Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1967 )

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January 12, 1967
Honorable Henry Wade Opinion No. hi-6
District Attorney
Dallas, Texas Re: Whether under the stated
facta, a contest known as
"Let'8 Go To The Races"
Dear Sir: constitutesa lottery?
You have requested an opinion of thle office a8 to
whether a conteat known as "Let'8 Go To The Racea", con-
. ducted under the following clrcumetanceaconstitutesa
lottery:
"An Individual presents hlmeelf at a
certain business address and receives a card
such as that enclosed and marked 'ExhibitA.’
As stated on.the card, no purchase 1s neceesary
to obtain such a,card. The individual then In
accordance with the rules compares the numbere
on hle card with numbers flashed upon a TV
Bcreen or numbers poeted at the business address
to ascertain the winner of amounts ranging from
$5.00 to $1,000.00."
We are In agreement with you that a contest conducted in
accordancewith the aboye fact8 would not constitute a lottery
within the meaning of Article 654, Vernon's Penal Code.
In State v. Socony Mobil 011 Company, Inc., 386 S.W.2d
169~(Tex. CI A lyb4 f ) the Court held
that a Lotte;; l~Po,,o,;de~T":hf~e'e:;~;~is~
"(1) A prize or prizes; (2) the award or
dletrlb.utlonof the prize or prizes by chance;
(3) the payment either directly or indirectly
by the partlclpants of the considerationfor the
right or privilege of participating:"
In mice V- State Of Texas, 156 Tex. Crim. 372, 242 S.W.2d
433, (1%1), the public was permitted to reglater for prizes
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Honorable Henry Wade, page 2 (M-6)
to be glven away on a certain day; no charge was made for the
privilege of registering; anyone could register; he was not
required to be a customer; and no consideration was charged
to be present at the drawing for the prize winners. The Court
held that this was not a lottery In that the participants in
the prize drawing did not pay, directly or lndlrectly, any
consideration for participating in the drawing, a necessary
element of a lottery. The Court of Civil Appeals In State of
Texas v. Socony Mobil 011 Cornpane supra, cited the Brlce
case with approval in holding thai the payment of a considera-
tion, either directly or Indirectly, for the privilege of
participating lnth2 contest Is an Indispensable element to
constitute such a contest a lottery.
SUMMARY
The contest known as "Let's Go To The
Races" conducted In accordance
. with the. facts
_.. .
stated, does not constrture a lortery m vio-
latlon OS Article 654, V.P.C., In that no con-
sideration was paid, directly or indirectly,
by the partlclpants for the privilege of partl-
cipating in the contest.
RWN:lk
Prepared by Robert W. Norris
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman
W. V. Geppert, Co-Chairman
,,.._Tom Keever
Thomas Mack
Wade Anderson
R. L. Lattlmore
Staff Legal Assistant
A. J. Carubbl, Jr.
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