Public Gambling Act, 1867

The Public Gambling Act, 1867 is a colonial-era criminal law that makes it an offence to run or be present in a "common gaming-house" - any house, room, or enclosed place kept for profit where people play cards, dice, or other games of chance. Section 1 defines a common gaming-house, and Section 3 penalises anyone who owns, occupies, manages, or finances such a place, while Section 4 penalises anyone simply found gambling or present for that purpose inside one.

The Act gives police strong search-and-entry powers: under Section 5, a district magistrate or senior police officer who has credible information that a house is being used for gambling can enter (by force if needed, day or night), arrest everyone found there, and seize gaming instruments, money, and valuables. Section 6 says that finding cards, dice, or gaming tables in a raided house is itself evidence that it is a common gaming-house, even if no actual play was witnessed. Section 7 penalises giving a false name or address to police or a magistrate after being arrested in a raid.

Other sections deal with procedure: Section 8 lets a convicting magistrate order gaming instruments to be destroyed; Section 9 says it need not be proved that anyone was playing for money to secure a conviction; Section 10 lets a magistrate compel arrested persons to give evidence, with Section 11 granting a form of witness immunity to those who make a full and honest disclosure. Section 12 exempts games of "mere skill" from the Act entirely, and Section 13 separately criminalises street gambling and setting animals or birds to fight in public. Section 15 doubles the penalty for a repeat offence, and Section 16 lets a magistrate award part of any fine to an informer.

The extract shows specific penalty amounts: Section 3 sets a fine of up to two hundred rupees or up to three months' imprisonment for keeping a gaming house; Section 4 sets a fine of up to one hundred rupees or up to one month's imprisonment for being found gambling; Section 7 allows a penalty of up to five hundred rupees for giving a false name; and Section 13 sets a fine of up to fifty rupees or one month's imprisonment for street gambling. Section 15 caps repeat-offence penalties at six hundred rupees or one year's imprisonment.

This is a very old law (1867) with a long history of provincial amendments, repeals, and geographic carve-outs noted in its footnotes - it has already been repealed in the Islamabad Capital Territory and in Punjab province, and heavily amended elsewhere. Given its age and the footnoted history of amendment and repeal, its current territorial application and the rupee figures quoted above should be checked against the current official text before being relied upon.