State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
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Public Act 91-0257

SB4 Enrolled                                   LRB9100706RCks

    AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code  of  1961  by  changing
Sections 28-1 and 28-2.

    Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section 5.  The Criminal  Code  of  1961  is  amended  by
changing Sections 28-1 and 28-2 as follows:

    (720 ILCS 5/28-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 28-1)
    Sec. 28-1.  Gambling.
    (a)  A person commits gambling when he:
         (1)  Plays  a  game  of chance or skill for money or
    other thing of value, unless excepted in  subsection  (b)
    of this Section; or
         (2)  Makes  a  wager  upon  the  result of any game,
    contest, or  any  political  nomination,  appointment  or
    election; or
         (3)  Operates,   keeps,   owns,   uses,   purchases,
    exhibits,  rents,  sells,  bargains for the sale or lease
    of, manufactures or distributes any gambling device; or
         (4)  Contracts to have or give  himself  or  another
    the  option  to buy or sell, or contracts to buy or sell,
    at  a  future  time,  any  grain   or   other   commodity
    whatsoever,  or  any  stock  or  security of any company,
    where it is at the time of making such contract  intended
    by both parties thereto that the contract to buy or sell,
    or  the  option,  whenever  exercised,  or  the  contract
    resulting therefrom, shall be settled, not by the receipt
    or  delivery of such property, but by the payment only of
    differences in prices  thereof;  however,  the  issuance,
    purchase, sale, exercise, endorsement or guarantee, by or
    through  a  person registered with the Secretary of State
    pursuant to Section 8 of the Illinois Securities  Law  of
    1953,  or  by  or  through  a  person  exempt  from  such
    registration  under  said  Section  8, of a put, call, or
    other option to buy or sell securities  which  have  been
    registered  with  the  Secretary  of  State  or which are
    exempt from such registration  under  Section  3  of  the
    Illinois  Securities  Law  of 1953 is not gambling within
    the meaning of this paragraph (4); or
         (5)  Knowingly   owns   or   possesses   any   book,
    instrument or apparatus by means of which bets or  wagers
    have  been,  or are, recorded or registered, or knowingly
    possesses any money which he has received in  the  course
    of a bet or wager; or
         (6)  Sells  pools  upon  the  result  of any game or
    contest  of  skill  or  chance,   political   nomination,
    appointment or election; or
         (7)  Sets  up  or  promotes  any  lottery  or sells,
    offers to sell or transfers any ticket or share  for  any
    lottery; or
         (8)  Sets  up  or promotes any policy game or sells,
    offers to sell or knowingly possesses  or  transfers  any
    policy  ticket,  slip,  record, document or other similar
    device; or
         (9)  Knowingly  drafts,  prints  or  publishes   any
    lottery  ticket  or  share,  or  any policy ticket, slip,
    record, document  or  similar  device,  except  for  such
    activity  related  to  lotteries, bingo games and raffles
    authorized by and conducted in accordance with  the  laws
    of Illinois or any other state or foreign government; or
         (10)  Knowingly  advertises  any  lottery  or policy
    game, except for  such  activity  related  to  lotteries,
    bingo  games  and  raffles authorized by and conducted in
    accordance with the laws of Illinois or any other  state;
    or
         (11)  Knowingly  transmits information as to wagers,
    betting odds, or changes in betting  odds  by  telephone,
    telegraph,   radio,   semaphore   or  similar  means;  or
    knowingly  installs  or  maintains  equipment   for   the
    transmission  or receipt of such information; except that
    nothing in this subdivision (11)  prohibits  transmission
    or  receipt of such information for use in news reporting
    of sporting events or contests; or .
         (12) Knowingly establishes, maintains,  or  operates
    an  Internet site that permits a person to play a game of
    chance or skill for money or  other  thing  of  value  by
    means  of the Internet or to make a wager upon the result
    of any game, contest, political nomination,  appointment,
    or election by means of the Internet.
    (b)  Participants  in  any  of  the  following activities
shall not be convicted of gambling therefor:
         (1)  Agreements to compensate for loss caused by the
    happening  of   chance   including   without   limitation
    contracts  of indemnity or guaranty and life or health or
    accident insurance;
         (2)  Offers of prizes, award or compensation to  the
    actual  contestants  in  any  bona  fide  contest for the
    determination of skill, speed, strength or  endurance  or
    to  the  owners  of  animals  or vehicles entered in such
    contest;
         (3)  Pari-mutuel betting as authorized by the law of
    this State;
         (4)  Manufacture of gambling devices, including  the
    acquisition  of essential parts therefor and the assembly
    thereof, for  transportation  in  interstate  or  foreign
    commerce  to  any  place  outside  this  State  when such
    transportation  is  not  prohibited  by  any   applicable
    Federal law;
         (5)  The   game  commonly  known  as  "bingo",  when
    conducted in accordance with the Bingo  License  and  Tax
    Act;
         (6)  Lotteries   when  conducted  by  the  State  of
    Illinois in accordance with the Illinois Lottery Law;
         (7)  Possession of an antique slot machine  that  is
    neither  used nor intended to be used in the operation or
    promotion  of   any   unlawful   gambling   activity   or
    enterprise.  For the purpose of this subparagraph (b)(7),
    an  antique slot machine is one manufactured 25 years ago
    or earlier;
         (8)  Raffles when conducted in accordance  with  the
    Raffles Act;
         (9)  Charitable  games  when conducted in accordance
    with the Charitable Games Act;
         (10)  Pull tabs and jar games when  conducted  under
    the Illinois Pull Tabs and Jar Games Act; or
         (11)  Gambling  games  conducted  on riverboats when
    authorized by the Riverboat Gambling Act.
    (c)  Sentence.
    Gambling  under  subsection  (a)(1)  or  (a)(2)  of  this
Section is a Class A  misdemeanor.   Gambling  under  any  of
subsections (a)(3) through (a)(11) of this Section is a Class
A  misdemeanor.   A second or subsequent conviction under any
of subsections (a)(3) through (a)(11), is a Class  4  felony.
Gambling  under subsection (a)(12) of this Section is a Class
A misdemeanor.   A  second  or  subsequent  conviction  under
subsection (a)(12) is a Class 4 felony.
    (d)  Circumstantial evidence.
    In  prosecutions  under subsection (a)(1) through (a)(12)
(a)(11) of this Section circumstantial  evidence  shall  have
the same validity and weight as in any criminal prosecution.
(Source: P.A. 86-1029; 87-435.)

    (720 ILCS 5/28-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 28-2)
    Sec. 28-2.  Definitions.
    (a)  A "gambling device" is any clock, tape machine, slot
machine  or  other  machines  or  device for the reception of
money or other thing of value on chance or skill or upon  the
action  of  which  money  or  other thing of value is staked,
hazarded, bet, won or  lost;  or  any  mechanism,  furniture,
fixture, equipment or other device designed primarily for use
in a gambling place. A "gambling device" does not include:
         (1)  A  coin-in-the-slot  operated mechanical device
    played for amusement which rewards the  player  with  the
    right  to  replay such mechanical device, which device is
    so constructed or devised as to make such result  of  the
    operation  thereof  depend  in part upon the skill of the
    player and which returns to the player thereof no  money,
    property or right to receive money or property.
         (2)  Vending  machines  by  which  full and adequate
    return is made for the money invested and in which  there
    is no element of chance or hazard.
         (3)  A   crane  game.   For  the  purposes  of  this
    paragraph (3), a "crane  game"  is  an  amusement  device
    involving  skill,  if  it  rewards the player exclusively
    with merchandise contained within  the  amusement  device
    proper  and  limited  to toys, novelties and prizes other
    than currency, each having a wholesale value which is not
    more than 7 times the cost charged to play the  amusement
    device once or $5, whichever is less.
         (4)  A redemption machine.  For the purposes of this
    paragraph  (4), a "redemption machine" is a single-player
    or multi-player amusement device involving  a  game,  the
    object  of which is throwing, rolling, bowling, shooting,
    placing, or propelling a ball or other object into, upon,
    or against a hole or other target, provided that  all  of
    the following conditions are met:
              (A)  The  outcome  of the game is predominantly
         determined by the skill of the player.
              (B)  The award of the  prize  is  based  solely
         upon  the  player's achieving the object of the game
         or otherwise upon the player's score.
              (C)  Only merchandise prizes are awarded.
              (D)  The  average  wholesale  value  of  prizes
         awarded in lieu of tickets or tokens for single play
         of the device does not exceed the lesser of $5 or  7
         times  the  cost  charged  for  a single play of the
         device.
              (E)  The redemption value of  tickets,  tokens,
         and  other  representations  of  value, which may be
         accumulated by players to redeem prizes  of  greater
         value,  does  not  exceed  the  amount charged for a
         single play of the device.
    (a-5)  "Internet" means an interactive  computer  service
or  system  or  an  information  service,  system,  or access
software provider that provides or enables computer access by
multiple users to a computer server, and includes, but is not
limited  to,  an  information  service,  system,  or   access
software  provider  that  provides access to a network system
commonly known as the Internet, or any comparable  system  or
service  and  also  includes,  but is not limited to, a World
Wide Web page, newsgroup, message  board,  mailing  list,  or
chat  area  on  any interactive computer service or system or
other online service.
    (a-6)  "Access" and "computer" have the meanings ascribed
to them in Section 16D-2 of this Code.
    (b)  A "lottery" is any scheme or procedure  whereby  one
or  more  prizes  are distributed by chance among persons who
have paid or promised consideration for a chance to win  such
prizes, whether such scheme or procedure is called a lottery,
raffle, gift, sale or some other name.
    (c)  A "policy game" is any scheme or procedure whereby a
person  promises  or  guarantees  by  any  instrument,  bill,
certificate,   writing,   token  or  other  device  that  any
particular number, character, ticket or certificate shall  in
the  event  of  any  contingency  in  the nature of a lottery
entitle the purchaser or holder to receive money, property or
evidence of debt.
(Source: P.A. 87-855.)

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