Compiled January, 2013
Our review of the annotated history reveals the following legislative history (every “c.” below represents a separate legislative bill):
Prior History: Former § 1 (1st sent.), added 1860, c. 99; amended 1863, c. 446
Current:
Added: 1872 Penal Code codification
Amended:
• 1885, c. 145: added “tan, fantan, stud-horse poker, seven and one-half,” and “twenty-one” to the list of prohibited games, and also prohibited any banking “or percentage” game played with cards, dice, or “any device”, instead of “any other device”. At the end of the section the amendment added “and every person who plays or bets at or against any of said prohibited game or games, is guilty of a misdemeanor”.
• 1891, c. 62: added “hokey-pokey” to the list of prohibited games and rewrote the punishment provisions. The substance of the changes was the classification of the offense of operating, etc., a prohibited game as a misdemeanor as well as the playing or betting at such a game, the making of the same punishment applicable to both operator and player, the reduction of fines from a minimum of $200 and a maximum of $1,000 to $100 and $500, and the substitution of provisions for alternative punishment by imprisonment or punishment by both fine and imprisonment for the former provision “and shall be imprisoned in the county jail until such fine and costs of prosecution are paid, such imprisonment not to exceed one year”.
• 1983, c. 1092: increased the maximum fine from $500 to $1,000.
• 1991, c. 71: deleted “stud-horse poker” from the list of prohibited games and made nonsubstantive changes throughout the section.
Seven bills affected this section.
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