A. Definitions:
GAMBLING DEVICE: Any clock, tape machine, slot machine or other machine or device for the reception of money or other thing of value on chance or skill or upon the action of which money or other thing of value is staked, hazarded, bet, won or lost, or any mechanism, furniture, fixture, equipment or other device designed primarily for use in a gambling place. A gambling device does not include:
1. A coin in the slot operated mechanical device played for amusement which rewards the player with the right to replay such mechanical device, which device is so constructed or devised as to make such result of the operation thereof depend in part upon the skill of the player and which returns to the player thereof no money, property or right to receive money or property.
2. Vending machines by which full and adequate return is made for the money invested and in which there is no element of chance or hazard.
LOTTERY: Any scheme or procedure whereby one or more prizes are distributed by chance among persons who have paid or promised consideration for a chance to win such prizes, whether such scheme or procedure is called a lottery, raffle, gift, sale or some other name.
POLICY GAME: Any scheme or procedure whereby a person promises or guarantees by any instrument, bill, certificate, writing, token or other device that any particular number, character, ticket or certificate shall in the event of any contingency in the nature of a lottery entitle the purchaser or holder to receive money, property or evidence of debt 3 . (1983 Code; amd. Ord. 12-10, 8-20-2012)
B. Gambling Prohibited:
1. A person commits gambling, which shall be a violation of this code, when he:
a. Plays a game of chance or skill for money or other thing of value.
b. Makes a wager upon the result of any game, contest or any political nomination, appointment or election.
c. Operates, keeps, owns, uses, purchases, exhibits, rents, sells, bargains for the sale or lease of, manufactures or distributes any gambling device.
d. Contracts to have or give himself or another the option to buy or sell, or contracts to buy or sell, at a future time, any grain or other commodity whatsoever, or any stock or security of any company, where it is at the time of such contract intended by both parties thereto that the contract to buy or sell, or the option, whenever exercised, or the contract resulting therefrom, shall be settled, not by the receipt or delivery of such property, but by the payment only of differences in prices thereof. However, the issuance, purchase, sale, exercise, endorsement or guarantee, by or through a person registered with the secretary of state pursuant to 815 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/8 or by or through a person exempt from such registration under such section, of a put, call or other option to buy or sell securities which have been registered with the secretary of state or which are exempt from such registration under 815 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/3 is not gambling within the meaning of this paragraph.
e. Knowingly owns or possesses any book, instrument or apparatus by means of which bets or wagers have been, or are, recorded or registered, or knowingly possesses any money which he has received in the course of a bet or wager.
f. Sells pools upon the result of any game or contest of skill or chance, political nomination, appointment or election.
g. Sets up or promotes any policy game or sells, offers to sell or knowingly possesses or transfers any policy ticket slip, record, document or other similar device.
h. Knowingly advertises any lottery or policy game or drafts, prints or publishes any lottery ticket or share, or any policy ticket, slip, record, document or similar device, or any advertisement of any lottery or policy games.
i. Knowingly transmits information as to wagers, betting odds or changes in betting odds by telephone, telegraph, radio, semaphore or similar means, or knowingly installs or maintains equipment for the transmission or receipt of such information, except that nothing in this paragraph prohibits transmission or receipt of such information for use in news reporting of sporting events or contests.
2. Participants in any of the following activities shall not be convicted of gambling:
a. Agreements to compensate for loss caused by the happening of chance including, without limitation, contracts of indemnity or guaranty and life or health or accident insurance.
b. Offers of prizes, awards or compensation to the actual contestants in any bona fide contest for the determination of skill, speed, strength or endurance or to the owners of animals or vehicles entered in such contest.
c. Pari-mutuel betting as authorized by the law of Illinois.
d. Manufacture of gambling devices, including the acquisition of essential parts therefor and the assembly thereof, for transportation in interstate or foreign commerce to any place outside Illinois when such transportation is not prohibited by any applicable federal law.
e. The game commonly known as "bingo" when conducted in accordance with "an act making lawful the conducting of bingo by certain nonprofit organizations, requiring licensing and prescribing regulations thereof" 4 .
f. Lotteries when conducted by the state of Illinois in accordance with the "Illinois lottery law" 5 .
g. In prosecutions under subsection B1 of this section, circumstantial evidence shall have the same validity and weight as in any criminal prosecution 6 . (1983 Code)
Notes
| 1 | 1. 230 ILCS 40/1 et seq., or any successor statute. |
| 2 | 2. 230 ILCS 40/1 et seq., or any successor statute. |
| 3 | 3. 230 ILCS 25/1 et seq. |
| 4 | 1. 230 ILCS 25/1 et seq. |
| 5 | 2. 20 ILCS 1605/1 et seq. |
| 6 | 3. 720 ILCS 5/28-1. |
| 4 | 4. 230 ILCS 40/1 et seq., or any successor statute. |
| 5 | 5. 230 ILCS 40/1 et seq., or any successor statute. |