Montana Code 23-7-102. Purpose
23-7-102. Purpose. (1) The purpose of this chapter is to allow lottery games and sports wagering in which the player purchases from the state, through the administrators of the state lottery and sports wagering agency, a chance to win a prize. The state lottery and sports wagering agency may provide products sold only through an authorized device at a sales agent location licensed by the director.
Terms Used In Montana Code 23-7-102
- Director: means the director appointed by the governor under 23-7-210 to administer and manage the state lottery. See Montana Code 23-7-103
- Lottery game: means any procedure, including any online or other procedure using a machine or electronic device, by which one or more prizes are distributed among persons who have paid for a chance to win a prize and includes but is not limited to weekly (or other, longer time period) winner games, instant winner games, daily numbers games, sports pool games, and sports wagering. See Montana Code 23-7-103
- Sales agent: means an entity that holds a lottery license or sports wagering license as provided in this chapter. See Montana Code 23-7-103
- Sports wagering: means accepting wagers on sporting events or portions of sporting events, or on the individual performance statistics of athletes in a sporting event or combination of sporting events, by any system or method of wagering, including but not limited to in-person or over the internet through websites and on mobile devices. See Montana Code 23-7-103
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- State lottery: means the Montana state lottery and sports wagering agency created and operated pursuant to this chapter. See Montana Code 23-7-103
(2)The administration and construction of this chapter must comply with Article III, section 9, of the Montana constitution, which mandates that all forms of gambling are prohibited unless authorized by acts of the legislature or by the people through initiative or referendum. Therefore, this chapter must be strictly construed to allow only those games that are within the scope of this section and within the definition of “lottery game” or “sports wagering”.
(3)The state lottery may not:
(a)operate a slot machine or carry on any form of gambling prohibited by the laws of this state; or
(b)carry on any form of gambling permitted by the laws of this state except for a lottery game or sports wagering within the scope of this section and within the definition of “lottery game” or “sports wagering”.