Request By:
Sgt. Deborah M. Mills
Richmond Police Department
Richmond, KY 40475
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Kenneth A. Meng, Assistant Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 209 St. Clair Street, (502) 564-2200
Your opinion that "Chance Boards" as described in your letter are illegal gambling devices is correct. For the benefit of other readers of this opinion, I will set out that description.
"The 'Chance Boards' are of two types; the first board is a 10 cent board in which the individual purchasing a 10 cent punch has the chance of winning from $1 to $20. The second board is a 25 cent board where the winner can win between $5 and $50."
The "Chance Boards" described in your letter are commonly referred to as "punch boards". KRS 528.010(4)(b) defines a gambling device as:
"Any other machine or any mechanical or other device (including but not limited to roulette wheels, gambling tables and similar devices) designed and manufactured primarily for use in connection with gambling and which when operated may deliver, as the result of the application of an element of chance, any money or property, or by the operation of which a person may become entitled to receive, as the result of the application an element of chance, any money or property." KRS 528.010(4)(b).
It appears the scheme is a "lottery" as defined in KRS 528.010(5). The three elements of a "lottery" are (1) prize, (2) an award thereof by chance, and (3) consideration. The "punch board" scheme described in your letter falls squarely within this definition.
Should you have any further questions about this or any other matter, please feel free to contact us.