478 



GAMING HOUSES. 



Owner or 

 occupier may 

 be fined 500/. 

 or impri- 

 soned. 



' ' Unlawful 

 gaining." 



upon summary conyiction, be fined 50/., or imprisoned for 

 one montli (x). 



The owner or occupier, or any person "having the use 

 of any house, room, or place, who shall open, keep, or use 

 the same for the purpose of unlawful gaming being carried 

 on therein, and any person, who being the owner or occu- 

 pier of any house or room, shall knowingly and wilfuUy 

 permit the same to be opened, kept, or used by any other 

 person for the purpose aforesaid, any person having the 

 care or management of or in any manner assisting in 

 conducting the business of any house, room, or place opened, 

 kept, or used for the purpose aforesaid, and any person 

 who shall advance or furnish money for the purpose 

 of gaming with persons frequenting such house, room, or 

 place," may be summarily convicted before two justices of 

 the peace, and be adjudged to pay any sum not exceeding 

 500/. and costs, or may be imprisoned, with or without 

 hard labour, for twelve calendar months (j/). 



Gaming may be unlawful by reason of the place in 

 which it is carried on, or by reason of the unlawfulness of 

 the game itself All gaming in a gaming house, even at 

 lawful games, is unlawful (5) . As to lawful and unlawful 

 games, see ante, pp. 425, 426. 



According to Hawkins, J., excessive gaming, per se, is 

 no longer unlawful, as it was not an offence at common 

 law, and there now exists no statute against it. But the 

 fact that it is habitually carried on in a house kept for the 

 purpose of gaming is cogent evidence for a jury or other 

 tribunal called upon to determine whether the house in 

 which it is carried on is a gaming house, so as to make 

 the keeper of it liable to be indicted for a nuisance at 

 common law (a). But, according to A. L. Smith, J., every 

 game may be rendered unlawful by playing at it for ex- 

 cessive stakes (6). 



In Jeiiks V. Turpin (c) the proprietor of a club, who 

 was also the occupier of the club-house, which was ob- 

 viously kept and used for the purpose of gaming at the 

 game of baccarat, was held to have been rightly convicted 

 of keeping and using the club-house for the purpose of 

 unlawful gaming, and four members of the committee were 



(x) Ibid. b. 3. 



(!/) 17 & 18 Vict. c. 38, s. 4, 

 Appendix. 



(z) Jenks v. Turpin, 13 Q. B. D. 

 605. 



[a) Jenlcs T. Turpin, 13 Q. B. D. 

 at p. 524. 



[b) 13 Q. B. D. 532. 



[c) Ubi supra. 



