Statute Law Repeals - Law Commission - Ministry of Justice

PART 7
LOTTERIES
INTRODUCTION
7.1 Discussed in this Part are two types of lottery statute: the old (from 1711 to
1807), which authorised the holding of private lotteries, often to facilitate the
realisation of art collections or items of value; and the more modern, in the form
of 1971 legislation, designed to control pool competitions as a form of betting.
Statutes in each category have since lost their usefulness. The individuals and
organisations consulted about these proposals are set out in Appendix 3.
PRIVATE LOTTERIES
7.2 Private lotteries were prohibited by statute in 1698. 1 They were only permitted
where authorised by specific Act of Parliament. Between 1711 and 1807 six Acts
were passed which enabled a variety of private lotteries to be held in London with
a view to raising funds for the relevant lottery promoters. In each instance the
main purpose behind the lottery was to sell sufficient tickets at a price which,
cumulatively, would cover the value of the principal prize or prizes - in other
words, the asset - on offer. The lottery mechanism was an alternative to trying to
effect outright sale of the asset which, given the prevailing economic
circumstances, would prove (or had proved) impractical. Sale by this method was
authorised either because some wider public benefit was likely to flow or because
the asset owner had already contributed to the national interest by promoting the
fine arts and their artists.
The Million Lottery
7.3 In 1693 an Act was passed 2 which (amongst other things) authorised the
establishment of the so-called Million Lottery scheme, involving the sale of up to
100,000 tickets to “natives or foreigners”. This state-sponsored scheme was
designed to raise the sum of £1 million “towards carrying on the war against
France”. 3 Under it some 2,500 tickets each year would become eligible for prizes
of between £10 and £1,000. The lottery draws appear to have spanned some 130
years, and provided a form of long-term loan to government. Lottery tickets of this
nature were a secure investment, providing a chance to win a prize sum, with
guaranteed recovery of the invested capital (much on the lines of today’s NS&I
premium bonds).
1 10 Will. 3 c.23 (1698) (Act for suppression of lotteries), repealed in 1934 in England and
Wales, and in 1957 for Northern Ireland. The 1698 Act was followed by other statutes
designed to prohibit private lotteries and to regulate state-promoted lotteries: 9 Ann. c.6
(1710), 8 Geo.1 c.2 (1721) and 13 Geo.2 c.19 (1739), all now repealed.
2 5 Will. & Mar. c.7 (1693), which was principally a taxation statute. Sections 34 to 49 dealt
with the lottery arrangements. The Act was fully repealed by 1957.
3 State lotteries were designed to raise revenue for government, to underwrite state loans, to
fund public projects and to reduce the national debt. See generally on state lotteries in the
18 th century, D. Miers Regulating Commercial Gambling: Past, Present, and Future (OUP,
2004), chap 5.2.
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