LOTTERIES BETTING ACT - 1960 (ACT 31).
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(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part all lotteries are unlawful.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any lottery promoted by the Government of Malta as a Malta Interstate Lottery.
(3) Every person who in connection with any unlawful lottery promoted or proposed to be promoted either in Ghana or elsewhere-
(a) prints any tickets for use in the lottery; or
(b) sells or distributes, or offers or advertises for sale or distribution or has in his possession for the purpose of sale or distribution, any tickets in the lottery; or
(c) prints, publishes or distributes, or has in his possession for the purpose of publication or distribution-
(i) any advertisement of the lottery; or
(ii) any list (whether complete or not) of prize winners or winning tickets in the lottery; or
(iii) any such matter descriptive of the drawing or intended drawing of the lottery, or otherwise relating to the lottery, as is calculated to act as an inducement to persons to participate in that lottery or in other unlawful lotteries; or
(d) brings, or invites any person to send into Ghana for the purpose of sale or distribution any ticket in, or advertisement of, the lottery; or
(e) sends or attempts to send out of Ghana any money or valuable thing received in respect of the sale or distribution, or any document recording the sale or distribution, or the identity of the holder of any ticket in the lottery; or
(f) uses any premises, or causes or knowingly permits any premises to be used, for purposes connected with the promotion or conduct of the lottery; or
(g) causes, procures or attempts to procure any person to do any of the above-mentioned acts, is guilty of a misdemeanour.
(4) In any proceedings instituted under subsection (3) it shall be a defence to prove that the lottery to which the proceedings relate was in its inception such a lottery as is declared by this Act not to be an unlawful lottery and that at the date of the alleged offence the defendant believed, and had reasonable ground for believing, that none of the conditions required by those provisions to be observed in connection with the promotion and conduct of the lottery had been broken.
(5) Proceedings under subsection (3)(c)(iii) in respect of any matter published in a newspaper shall not be instituted except by, or by direction of, the Attorney-General.
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(1) There shall be an account to be known as the Lottery Account.
(2) There shall be paid into the Lottery Account the proceeds of the sale of tickets in any national lottery, less the amounts duly retained by sellers of the tickets.
(3) There shall be paid out of the Lottery Account the money for the prizes in the lotteries and payments duly made to those who are engaged to assist in the distribution of tickets to the sellers.
(4) After the conclusion of a lottery any balance in the Lottery Account shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
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If the amount standing to the credit of the Lottery Account at any time is less than the amount required to meet the money for prizes or other payments to be made out of the Account under section 3 of this Act, the balance shall be charged on, and paid by the Minister out of, the Consolidated Fund and paid into the Account.
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(1) The Minister shall for every national lottery keep an account of all receipts and outgoings in a form approved by the Auditor-General.
(2) Within three months from the end of any year in which any national lottery has been held the Auditor-General shall present to the National Assembly a copy of the Account for the lottery, audited by the Auditor-General, and a report concerning the lottery, and shall state in the report whether he is satisfied that all practicable steps have been taken for the prevention and detection of fraud in connection with the lottery.
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(1) Before the draw is made in any national lottery the Minister shall publish in the Gazette a notice in the form in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act with a certificate by the Auditor-General in that form.
(2) Not later than eight weeks after the draw is made the Minister shall publish in the Gazette a notice in the form in Part II of the First Schedule to this Act with a certificate by the Auditor-General in that form.[As amended by the Lotteries and Betting (Amendment) Act, 1962 (Act 143).]
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The Minister may by legislative instrument make regulations as respects national lotteries and in particular as respects-
(a) the number and value of the prizes to be distributed;
(b) the appointment of a Lotteries Board with such functions as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(c) the appointment of a Commission to verify the numbers of tickets the holders of which should participate in a lottery, to be present at the draw of tickets, and to carry out such other duties in connection with the draw as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(d) the appointment, duties and remuneration of agents and sellers for the sale of tickets;
(e) the form of any tickets or other documents to be used in the conduct of a lottery;
(f) the number of tickets to be issued;
(g) the method of collection and disposal of subscriptions;
(h) the issue of tickets in respect of subscriptions;
(i) the method of claiming prizes;
(j) the determination of any dispute as to the person entitled to any prize or money and providing that in the event of a dispute as to a prize remaining unsettled for a prescribed period the prize may be forfeited;
(k) the disposal of unclaimed prizes.
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(1) A lottery promoted as an incident of a bazaar, sale of work, fete or other entertainment of a similar character whether limited to one day or extending over two or more days shall not be an unlawful lottery, provided that the conditions specified in subsection (2) are observed in connection with the promotion and conduct of the lottery, but if any of these conditions is broken, the lottery shall thereupon become an unlawful lottery and every person concerned in the promotion or the conduct of the lottery shall be guilty of a misdemeanour unless he proves he had no grounds for knowing that the lottery had become unlawful.
(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are that-
(a) none of the prizes in the lottery shall be money prizes;
(b) the total value of the prizes shall not exceed fifty pounds;
(c) the whole proceeds of the entertainment (including the proceeds of the lottery) after deducting-
(i) the expenses of the entertainment excluding expenses, other than for prizes, incurred in connection with the lottery, and
(ii) the expenses incurred in printing tickets in the lottery,
shall be devoted to a social, charitable or sporting purpose and not in part or whole for private gain;
(d) the facilities offered for participating in lotteries shall not be the only, or the only substantial, inducement to persons to attend the entertainment; and
(e) the result of the lottery shall not be declared except on the premises on which the entertainment takes place and during the progress of the entertainment.
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(1) In this section, "private lottery" means a lottery in Ghana which is promoted for, and in which the sale of tickets by the promoters is confined to, either-
(a) members of one society established and conducted for purposes not connected with gaming, wagering or lotteries; or
(b) persons all of whom work on the same premises; or
(c) persons all of whom reside on the same premises;
and which is promoted by individuals each of whom is a person to whom under the foregoing provisions tickets may be sold by the promoters and, in the case of a lottery promoted for the members of a society, is an individual authorised in writing by the governing body of the society to promote the lottery.
In this section "society" includes a club, institution, organisation or other association of individuals by whatever name called, and each local or affiliated branch or section of a society shall be regarded as a separate and distinct society.
(2) A private lottery shall not be an unlawful lottery, provided that the following conditions are observed in connection with the promotion and conduct of the lottery-
(a) the whole proceeds, after deducting only expenses incurred for printing and stationery, shall be devoted to the provision of prizes for purchasers of tickets or, in the case of a lottery promoted for the members of a society, shall be devoted either to the provision of prizes as aforesaid or to purposes which are purposes of the society or, as to part, to the provision of prizes as aforesaid and, as to the remainder, to such purposes as aforesaid;
(b) there shall not be exhibited, published or distributed any written notice or advertisement of the lottery other than-
(i) a notice thereof exhibited on the premises of the society for whose members it is promoted, or, as the case may be, on the premises on which the persons for whom it is promoted work or reside; and
(ii) such announcement or advertisement thereof as is contained in the tickets, if any;
(c) the price of every ticket shall be the same, and the price of any ticket shall be stated on the ticket;
(d) every ticket shall bear upon the face of it the names and addresses of each of the promoters and a statement of the persons to whom the sale of tickets by the promoters is restricted, and a statement that no prize won in the lottery shall be paid or delivered by the promoters to any person other than the person to whom the winning ticket or chance was sold by them, and no prize shall be paid or delivered except in accordance with that statement;
(e) no ticket shall be issued or allotted by the promoters except by way of sale and upon receipt of the full price thereof which shall be stated on the ticket and no money or valuable thing so received by a promoter shall in any circumstances be returned:
Provided that money or any valuable thing received by promoters in respect of the sale of a ticket may be returned to the purchaser in any case where it was not received by the promoters on or before the advertised closing date or, where no closing date is advertised, before the selection of the winning ticket and where the ticket in respect of which the money or valuable consideration was received was not included among the tickets from which the winning ticket was selected.
(3) If any of the conditions specified in subsection (2) is broken, the lottery shall thereupon become an unlawful lottery and each of the promoters of the lottery, and where the person by whom the condition is broken is not one of the promoters, that person also, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour:
Provided that it shall be a defence for a person charged only by reason of his being a promoter of the lottery to prove that he had no grounds for knowing that the lottery had become unlawful.
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(1) In this section, "private lottery" means a lottery in Ghana which is promoted for, and in which the sale of tickets by the promoters is confined to, either-
(a) members of one society established and conducted for purposes not connected with gaming, wagering or lotteries; or
(b) persons all of whom work on the same premises; or
(c) persons all of whom reside on the same premises;
and which is promoted by individuals each of whom is a person to whom under the foregoing provisions tickets may be sold by the promoters and, in the case of a lottery promoted for the members of a society, is an individual authorised in writing by the governing body of the society to promote the lottery.
In this section "society" includes a club, institution, organisation or other association of individuals by whatever name called, and each local or affiliated branch or section of a society shall be regarded as a separate and distinct society.
(2) A private lottery shall not be an unlawful lottery, provided that the following conditions are observed in connection with the promotion and conduct of the lottery-
(a) the whole proceeds, after deducting only expenses incurred for printing and stationery, shall be devoted to the provision of prizes for purchasers of tickets or, in the case of a lottery promoted for the members of a society, shall be devoted either to the provision of prizes as aforesaid or to purposes which are purposes of the society or, as to part, to the provision of prizes as aforesaid and, as to the remainder, to such purposes as aforesaid;
(b) there shall not be exhibited, published or distributed any written notice or advertisement of the lottery other than-
(i) a notice thereof exhibited on the premises of the society for whose members it is promoted, or, as the case may be, on the premises on which the persons for whom it is promoted work or reside; and
(ii) such announcement or advertisement thereof as is contained in the tickets, if any;
(c) the price of every ticket shall be the same, and the price of any ticket shall be stated on the ticket;
(d) every ticket shall bear upon the face of it the names and addresses of each of the promoters and a statement of the persons to whom the sale of tickets by the promoters is restricted, and a statement that no prize won in the lottery shall be paid or delivered by the promoters to any person other than the person to whom the winning ticket or chance was sold by them, and no prize shall be paid or delivered except in accordance with that statement;
(e) no ticket shall be issued or allotted by the promoters except by way of sale and upon receipt of the full price thereof which shall be stated on the ticket and no money or valuable thing so received by a promoter shall in any circumstances be returned:
Provided that money or any valuable thing received by promoters in respect of the sale of a ticket may be returned to the purchaser in any case where it was not received by the promoters on or before the advertised closing date or, where no closing date is advertised, before the selection of the winning ticket and where the ticket in respect of which the money or valuable consideration was received was not included among the tickets from which the winning ticket was selected.
(3) If any of the conditions specified in subsection (2) is broken, the lottery shall thereupon become an unlawful lottery and each of the promoters of the lottery, and where the person by whom the condition is broken is not one of the promoters, that person also, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour:
Provided that it shall be a defence for a person charged only by reason of his being a promoter of the lottery to prove that he had no grounds for knowing that the lottery had become unlawful.
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(1) A lottery promoted by a society or association which in the opinion of the President, published by notice in the Gazette, has for its main object the care or protection of physically or mentally afflicted, needy or aged persons or orphans or destitute children shall not be an unlawful lottery, provided that the conditions specified in subsection (2) are observed in the promotion and conduct of the lottery, but if any of these conditions is broken the lottery shall thereupon become an unlawful lottery and every person concerned in the promotion or conduct of the lottery shall be guilty of a misdemeanour unless he proves that he had no grounds for knowing that the lottery had become an unlawful lottery.
(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are that-
(a) the tickets printed for use in the lottery shall bear consecutive numbers starting with the number one and the total number of such tickets shall not exceed the number which if all such tickets were sold would result in the receipt of more than twenty-five thousand pounds;
(b) the total prizes in the lottery or the value thereof shall not exceed six thousand pounds;
(c) the whole proceeds of the lottery after deducting the expenses of the lottery, which shall not exceed ten per centum of the whole of the moneys received from the sale of tickets, shall in so far as they are not devoted to the provision of prizes in respect of tickets be devoted to making provision for the care or protection of physically or mentally afflicted needy or aged persons or orphans or destitute children:
Provided that the expenses of the lottery which may be deducted under the provisions of this paragraph shall, in the case of a lottery in which free tickets are issued, be reduced from ten per centum by one-quarter of the percentage which the face value of the free tickets issued bears to the face value of the total of tickets issued or sold;
(d) the price of every ticket shall be the same, and the price of any ticket shall be stated on the ticket;
(e) no ticket shall be issued or allotted by the promoters except by way of sale and upon receipt of the full price thereof which shall be stated on the ticket and no money or valuable thing so received by a promoter shall in any circumstances be returned:
Provided that tickets may be issued free to a seller thereof, not being a person concerned in the promotion of the lottery, to a number not exceeding one for each nine tickets sold by him:
Provided further that money or any valuable thing received by promoters in respect of the sale of a ticket may be returned to the purchaser in any case where it was not received by the promoters on or before the advertised closing date or, where no closing date is advertised, before the selection of the winning ticket, and where the ticket in respect of which the money or valuable consideration was received was not included among the tickets from which the winning ticket was selected;
(f) every ticket shall bear upon the face of it the name and address of the society promoting it;
(g) within one month of the determination of the tickets in respect of which prizes are awarded in the lottery there shall be sent to the Commissioner of Police a statement containing the following particulars:-
(i) the total sum realised on the sale of tickets;
(ii) the cost of the prizes or the amount of the prizes, if money prizes;
(iii) the expenses of promoting the lottery with reference to the matters on which the expense was incurred; and
(iv) the purposes to which the balance of the sum realised on the sale of tickets after the deduction of the amounts set out in (ii) and (iii) hereof have been applied or allocated;
and such further information and documents relating to the lottery shall be provided by the society or association as the Commissioner of Police, or a police officer authorised by him in writing for the purposes of this section, shall require.
(3) A notice published in the Gazette under subsection (1) may be cancelled or varied by a notice similarly made and published.
(4) The provisions of this section shall cease to have effect upon such date as the President may appoint by notice published in the Gazette.
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(1) A lottery promoted by a society or association which in the opinion of the President, published by notice in the Gazette, has for its main object the care or protection of physically or mentally afflicted, needy or aged persons or orphans or destitute children shall not be an unlawful lottery, provided that the conditions specified in subsection (2) are observed in the promotion and conduct of the lottery, but if any of these conditions is broken the lottery shall thereupon become an unlawful lottery and every person concerned in the promotion or conduct of the lottery shall be guilty of a misdemeanour unless he proves that he had no grounds for knowing that the lottery had become an unlawful lottery.
(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are that-
(a) the tickets printed for use in the lottery shall bear consecutive numbers starting with the number one and the total number of such tickets shall not exceed the number which if all such tickets were sold would result in the receipt of more than twenty-five thousand pounds;
(b) the total prizes in the lottery or the value thereof shall not exceed six thousand pounds;
(c) the whole proceeds of the lottery after deducting the expenses of the lottery, which shall not exceed ten per centum of the whole of the moneys received from the sale of tickets, shall in so far as they are not devoted to the provision of prizes in respect of tickets be devoted to making provision for the care or protection of physically or mentally afflicted needy or aged persons or orphans or destitute children:
Provided that the expenses of the lottery which may be deducted under the provisions of this paragraph shall, in the case of a lottery in which free tickets are issued, be reduced from ten per centum by one-quarter of the percentage which the face value of the free tickets issued bears to the face value of the total of tickets issued or sold;
(d) the price of every ticket shall be the same, and the price of any ticket shall be stated on the ticket;
(e) no ticket shall be issued or allotted by the promoters except by way of sale and upon receipt of the full price thereof which shall be stated on the ticket and no money or valuable thing so received by a promoter shall in any circumstances be returned:
Provided that tickets may be issued free to a seller thereof, not being a person concerned in the promotion of the lottery, to a number not exceeding one for each nine tickets sold by him:
Provided further that money or any valuable thing received by promoters in respect of the sale of a ticket may be returned to the purchaser in any case where it was not received by the promoters on or before the advertised closing date or, where no closing date is advertised, before the selection of the winning ticket, and where the ticket in respect of which the money or valuable consideration was received was not included among the tickets from which the winning ticket was selected;
(f) every ticket shall bear upon the face of it the name and address of the society promoting it;
(g) within one month of the determination of the tickets in respect of which prizes are awarded in the lottery there shall be sent to the Commissioner of Police a statement containing the following particulars:-
(i) the total sum realised on the sale of tickets;
(ii) the cost of the prizes or the amount of the prizes, if money prizes;
(iii) the expenses of promoting the lottery with reference to the matters on which the expense was incurred; and
(iv) the purposes to which the balance of the sum realised on the sale of tickets after the deduction of the amounts set out in (ii) and (iii) hereof have been applied or allocated;
and such further information and documents relating to the lottery shall be provided by the society or association as the Commissioner of Police, or a police officer authorised by him in writing for the purposes of this section, shall require.
(3) A notice published in the Gazette under subsection (1) may be cancelled or varied by a notice similarly made and published.
(4) The provisions of this section shall cease to have effect upon such date as the President may appoint by notice published in the Gazette.
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A sweepstake, the prizes in respect of which are allocated on the result of any horse race, shall not be an unlawful lottery if the Commissioner of Police, on receipt of an application naming all the persons responsible for promoting and conducting it, authorizes it in writing to be promoted and conducted.
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For the purposes of sections 2, 9, 10 and 11 of this Act-
(a) "ticket" includes, in relation to any lottery or proposed lottery, any document evidencing the claim of a person to participate in the chances of a lottery;
(b) documents or other matters shall be deemed to be distributed if they are distributed to persons whether within or outside Ghana.
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Where a person is convicted of an offence under sections 2, 9, 10 or 11 of this Act the Court may order the forfeiture of any money collected by or on behalf of that person on the sale of tickets and of any instrument or thing used in the lottery in connection with which the offence was committed.
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(1) Subject to the provisions of this section gaming is unlawful if-
(a) by reason of the nature of the game, the chances of all the players, including the banker, are not equal; or
(b) any portion of the stakes is retained by the promoter or the banker otherwise than as winnings on the result of the play.
(2) Gaming shall not be unlawful if no stake is hazarded by the players with the promoter or banker other than a charge for the right to take part in the game, and if-
(a) only one such charge is made in respect of the day on which the game is played, and
(b) the charge is the same for all the players, and
(c) the promoter derives no personal profit from the promotion of the game.
(3) Any person who takes part in, or promotes or provides facilities for unlawful gaming is guilty of a misdemeanour.
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Every person playing or betting by way of wagering or gaming in any public place at or with any table or instrument of gaming, or any coin, card, token, or other article used as an instrument or means of such wagering or gaming at any game or pretended game of chance, is guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable to a fine in addition to, but not in lieu of, imprisonment.
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(1) Any house, room or place is called a betting house if it is used for any of the following purposes, that is to say-
(a) for the purpose of bets being made therein between persons resorting to the place and-
(i) the owner, occupier, or keeper of the place, or any person using the place; or
(ii) any person procured or employed by or acting for or on behalf of any such owner, occupier or keeper, or person using the place; or
(iii) any person having the care or management, or in any manner conducting the business of the place; or
(b) for the purpose of any money or other property being paid or received therein by or on behalf of any such owner, occupier, or keeper, or person using the place for any of the following purposes, that is to say-
(i) for an assurance, undertaking, promise, or agreement, express or implied, to pay or give thereafter any money or other property on any event or contingency of or relating to any horse race, or other race, fight, game, sport or exercise; or
(ii) for securing the paying or giving by some other person of any money or other property on any such event or contingency.
(2) Any person who, being the owner or occupier of any such house, room or place, knowingly and wilfully permits it to be opened, kept or used as a betting house by another person, or who has the use or management, or assists in conducting the business, of a betting house, is guilty of a misdemeanour.
(3) This section does not affect betting at a race course on the result of any horse race by means of a totalisator or a pari mutuel, and such betting is not unlawful.
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Every person who, by any fraud or cheat in promoting or operating or assisting in promoting or operating or in providing facilities for any game or in acting as banker for those who play or in playing at, or in wagering on the event of any game, sport, pastime or exercise, wins from any other person or causes or procures any person to win from another anything of which the offence of defrauding by false pretences can be committed shall be deemed guilty of that offence and punishable accordingly.
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(1) An agreement by way of gaming or wagering is void.
(2) For the purposes of this section an agreement to pay any sum of money or to deliver any valuable thing alleged to have been won on a wager or by gaming shall be deemed to be an agreement by way of wagering or gaming.
(3) For the purposes of this section an agreement whereby two or more persons deposit any sum of money or valuable thing with any person to abide any event on which a wager has been made, or the result of any game, shall be deemed to be an agreement by way of wagering or gaming:
Provided that nothing in this section shall disentitle any person to claim the return of any sum of money or valuable thing which he may have deposited with any such person as aforesaid, before that person has paid over the money or delivered the valuable thing in accordance with the instructions of the depositor.
(4) For the purposes of this section an agreement to subscribe or contribute for or towards any prize, whether in money or otherwise, to be awarded to the winner of any lawful game shall not be deemed to be an agreement by way of gaming or wagering.
(5) For the purposes of this section an agreement by any person to indemnify an agent for any liabilities incurred by the agent in respect of any agreement by way of gaming or wagering shall be deemed to be an agreement by way of gaming or wagering.
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Any security given by any person in respect of anything won by a lawful game, wager or lottery shall be deemed to have been given without consideration, and any security given by any person in respect of anything won by an unlawful game or lottery shall be deemed to have been given for an unlawful consideration.
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An agreement whereby a person lends money to another person and any security given in respect of such a loan shall not be void by reason only that the loan is used, or is required to be used, for gaming or wagering or participating in a lottery or for discharging any debts (whether valid or not) incurred through gaming or wagering or participating in a lottery:
Provided that nothing in this section shall affect any agreement whereby a person lends money for an unlawful purpose.
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The definitions of "betting" and "sweepstake" in section 2 of the Betting Tax Ordinance, 1955 (No. 5), are amended by deleting in each case the words "subsection (1) of section 3 of this Ordinance" and substituting-
(a) in the definition of "betting" the words "subsection (3) of section 19 of the Lotteries and Betting Act, 1960 (Act 31)"; and
(b) in the definition of "sweepstake" the words "section 12 of the Lotteries and Betting Act, 1960 (Act 31)".
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(1) Any regulations made, and any notice or authorization published or granted under any enactment repealed by this Act shall remain in force and shall be deemed to have been made, published or granted under the corresponding provision of this Act.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall render unlawful any form of game authorised by any other enactment.
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