Common Gaming Houses (Exemption) Notification

Common Gaming Houses Act

(Chapter 49, Section 24)

N 4

G.N. No. S 428/1996

REVISED EDITION 1997

(15th June 1997)

[30th September 1996]

Citation

1. This Notification may be cited as the Common Gaming Houses (Exemption) Notification.

Definition

2. In this Notification, “lottery” includes any game, method, device, scheme or competition whereby money or money’s worth is distributed or allotted in any manner depending upon or to be determined by chance or lot or mixed chance and skill but does not include any game determined purely by skill, whether the game is held, drawn, exercised or managed within or outside Singapore.

Public lotteries conducted by business organisations

3. Any public lottery conducted by a business organisation for the purposes of promoting the sale of any product or service shall be exempted from the provisions of the Act if the following conditions and the additional conditions set out in paragraph 5 are complied with:

(a)	the methodology of the promotion, the details of the prizes to be distributed, their manner of distribution, and if the winners are determined solely or partly by a draw, the time, date and place of the draw, shall be disclosed in printed publicity material, copies of which shall be freely available to all participants and 2 copies of which shall be sent to the Head, Gambling Suppression Branch, Criminal Investigation Department, by AR registered post at least 4 weeks prior to the launch of the promotion;
(b)	where the total value of prizes exceeds $10,000, such information shall also be published in a newspaper; and
(c)	the participants shall not be required to pay any money apart from payment for the product or service purchased and any increase in the cost of the product or service marketed shall not be attributable to the cost of conducting the lottery.

Conditional exemption for certain organisations

4. Any lottery promoted by an organisation which is a full member or an associate member of the National Council of Social Service or is conferred the status of an institution of public character under the Income Tax Act (Cap. 134) shall be exempted from the provisions of the Act if the following conditions and the additional conditions set out in paragraph 5 are complied with:

(a)	the price of the lottery ticket, the name and address of the organisation responsible for conducting the lucky draw, and the details of the prizes shall be clearly stated on the tickets;
(b)	no lottery ticket shall be issued except by way of sale and upon receipt of its price in full;
(c)	the name and address of the purchaser of every ticket shall be recorded in the counterfoil to the ticket;
(d)	the whole proceeds of the lottery, after deducting sums reasonably appropriated for expenses in the conduct of the lottery which shall not exceed 30% of the proceeds, shall be applied for the purpose of the organisation; and
(e)	the organisation responsible for conducting the lucky draw shall not promote more than one lottery a year.

Additional conditions

5.—(1) For the purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4, the additional conditions are —

(a)	the lottery shall be conducted by the organisation and its officers;
(b)	subject to sub-paragraph (c), the draw shall be conducted in public;
(c)	any draw by means of a computerised system which is not conducted in public shall be witnessed and audited by a public accountant who is not in the employment of the organisation;
(d)	all winners shall be notified in writing by ordinary post;
(e)	where the total value of prizes exceeds $10,000, the results of the lottery shall be published in a newspaper within 7 days following the determination of all the winners;
(f)	where lucky draws are conducted through the telecommunication system, participants shall not be required to pay more than 20 cents per call;
(g)	the lottery does not involve the use of any game, method, device, scheme or competition declared by the Minister under section 2(3) of the Act;
(h)	the lottery does not involve the use of any instrument or appliance for gaming declared by the Minister under section 2(4) of the Act;
(i)	all prizes which are not won or remain unclaimed after 2 months of the announcement of the winners or their equivalent value shall, unless the Minister directs otherwise, be donated to the Community Chest or to such other charity as may be approved by the Minister; and
(j)	an audited statement of accounts shall, together with the results of the lottery, be sent by AR registered post to the Head, Gambling Suppression Branch, Criminal Investigation Department, within 3 months of the termination of the lottery.

[S 409/2006 wef 01/07/2006]

(2) Sub-paragraph (1)(d) and (e) shall not apply to any lottery where the prizes are distributed directly to the participants at the point-of-purchase and in which an audited statement containing the total quantity, types and values of the prizes given shall be sent by the organisation conducting the lottery by AR registered post to the Head, Gambling Suppression Branch, Criminal Investigation Department, within 3 months of the termination of the lottery.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(f), “telecommunication system” has the same meaning as in the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 323).

Conditional exemption for lotteries promoted as incidental to other entertainment

6. Any public lottery promoted as an incident of any fair, dance, dinner, sporting or athletic event or other entertainment of a similar character shall be exempted from the provisions of the Act if the following conditions are complied with:

(a)	the lottery is incidental to admission to the entertainment and participation in the lottery is limited to those attending;
(b)	participation in the lottery shall not be the sole or substantial inducement to persons to attend the entertainment and there shall be no payment for participating in the lottery additional to the payment for attendance at the entertainment;
(c)	where the entertainment extends over a period of more than 7 hours, the prizes shall be stated in the lottery tickets;
(d)	the lottery does not involve the use of any game, method, device, scheme or competition declared by the Minister under section 2(3) of the Act;
(e)	the lottery does not involve the use of any instrument or appliance for gaming declared by the Minister under section 2(4) of the Act; and
(f)	where the entertainment extends over a period of not more than 7 hours, the results of the lottery shall be declared on the premises and where the entertainment extends over a period of more than 7 hours, the results shall be published in a newspaper within 7 days following the termination of the entertainment.

Publication in newspaper

7. Where any information is required to be published in a newspaper under this Notification, the requirement shall be fulfilled by publication in one major daily newspaper published in Singapore.

[G.N. No. S 428/96]

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