Lotteries Act 1975

12Offences

(1)If any requirement of this Act or of any regulations made under this Act in respect of a society's lottery or a local lottery is contravened, the promoter of that lottery and any other person who is party to the contravention shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)It shall be a defence for a person charged with any offence only by reason of his being the promoter to prove that the contravention occurred without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent it.

(3)It shall be a defence for any person charged with an offence in respect of an appropriation made in contravention of section 9(11) or (12) above to prove—

(a)that the proceeds of the lottery fell short of the sum reasonably estimated; and

(b)that the appropriation was made in order to fulfil an unconditional undertaking as to prizes given in connection with the sale of the relevant tickets or chances, or in respect of expenses actually incurred ; and

(c)that the total amounts appropriated in respect of prizes or expenses did not exceed the amounts which could lawfully be appropriated out of the proceeds of the lottery under those subsections if the said proceeds had amounted to the sum reasonably estimated.

(4)It shall be a defence for any person charged with an offence in respect of a contravention of section 8 above or of section 9(6) or (8) above to prove that the date of a lottery was later than he had expected for reasons which he could not foresee.

(5)A person guilty of an offence under this Act or regulations made under it shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £400 ; or

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both.

(6)Where an offence under this Act or regulations made under it committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(7)In this section " contravention ", in relation to any requirement, includes a failure to comply with that requirement, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.