Sections 3 and 4 prescribe the method of obtaining such license.
Section 5 inflicts a penalty of £10 or two months on any person taking part in such unlicensed horse-race.
Section 6 inflicts a penalty of from £5 to £25 on owner or occupier of ground where no such race takes place.
Section 7 makes any horse-race contrary to the Act a common nuisance.
Cock-fighting seems to have been illegal at Common Law. In “Bacon’s Abridgment” it is stated that an information would lie at Common Law for using the game of cock-fighting. In Squiers v. Waiskin, Lord Ellenborough described it “a barbarous diversion not to be encouraged in a Court of Justice. I believe that cruelty to these animals in throwing at them forms part of the dehortatory charge of judges to grand juries.” It was forbidden in the metropolis by 2 & 3 Vict., c. 47, section 47, under a penalty of £5, and by 12 & 13 Vict., c. 92, the same penalty is inflicted for keeping or using any “place” for the purpose of fighting or baiting any bull, bear, badger, dog, cock, or other animal. But these Acts[[224]] only apply to a place kept for the purpose. A case was lately noticed in the newspapers of a cock-fight having taken place on board a ship out at sea, and the question was suggested whether this could be a “place” within the Act. It should be remembered that the Statute 4 George IV., c. 60, defines the word “place” in previous statutes as including places “on land or water.”
Billiards is a perfectly lawful game,[[225]] except that the keeping of public tables is subject to restrictions. By 8 & 9 Vict., c. 109, sections 11 and 13, it is necessary for the keeper of any public house, or any person setting up a public table, to take out a license for the same. It is made penal to allow playing on such table between the hours of 1 a.m. and 8 p.m., or in the case of a licensed victualler’s, at any time when his premises may not be open for the sale of intoxicating liquors. However, a subsequent statute, 37 & 38 Vic., c. 49, section 10, empowered licensed victuallers to sell liquor at any time to persons residing on their premises, but it has been held that that does not authorise the playing of billiards except at the times mentioned in the previous statute; it was, the Court said, a casus omissus in the statute.[[226]] So, of course, games played on public tables at other than the authorised hours are not within section 18 of 8 and 9 Vict., c. 109. This will be more fully discussed in the chapter on gaming houses.
Lotteries are illegal, as will be explained in a future part of this work.
By 12 George II., c. 28, section 2, ace of hearts, pharaoh, bassett and hazard,[[227]] are declared to be illegal games, to which list 13 George II., c. 19, section 19, has added the games of passage and any game with one or more dice or instrument in the nature of dice with one or more figures or numbers thereon, except backgammon.
18 George II., c. 34, provides that no person shall keep any house or place for playing roulet or roly-poly or any game with cards or dice prohibited by law.
33 Henry VIII., c. 9.