Legislation

Betting and Loans (Infants) Act 1892

This Act made it illegal to incite children to bet or borrow money.

The printed version of this Act does not have a preliminary page setting out the contents, so I have created it here. The page number in this section (i) is therefore arbitrary.

The text of the Betting and Loans (Infants) Act 1892 was prepared by Derek Gillard and uploaded on 27 October 2019.


Betting and Loans (Infants) Act 1892

© Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.


[page i]

Betting and Loans (Infants) Act 1892

CHAPTER 4


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS


1 Persons sending documents to an infant inciting to betting guilty of a misdemeanor
2 Persons sending infants circulars inviting to borrow money guilty of a misdemeanor
3 Knowledge of infancy presumed in certain cases
4 Soliciting infant to make affidavit in connexion with loan
5 Avoiding contract for payment of loan advanced during infancy
6 Person charged a competent witness
7 Application to Scotland
8 Short title




[page 1]

VICTORIA

Betting and Loans (Infants) Act 1892

1892 CHAPTER 4

An Act to render Penal the inciting Infants to Betting or Wagering or to borrowing Money. [29th March 1892.]

BE it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Persons sending documents to an infant inciting to betting guilty of a misdemeanor

(1) If anyone, for the purpose of earning commission, reward, or other profit, sends or causes to be sent to a person whom he knows to be an infant any circular, notice, advertisement, letter, telegram, or other document which invites or may reasonably be implied to invite the person receiving it to make any bet or wager, or to enter into or take any share or interest in any betting or wagering transaction, or to apply to any person or at any place, with a view to obtaining information or advice for the purpose of any bet or wager, or for information as to any race, fight, game, sport, or other contingency upon which betting or wagering is generally carried on, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable, if convicted on indictment, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both imprisonment and fine, and if convicted on summary conviction, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one month, or to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, or to both imprisonment and fine.

(2) If any such circular, notice, advertisement, letter, telegram, or other document as in this section mentioned, names or refers to anyone as a person to whom any payment may be made, or from whom information may be obtained, for the purpose of or in relation to betting or wagering, the person so named or referred to shall he deemed to have sent or caused to be sent such document as aforesaid, unless he proves that he had not consented to be so named, and that he was not in any way a party to, and was wholly ignorant of, the sending of such document.

2 Persons sending infants circulars inviting to borrow money guilty of a misdemeanor

(1) If anyone, for the purpose of earning interest, commission, reward, or other profit, sends or causes to be sent to a person whom he knows to be an infant any circular, notice, advertisement, letter, telegram, or other document which invites or may reasonably be implied to invite the person receiving it to borrow money,


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or to enter into any transaction involving the borrowing of money, or to apply to any person or at any place with a view to obtaining information or advice as to borrowing money, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable, if convicted on indictment, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both imprisonment and fine, and if convicted on summary conviction, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one month, or to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, or to both imprisonment and fine.

(2) If any such document as above in this section mentioned sent to an infant purports to issue from any address named therein, or indicates any address as the place at which application is to be made with reference to the subject-matter of the document, and at that place there is carried on any business connected with loans, whether making or procuring loans or otherwise, every person who attends at such place for the purpose of taking part in or who takes part in or assists in the carrying on of such business shall be deemed to have sent or caused to be sent such document as aforesaid, unless he proves that he was not in any way a party to and was wholly ignorant of the sending of such document.

3 Knowledge of infancy presumed in certain cases

If any such circular, notice, advertisement, letter, telegram, or other document as in the preceding sections or either of them mentioned is sent to any person at any university, college, school, or other place of education, and such person is an infant, the person sending or causing the same to be sent shall be deemed to have known that such person was an infant, unless he proves that he had reasonable ground for believing such person to be of full age.

4 Soliciting infant to make affidavit in connexion with loan

If anyone, except under the authority of any court, solicits an infant to make an affidavit or statutory declaration for the purpose of or in connexion with any loan, he shall be liable, if convicted on summary conviction, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one month, or to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, or to both imprisonment and fine, and if convicted on indictment, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

5 Avoiding contract for payment of loan advanced during infancy

If any infant, who has contracted a loan which is void in law, agrees after he comes of age to pay any money which in whole or in part represents or is agreed to be paid in respect of any such loan, and is not a new advance, such agreement, and any instrument, negotiable or other, given in pursuance of or for carrying into effect such agreement, or otherwise in relation to the payment of money representing or in respect of such loan, shall, so far as it relates to money which represents or is payable in respect of such loan, and is not a new advance, be void absolutely as against all persons whomsoever.

For the purposes of this section any interest, commission, or other payment in respect of such loan shall be deemed to be a part of such loan.


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6 Person charged a competent witness

In any proceeding against any person for an offence under this Act such person and his wife or husband, as the case may be, may, if such person thinks fit, be called, sworn, examined, and cross-examined as an ordinary witness in the case.

7 Application to Scotland

In the application of this Act to Scotland:

The word "infant" means and includes any minor or pupil:

The word "indictment" has the same meaning as in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1887:

The expression "summary conviction" means a conviction under the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Acts.

8 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Betting and Loans (Infants) Act 1892.