Opinion ID: 1834644
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The AG's Position

Text: The AG posits that, [c]ontrary to [the operators'] assertion, Section 98 prohibits any and all lotteries by whatever name. AG's Brief at 23. And bingo, according to the AG, is substantially similar in many respects to ... so-called traditional lotteries. Id. The AG adds that the similarity is particularly evident in light of this Court's opinion in Williams Furniture Co. v. McComb Chamber of Commerce, 147 Miss. 649, 112 So. 579 (1927). In Williams Furniture Co., some merchants challenged a marketing-promotional scheme sponsored by other merchants and the McComb Chamber of Commerce through which participating merchants gave numbered tickets to customers who purchased goods worth at least $1.00 or who made a payment of at least $1.00 on their store account. Customers, whose ticket numbers matched the numbers on the prize tickets drawn on a weekly basis, won cash prizes. The plaintiff-merchants contended that the scheme constituted a form of lottery, but the chancellor disagreed. On appeal, this Court affirmed after noting the absence of the essential element of consideration: Three essential elements are necessary to constitute a lottery: (1) The offering of a prize; (2) the awarding of a prize by chance; (3) the giving of consideration for the opportunity to win the prize; and all three of these elements must concur in order to constitute a lottery. The offering and the award of a prize by chance are not sufficient. There must be added, in order to make it a lottery, that the prize winner give a consideration for the opportunity to win the prize. 147 Miss. at 655-57, 112 So. at 579-80. Finally, the AG explains at length that the overwhelming majority of other states which have confronted this issue have [sic] held that bingo is a lottery prohibited under their respective state constitutions. AG's Brief at 27-33 (citing cases). [3] In sum, the AG suggests that this Court should look to the plain meaning of § 98 as construed in Williams Furniture Co. and hold that bingo is simply another form of lottery. The AG concludes that the legislature was without authority to exempt bingo from § 98's prohibition of lotteries and that this Court should, as a consequence, strike down as unconstitutional Miss. Code Ann. § 97-33-51 (Supp. 1990). See AG's Brief at 34-35.