OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Ii~iner I&UTiSOli, 3r., Director 

Departaant ot Publlo SafrtT 

kUBti)l, Tea6 

Dear Sir: 

$8 hare ror rep1 

requr6ting the opinion of 

6tat6d QU66tiOn. IOUr l-6 

eratad in the 

ocredurr of pilling nuabra fr6lu 

ruate preoodure f6 to ua* b63.i6 

into slot6 to determine the win- 

#a priZ66 rOr 6UOh numb6Z6 t0 I36 

ertifioate& whiah me @xv3 atrarlOUB bU6$66S6 astebllabs@ntswithin the @ftJT. 

*TheBe operator6 cl&i that dua to the 

ruot that darts or ball8 me used that the ohaant or chnnoe ie reamed and that tk ~WWD beaone one oi 8kiU. The oaly differenoe betrscm 
682 

honorable %oztn Garrison, Jr., Page Z 

thie oplsratian and the old bingo game ie the 

mfa~er in whioh the winning numb4r6 are seleeted and the giting of ~perchandise oextlfl~ater 

ratbar than Frl6e6 giren by the operator. 

"Pl6a66 advise in8 whether or not, I.6 your 

oplnlon, thin operation would be 4 violation 

of, the ganbllng 6tatUt66 of our 8tate.w 

Article6 619, 620 and 6Zl of the Fenal Cod* oi 

Tex~readi an rOuOW6: 

*Art. 619. If any person eh611 dlreotly, 

or a6 agent or employ8 for another, or through 

my agent or agents, keep or sxhiblt ror,the 

~~~068 0r ~aalng, cm* poiiO7 t36366, 6~ g66hg 

table, bank, wheel or device of lany mme or 

deroription whatever, or 6ny table, bank, who.1 

or devioe for the purpoi34 or gmlngwblch ha6 

90 name, or any c&et aaehime, any pigeon hole 

tabli, any Jersny-llnd table, or table ot any 

kind whfatwever , regardleeli or the 6~60 or 

whether nomad or not, he 6hall be ooniined In 

the penitentiary not 1866 the6 tur, nor more 

thau rOID y@&.rS regardless Of whether (my Of 

the abare mentioned -6, tabl46, b6nk6, wheel6* 

devioe6 or slot aaohLne6 are lieewmd by law or 

not. any auoh table, bank, wheel, ruchlne or 

device shall bs oonaidered 66 uaad ror gimlng, 

it money or anything or mlue ia betthsrwn.* 

“#wt. 620. It bsing lstendsd byths toreE ,~ 

lng articl46 to include every speaies of gamg dsvioe known ~by th4 mm6 of table or bank, 

Of every kind WhateVer, thi6 prOVi6fw 6&n be 

oonstruod to lnolude my aad 6l.l g6mes whloh in 

oomon language are aald to be played, dealt, 

kept or erhlbft4d.a 

"art. 621. The following garp~s BFB within 

the acanlqg and intartloo of the tro pre6ediag 

artlole6, vie.: Faro, aonte, vLrigt et un, rouge 

et noir, roulette, A.&C., chuckeluak, irerio am% 

rondo; but the 6muum6tioa 0r thea6 me6 6h6ll 

not exclude ana otimr properly dthln the aeanlag of the two prs6wliW krtfole6." 
lionorabla Homer Carrieon, Jr., Page 3 

In Opinion NO. 0466, this department held that 

a "bingo* &au14 operated under l plan elmoet ldsntloal to 

the one deeoribed in your letter wher61n a player via6 

permltted to pitch e ball into e box end the number the 

ball stop6 on wa6 Odhd by the keOpOr, We6 fn violation 

Or the three Al-tlC~46 of our Pan61 Cob4 quotsd eEoVa. P1e 

666 no reewn to hold airrermiy rhea the.ganu 16 plafld 

by l eah partlolpaat throwing e dart Into a board with the 

number hit by euch dart being oalled out by the operator 

Oftbgapw. 

Indeed, a “gaae" a6 prohibited by &tiCl~B 619, 

880, end 621 of the Penal Co&, 18 a trial of eklll or 

ohanoe, between two or'mre wntendlng partlee, aowrdlng 

to 6oma rule by whloh each one my rail or auooeed in the 

trial; or rkill, a6 ohe66 or bllliarde; of ahence, aa raffler and 6finplo lotterle8; or of ohanoo and ekill wmbined, 

a6 beokga63ion, whbt, rm0, eta. Stearne8 v8. State, Sl 

Tax. 693; Faaoett v.'State, 4b Tax. Cr. Bep. ll3, 79 5. W. 

64th Condaqtuntly, 6vsn ohoul& tho gm66 of bl.nga goo 4eroribe be oharecterl6ed 86 R grew of 6kill ratl*r than 

cimnae, (and which we do not ccncede) the 6ame would 6tlll 

bo e *gamer the keeping or which 16 prohibited by Artlalo 

619 of the Penal Code. see Opinion I!Io. 0-S66, oogy o? whtoh 

16 mnal.ord. 

?or anothm rea6on we feel that tha opentlon 0r 

the bingo guu in parstlonrould be In violation or-the Penal 

Larr-or thir State. seotlon.47 of Artiolo S of tho OonstltG 

tion of fiXA6 road6 as fO~OW6: 

"The kgi616ture shell pa66 laws prohlbltingtho e6tabll6hmaat 0r l4tterler end &tt 

enterprlee8 in thi6 Itate, a6 wll:ca6 the 6d@ 

0r ticket6 in lotterlo6, gift enterpri606, t2r 

otbr eveslone imolviag the lottery grfnolple, 

66tabii6hed or 6XiBtlnl(. in 0th.l 6t6.t06.' 

Pur euetnt o l ueh aoIQLaad tba Leglalature em&ted 

article 664 0r the Peti code, which read6 a8 io110661 

*If any pereon shall l rtabllrh a lottery 

Or dlBp46C Or R12y~6EifafOp rGR1 Or POrwmti. 

1 by lottery, he 6hd51 be tin6d. not 16~6 th66 

0~. mdred nor pylfe then Oae thagsend dollagi oc ii WY WSWR 6hdl 64~. 0rrsr ior 

sale or keep for eelo any ticket or part t&Ok& in any lottery, he shall be rlned aot 
ifonorabla Eomer Garrison, Jr., Page 4 

less then ten nor WBIDP~ than fifty doL1ert.v 

In the ais 0r city 0r ivink V. mfritb gw80am 

bX+pMy, 100 Y. K. (Zd) 696 (Tax. Sup. Ct.), the aourt said: 

'The atata penal coda dome not darlna 

a lottery, but our eourta have Interpreted It 

In accordauoe with public usage, to prep a 

schaae OP plan whloh provldaa for diafributlon 

Or p~:wS by OhMfM ~MIOAI%, thOM) Wh0 hat4 paid 

or agreed to pay a uonaldaratlcm ror the right 

to psrtiolpnte therein. 26 Tex. Jur. p. 409, 

emu. 2, and cases olted in the nota~.* , 

xn the OQW 0r tairrith IlrPweua 00. V. fiorlppn. 

98 9. 3;. (26) BCC, it wa# held that the elements essential 

to Constitute e lottery ara (1) a prize in aimnay OP thing 

of rake; (2) dlatrlbution by thanom, end (3) paymamt, either 

d1racC.y EZ: lndiractlp or a valgablo~conalderetion ror the 

uhanca to win the prlee. 34~ also city of vi'lnk v. brlrfith 

Amusasient CO.. supre; ~Featharatone v. Independent Sarvlaa 

Station Ass*n., 10 9. X. (2dJ 124; 3aak v. 3. S., 61 Fed. (Zd) 

973; Grant v. State, ll.2 3. V. 106S; aa 0150 State V. Pa&al, 

41 Tog. 298, and iIolamn v. State, 47 8. ST. 830, wherein lt 

wee held thet any soheaa ior the distribution or prlraa by 

chenea is a lottery. 

In the lusta.nea of the "bingo! gsme in ~uastlon 0 

conai6aratloa la paid by the patren for the right'to gsrtl&%peta 

In the g&us, and ii he is so iortanate as to win Be m~alvan a 

mrehendlse oartlrlaata or e pri~a. Thererare we take It the 

only question In your mind as to whether OPT not the opaPatlan 

or such e gama'is lnvioW&xi or the lottery laws or this state. 

is whether or not the clamant of ohance exiatm. 58 bold that 

It does. 

%%ile the eklll of an fndlviduel patron might be axerclaed when it ooaes his turn to throw the dart into the board 

or toss the bell into the alot, how osn It be .zaeloteI.md that 

the entire &aua aonstltutaa ona of akill~rather then Or ehxnaa 

when the eucoess of the indivldtml patron in riming dapmda 

not only upon him own skill but also upon the skU1 or lQsPtltuda 

or his rellow patrona? We aeunot believe that a petron baaauaa 

or his skiil has any better ohsmae of tinniag under aoeh e eehe1pa 

than ha aould bve In playing a slot machine. In PanQargast v. 

State, 41 Tex. Cr. Ii. '358, 37 9. W. 651, the latter device Was 

held to constftute a lottery. 
Eonorabla Himer hrrimn, Jr., Page J 

Cogaeyuantly, we hold end pu are raapeotrallp 

edvlaad tbet the oparatioa or a gam or "bingo* under the 

plan daaorlba8 la your latter would, in addition to balu 

.+n viol~tfon of urtlolas 619, ba0, and Ml ol tha Penal 

Coda ef this State, be in viol.ation of rrtlela 6&d of our 

Panal Code ralatiss to the a8tabll8hmsnt or lottarlaa. 

vary truly yotue 

ATTIBtBEY GEBEWiL OF !PEXAS