) 164/1992; Federal Teritory of Labuan—15 April 1992; P.U. (B) 165/1992] Short title 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953. (2) This Act applies to *Peninsular Malaysia only. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “bankers’ game” means any game which is specified in Column 1 of the First Schedule; “common gaming house” includes— (a) any place kept or used for gaming to which the public or any class of the public has or may have access; (b) any place kept for habitual gaming, whether the public or any class of the public has or may have access to it or not; *NOTE—All reference to “West Malaysia” shall be construed as reference to “Peninsular Malaysia”– see the Interpretation (Amendment) Act 1997 [Act A996], subsection 5(2). 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 289 (c) any place kept or used for the purpose of a public lottery; (d) any place (including a place which is owned, occupied, possessed, kept, used, or maintained by any society or any other organization, body or groups of persons whether or not such society, organization, body or group is established by or under any law)— (i) where eight or more persons are gaming; (ii) where any bankers’ game is being played; or (iii) where gaming is played and for which payment is made by any person to any society, organization, body or group of persons or any other person as consideration for permitting gaming in such place; “energy” has the meaning assigned to “electricity” in section 2 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 [Act 447] or that term in section 2 of the Electricity Ordinance of Sarawak [Sarawak Cap. 137], as the case may require; “gaming” with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means the playing of any game of chance or of mixed chance and skill for money or money’s worth and includes the playing of any game specified in Column I of the First and Second Schedules and the playing or operation of any gaming machine; “gaming machine” means any mechanical, electrical or electronic machine or device (including any computer program used in such machine or device), whether wholly or partly mechanically, electrically or electronically operated, that is so designed or that has been so adapted that— (a) it may be used for the purpose of playing a game of chance or a game of mixed chance and skill; and (b) as a result of the playing or operation of the machine or device, winnings in money or money’s worth may become payable; “licensee”, in relation to the supply of energy, means the person licensed under section 9 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 or the holder of a licence issued under section 4 of the Electricity Ordinance of Sarawak, as the case may require; “lottery” includes any game, method, or device whereby money or money’s worth is distributed or allotted in any manner depending upon or to be determined by chance or lot, whether the same be held, drawn, exercised, or managed within or without the Federation; Common Gaming Houses 7 “Peninsular Malaysia” has the meaning assingned thereto in section 3 of the Interpretion Acts 1948 and 1967 [Act 388], and includes the Federal Territory. “public lottery” means a lottery to which the public or any class of the public has or may have access, and every lottery shall until the contrary be proved be deemed to be a public lottery; “lottery ticket” includes any paper or figure or writing or symbol or other article whatsoever which either expressly or tacitly entitles or purports to entitle the holder or any other person to receive any money or money’s worth on the happening of any event or contingency connected with any public lottery; “Minister” means the Minister charged with responsibility for the regulation of lotteries; “Officer in Charge of a Police District” means any police officer appointed by the Inspector General of Police under paragraph 6(b) of the Police Act 1967 [Act 344]; “operator of a gaming machine” means any person who— (a) owns, manages or maintains a gaming machine; (b) has in his custody or under his control a gaming machine; or (c) in any manner assists in the management or maintenance of a gaming machine; “place” means any house, office, room or building and any place or spot, whether open or enclosed, and includes a ship, boat, or other vessel, whether afloat or not, and any vehicle; a place in which lottery tickets are offered for sale, sold, or distributed shall be deemed to be “used for the purpose of a public lottery”; a place shall be deemed to be “used” for a purpose if it is used for that purpose even on one occasion only; every person who demises or lets for hire a place shall be deemed the “owner” thereof; 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 289 the expression “instruments or appliances for gaming” includes all articles or part thereof specified in Column 2 of the First and Second Schedules and all articles which are used in or for the purpose of gaming or a lottery and all gaming machines; “Senior Police Officer” means any police officer not below the rank of Inspector. “supply authority” has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990; (2) The Minister may from time to time by notification in the Gazette— (a) declare any game, method, device, scheme or competition specified or desribed in such notification to be a lottery for the purposes of this Act and thereupon it shall be an irrebuttable presumtion of law that such game, method, device, scheme or competition is a lottery for the purposes of this Act; (b) (Deleted by Act A577). (3) The Minister may from time to time by notification in the Gazette delete from, add to, or otherwise amend the First or the Second Schedule. Nuisance 3. Every common gaming house is hereby declared to be a common and public nuisance contrary to law. Specific game need not be stated or proved 3 A. (1) Where a person is charged for an offence under section 6 or section 7 of this Act it shall be sufficient for the prosecution to merely state that the person charged is found gaming, without having to state the specific game being played. (2) Where a person is being tried for an offence under section 6 or section 7 of this Act, it shall be sufficient for the prosecution to merely prove that the game being played is a bankers’ game or one of the games specified in the Second Schedule, without having to prove the specific game being played. Common Gaming Houses 9 Offences relating to common gaming houses 4. (1) Any person who— (a) being the owner or occupier or having the use temporarily or otherwise thereof keeps or uses a place as a common gaming house; or (b) permits a place of which he is owner or occupier or of which he has the use temporarily or otherwise to be kept or used by another person as a common gaming house; (c) has the care or management of or in any manner assists in the management of a place kept or used as a common gaming; or (d)–(f) (Deleted by Act A755); (g) announces or publishes or causes to be announced or published either orally or by means of any print, writing, design, sign, or otherwise that any place is opened, kept, or used as a common gaming house or in any other manner invites or solicits any person to commit a breach of section 6 or section 9; or (h) conducts in or through any newspaper or any other periodical publication, or in connection with any trade or business or the sale of any article to the public— (i) any competition in which prizes are offered for forecasts of the result either of a future event or of a past event the result of which is not yet ascertained or not yet generally known; or (ii) any other competition success in which does not depend to a substantial degree upon the exercise of skill, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to *a fine of not less than five thousand ringgit and not more than fifty thousand ringgit and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and in addition shall be liable to a fine of not less than five thousand ringgit and not more than fifty thousand ringgit for every gaming machine seized. *NOTE—Previously “Imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to both”–see the Common Gaming Houses (Amendment) Act 1990 [Act A755]. 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 289 (2) Any person who occupies or has the use temporarily of a place which is kept or used by another person as a common gaming house shall be presumed until the contrary is proved to have permitted such place to be so kept or used. Assisting in carrying on a public lottery, etc. 4A. Any person who— (a) assists in the carrying on of a public lottery; (b) receives, directly or indirectly, any money or money’s worth for or in respect of any chance in any event or contingency connected with a public lottery or sells or offers for sale or gives or delivers or collects any lottery tickets; (c) draws, throws, declares or exhibits, expressly or otherwise, the winner or winning number, ticket, lot, figure, design, symbol or other result of any public lottery; or (d) writes, prints or publishes or causes to be written, printed or published any lottery ticket or list of prizes or any announcement of the result of a public lottery or any announcement or riddle relating to a public lottery, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than twenty thousand ringgit and not more than two hundred thousand ringgit and shall also