LOTTERY. A scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance. Alms House of New York City v. Art Union, 7 N. Y. 228 ; Thomas v. People, 59 Ill. 160.
A scheme by which a result is reached by some action or means taken, in which result man's choice or will has no part, and which human reason, foresight, sagacity, or design cannot enable him to know or determine, un til the same has been accomplished. People v. Elliott, 74 Mich. 264, 41 N. W. 916, 3 L. R. A. 403, 16 Am., St. Rep. 640.
A scheme by which, on one's paying money or some other thing of value, he obtains the contingent right to have something of greater value, if an appeal to chance, by lot or other wise, under the direction of the manager of the scheme, should decide in his favor. Bish. St. Crimes § 952.
The word lottery "embraces the elements of procuring, through lot or chance, by the investment of a sum of money or something of value, some greater amount of money or thing of greater value." U. S. v. Wallis, 58 Fed. 942. It includes policy-playing, gift exhibitions, prize concerts, raffles at fairs, etc., and various forms of gambling ; id.
Every drawing, where money or property is offered as prizes to be distributed by chance according to a specified scheme and tickets sold which entitle the holder to mon ey or property, and which is dependent on chance, is a lottery ; Grant v. State, 54 Tex. Cr. R. 403, 112 S. W. 1068, 21 L. R. A. (N. S.) 876, 130 Am. St. Rep. 897, 16 Ann. Cas. 844.
Where a pecuniary consideration is paid, and it is to be determined by chance, accord ing to some scheme held out to the public, as to what and how much he who pays the mon ey is to receive for it, that is a lottery ; Hull v. Ruggles, 56 N. Y. 424. It is well settled that every scheme for the division of prop erty or money by chance is prohibited by law; Rothrock v. Perkinson, 61 Ind. 39. Lotteries were formerly often resorted to as a means of raising money, by states as well as individuals, and are still authorized in many foreign countries, but have been abol ished as immoral in England, and throughout this country. They were prohibited by 10 & 11 Will. III. c. 17, and foreign lotteries were forbidden to be advertised in England by the 6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 66.
Selling boxes of candy, each box being rep resented to contain a prize, the purchaser selecting his box in ignorance of its contents, is a lottery ; Holoman v. State, 2 Tex. App.
610, 28 Am. Rep. 439 ; so in State v, Lums den, 89 N. C. 572 ; Com. v. Wright, 137 Mass. 250, 50 Am. Rep. 306 ; 11 Q. B. Div. 207. Where money was subscribed which was to be invested in funds which were to be di vided amongst the subscribers by lot, and divided unequally, it was held a lottery ; 1.1 Ch. Div. 170. Although every ticket in a drawing represents a prize of some value, yet if those prizes are of unequal values, the scheme of distribution is a lottery ; Dunn v. People, 40 Ill. 465.
A scheme for increasing the circulation of a newspaper, whereby all subscribers receive numbered tickets corresponding to numbered coupons, which are drawn from a box by a blindfolded person, prizes to he given to the holders of certain tickets, is a lottery under U. S. R. S. § 3894, prohibiting carrying through the mails of any newspaper con taining any advertisement of any lottery, etc. ; U. S. v. Wallis, 58 Fed. 942 ; so it was held that an issue of bonds of the Austrian government, payable at a specified time, but with a provision that bonds, as drawn, should be redeemed with a bonus, which was to increase year by year, was within that act, which related to all lotteries, the word "il legal" having been omitted from the original act by amendment in 1890 ; Horner v. U. S., 147 U. S. 456, 13 Sup. Ct. 409, 37 L. Ed. 237.
A lottery for the disposal of land is within the prohibition of the Pennsylvania act, where the lots drawn are of very unequal value ; Seidenbender v. Charles' Adm'rs, 4 S. & R. (Pa.) 151, 8 Am. Dec. 682 ; so when there is a contract for the sale of several lots of land, of unequal value, to several sub scribers, which provides that each one's lot shall be determined "by lot" and a certain "prize" lot is to be given to one of the sub scribers by "lot"; Lynch v. Rosenthal, 144 Ind. 86, 42 N. E. 1103, 31 L. R. A. 835, 55 Am. St. Rep. 168 ; or the offering of parcels of land at public sale with the inducement that each purchaser would he entitled to share in a drawing for a certain lot not put up at such sale ; this was held a lottery ; Whitley v. McConnell, 133 Ga. 738, 66 S. E. 933, 27 L. R. A. (N. S.) 287, 134 Am. St. Rep. 223.