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This Act may be cited as the Lotteries Act 1997.
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation.
The object of this Act is to ensure that, on balance, the State and the community as a whole benefit from lotteries.
The balance is achieved by allowing lotteries subject to a system of regulation and control designed to protect players and the community through—
ensuring the integrity and fairness of games; and
ensuring the probity of those involved in the conduct of lotteries; and
minimising the potential for harm from lotteries.
This Act establishes a licensing scheme under which a lottery may be conducted only if—
a person holds a lottery licence for the lottery; and
another person holds a lottery operator’s licence for the lottery; and
the lottery is conducted under a lottery operation agreement between the 2 persons.
The dictionary in schedule 3 defines particular words used in this Act.
A gaming scheme is a game, scheme or arrangement in which the winners of prizes are decided—
wholly or partly by chance; or
by a competition or other activity of which the outcome is dependent on fate or guessing.
A lottery is a gaming scheme classified under a rule as a lottery.
A person must not conduct a lottery unless the person is authorised to do so under a primary licence.
Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.
A person must not conduct a gaming scheme that is not a lottery if—
the gaming scheme may reasonably be confused with a lottery; or
because of the scheme’s similarity to a lottery, it may reasonably be taken to be in direct competition with a lottery.
Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.
Subsection (2) does not apply if the gaming scheme is conducted under a gaming Act.
A person must not participate in a lottery, or a gaming scheme mentioned in subsection (2), knowing the person who is conducting the lottery or scheme is not authorised under this Act or a gaming Act to conduct the lottery or scheme.
Maximum penalty—40 penalty units.
A person must not conduct a gaming scheme (other than an approved lottery) under a name that—
is a name by which an approved lottery is conducted; or
is likely to be confused with the name by which an approved lottery is conducted; or
includes a word—
contained in the name by which an approved lottery is conducted; and
prescribed under a regulation.
Maximum penalty for subsection (5)—40 penalty units.
Unless authorised by an approved arrangement or under a gaming Act, a person must not—
sell or offer for sale, or cause to be sold or offered for sale, a ticket in a gaming scheme conducted by a foreign agency; or
accept or cause to be accepted, an amount for purchase of a ticket, or submission of an entry form, for a gaming scheme conducted by a foreign agency.
Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.
Unless authorised by an approved arrangement or under a gaming Act, a person must not publish or cause to be published an advertisement or notice that promotes, is calculated to promote, or is likely to be taken as promoting, a gaming scheme conducted by a foreign agency.
Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.
In this section—
approved arrangement means an arrangement, approved by the chief executive in writing, under which a primary licensee, by agreement with a foreign agency that is conducting or proposes to conduct a gaming scheme, is to assume responsibility for the conduct of the gaming scheme in Queensland under this Act.
A primary licensee must not conduct an approved lottery in another State or foreign country unless the arrangement about the conduct of the lottery in the other State or foreign country is approved by the chief executive.
The chief executive may charge the primary licensee a fee for—
giving the approval; and
doing what is necessary under this Act to facilitate and regulate the licensee’s conduct of the approved lottery in the other State or foreign country.
The Minister may enter into an agreement with the relevant Minister of the other State or foreign country about any of the following—
the taxation of lotteries and the sharing of tax revenue derived from lotteries;
collaboration between lottery officials and officers of the other State or foreign country engaged in the administration of the corresponding law of the other State or foreign country;
mutual recognition of licences and administrative acts between the State, and the other State or foreign country.
In this section—
corresponding law, of the other State or foreign country, means the law of the other State or foreign country that provides for the same matter as this Act or a provision of this Act.
relevant Minister, of the other State or foreign country, means the Minister, or equivalent office holder, of the other State or foreign country, with portfolio responsibility for lotteries regulation or the taxation of lotteries.
Despite any other law, the following activities are lawful—
the conduct, in accordance with this Act, of a lottery stated in a lottery licence and lottery operator’s licence, by the lottery licensee and lottery operator;
activities of a lottery agent in accordance with this Act and the relevant agency agreement;
participation (including the purchase of a lottery ticket) in a lottery conducted under this Act;
the use of approved lottery equipment by lottery operators and lottery agents;
the doing of anything else required or authorised to be done under this Act.
The same person may not hold both a lottery licence and a lottery operator’s licence.
Subsection (1) does not prevent a body corporate from holding 1 type of primary licence only because a related body corporate holds the other type of primary licence.
In this section—
related body corporate see the Corporations Act, section 9.