THEA~TORNEYGENERAI. OF TEXAS Au- 11. 'I-EXAS WILL WNLSON A-J?X-ORNEYOENERAL thy 26, 1960
HonorableR. L. Lattlmore WW-840 CriminalDistrictAttorney . Edinburg,Texas Re: WhetherAttorneyGeneral's opinionNo. MS-94 is in conflicts with or overruled by Opitiion No. W-355 Dear Mr. Lattlmore: relatingto lotteries?
You have asked whetheror not this office still considersOpinion No. KS-94 to be valid in view of the epprent conflictof this Opinionwith OpinionNo. W-355. Your requestfurtherstates:
"We are particularlyinterestedas to whether you still considerthis opiniongoverningthe legality of 'AppreciationDay' or retailtrade promotionenter- prises CvalldJ. . . . It would be my opinionthat OpinionHo. WW-355 1s definitelyin conflictwith the 1953 opinion."
It is the opinionof this office that AttorneyGeneral'sOpinion No. KS-94, renderedon September25, 1953, is a valid statementof the laws of this State.
MS-94 holds that, where an award ia made each week to some lndivi- dual by the merchantsof 8 community,it is not a lotterywhere the award is determinedin the followingmanner:
"Couponsare distributedfreelyto all desiring them. The first public approachis by the distribu- tion of thousandsof printedannouncementsin the trade territorywith thousandsof theae coupons,all free. . . .
"In addltlon,couponsmay be freely had forthe asking at the office of the sponeoringorganieation . . . and in the places of businessof the participat- Lng merhhents.. . .
"An individualmay, in fact, ask for severalcoupons, or for a particulartype of couponand his request , ,
HonorableR. L. Iattlmore,Page 2. (WW- 840 )
is honored. Said couponmay be of the same value or varyingvalues indicatedby a percentage punchedon the coupon. The percentagepunchedon the couponwill be either 5$, 16, 2C$, 30$, 4C$, or 50$ entitlingthe party who has receivedthe coupon end writtenhis or her name and addresson the reverse side thereofto that percentageof the fund indicated.
"A thoroughlymixed quantityof the coupons reposes in an open containeret the Chamberof Commerceoffice and in an open containerin each store. A visitormay if he desiresask for a 50$ couponand he will receiveit. Or he may merely reach into such a containerand securesuch cou- pon or couponses he desires. Visitorsare, In fact, invitedto do this. . . . . . . .
"In additionto the ebove,a couponis offer- ed to anyone making e purchasein 'anyof the stores. In these instancesthe percentagepunched, on the couponbeers a relationto the total amount of the transection,in order that communitysurveys may be made periodicallyto determinethe size,of the averageunit purchasein e given atore,the exact boundariesof the trade territoryfrom which e store individuallyand the businesscommunity collectivelydraws its trade,and the amount of money spent each month in the town from each of the surroundingerees. . . .
"For the drawings,there is no distinction made betweencouponsdistributedfreelywith the announcementfolders,couponsdistributedfreely from the sponsor'soffice,couponsobtainedfreely by being drawn out of customersor non-customers from a containerin the establishment of a member merchant,couponsgiven freelyto the members of the audienceattendingthe weekly program,and the *survey'couponsissuedafter purchases.. . l"
The plan outlinedabove is legal, if no discriminationin favor of the customerarises. If, for example,the non-customerhad a hard time getting40$ or 50$ coupons,but the customercould get %urvey" cou- pons of this type withouttroublethe plan would then be a lotterysince the customeris gettingsomethinge