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Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 16. CRIMES AND OFFENSES · Chapter 12. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH AND MORALS · Article 2. GAMBLING AND RELATED OFFENSES · Part 1. GAMBLING

16-12-24. Possession, manufacture, or transfer of gambling device or parts; possession of antique slot machines.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  1. (a)

    A person who knowingly owns, manufactures, transfers commercially, or possesses any device which he knows is designed for gambling purposes or anything which he knows is designed as a subassembly or essential part of such device is guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.#

  2. (b)
    1. (1)

      As used in this subsection, the term:#

      1. (A)

        “Antique slot machine” means a coin operated, nonelectronic mechanical gambling device that pays off according to the matching of symbols on wheels spun by a handle and was manufactured in its entirety, except for identical replacement parts, prior to January 1, 1950.#

      2. (B)

        “Conviction” includes a plea of nolo contendere to a felony.#

    2. (2)

      It shall be a defense to any action or prosecution under this Code section for possession of a gambling device that the device is an antique slot machine and that said device was not being used for gambling; provided, however, the defense shall not be available to any person who has been convicted of a felony in this or any other state or under federal law and provided, further, that this defense shall not be available if the antique slot machine is on the premises of a private or public club or in an establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold.#

    3. (3)

      Any antique slot machine seized as a result of a violation of this Code section shall be contraband and subject to seizure and destruction as provided in Code Section 16-12-32. An antique slot machine seized for a violation of this Code section shall not be destroyed, altered, or sold until the owner has been afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence that the device was not operated for unlawful gambling or in violation of this Code section. If the court determines that the device is an antique slot machine and was not operated or possessed in violation of this or any other Code section, such device shall be returned to its owner.#

Reading note: a word broken across two lines in the printed volume was joined by rule and could not be checked against the volume's own vocabulary. The official page linked below settles any doubt.

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Code 1933, § 26-2707, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 857, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1970, p. 236, § 9; Ga. L. 1985, p. 888, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 2-12/HB 233.

Editor's notes

Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 4-1/HB 233, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2015, and shall apply to seizures of property for forfeiture that occur on or after that date. Any such seizure that occurs before July 1, 2015, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such seizure.”

Law reviews

For note discussing organized crime in Georgia with respect to the application of state gambling laws, and suggesting proposals for combatting organized crime, see 7 Ga. St. B.J. 124 (1970). For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2015).

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t16-ch12-17-(v14b)-2024-pdf.pdf, Volume V14B, 2024 edition, pages 61 to 62; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 36dbab616896.