GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA

LAW AND JUDICIARY DEPARTMENT

MAHARASHTRA  ACT  No.  XXXI  OF  1976.

THE  MAHARASHTRA  CASINOS
(CONTROL AND TAX)
ACT,  1976.

(  As  modified  upto  the  16th  January  2013)

*

PRINTED IN INDIA BY THE MANAGER, GOVERNMENT PRESS AND STATIONERY
STORES, KOLHAPUR AND PUBLISHED BY THE DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT
PRINTING, STATIONERY AND PUBLICATIONS, MAHARASHTRA STATE,
MUMBAI–400 004.

2013

[ Price : Rs. 5.00 Ps. ]

THE  MAHARASHTRA  CASINOS  (CONTROL AND  TAX) ACT,  1976
(Maharashtra Act  No.  XXXI  of  1976)

(i)

—————

CONTENTS.

PREAMBLE.

SECTIONS.

1.

Short  title,  extent  and  commencement.

2. Definitions.

3. Licensing  of  casinos  and  exemption  of  licensed  casinos  from  Bom.  IV  of  1887.

4. Application  for  licence  for  casino  and  grant  or  refusal  of  such  licence.

5.

6.

Power  to  suspend  or  cancel  licences.

Penalty  for  contravention  of  conditions  of  licences.

7. Levy  of  tax  on  betting  at  casinos.

8. Licence  holder  to  keep  accounts  and  submit  the  same  to  Government  of

authorised  officer.

9.

Penalty  for  failure  to  keep  and  submit  accounts.

10. Best  judgment  assessment  of  tax  in  certain  cases.

11.

Penalty  for  contravention  of  conditions  of  licence  or  of  rules  by  persons
playing  casino  games  and  exhibition  of  conditions  of  licence  by  licensee.

12. Offences  by  companies.

13. Compounding  of  offences.

14.

15.

Power  to  require  production  of  account  or  to  inspect  accounts.

Power  of  entry  and  search.

16. Offences  to  be  cognisable  and  bailable.

17.

18.

Protection  of  action  taken  under  this  Act.

Power  to  make  rules.

H  176-1

MAHARASHTRA ACT  No.  XXXI  OF  19761.

(This  Act  received  the  assent  of  the  Governor  on  the  19th  July  1976;  assent  was
first  published  in  the“  Maharashtra  Government  Gazette  ”  on  the  22nd  July 1976)

An  Act  to  provide  for  the  control  and  regulation  of  casinos,  and  to  impose  a  tax  on  betting
in  casinos,  in  the  State  of  Mahrashtra.

WHEREAS    it  is  expedient  to  provide  for  the  control  and  regulation  of  casinos,
and  to  impose  a  tax  on  betting  in  casinos,    in  the  State  of  Maharashtra  ;  It  is  hereby
enacted  in  the  Twenty-seventh  Year  of  the  Republic  of  India  as  follows  :—

1.

(1) This Act  may    be  called    the    Maharashtra      Casinos    (Control  and Tax)

Act, 1976.

(2) It  extends  to  the  whole  of  the  State  of  Maharashtra.

(3) It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date  as  the  State  Government  may,  by

notification  in  the Official  Gazette, appoint.

Short  title,
extent  and
commence-
ment.

2.

In  this  Act,  unless  the  context  otherwise  requires,—

Definitions.

(a) “  casino  ”  means  a  public  place  which  provides  or  is  used  or  is  intended  to

be  used  for  playing,  organising  or  exhibiting  casino  games  ;

(b) “  casino  games  ”  means  all  or  any  of  such  games  of  wagering  or  betting,
including  games  of  chance  played  by  means  of  any  machine  or  instrument,  as  may
be  prescribed  from  time  to  time  ;

(c) “  place  ”  includes  a  building  or  a  room  or  any  other  portion  of  a  building,

or  a  tent,  enclosure,  space,  vehicle  or  vessel  ;

(d) “  public  place  ”  includes  a  place  to  which  the  public  have  or  are  permitted

to  have  access,  whether  on  payment  or  otherwise  ;

(e) “  prescribed  ”  means  prescribed  by  rules  made  under  this  Act.

3.

(1) No  casino  games  shall  be  played,  organised  or  exhibited  by  any  person  at
any  public  place,  except  at  a  casino  in  respect  of  which  a  licence  is  granted  in
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act  and  such  licence  is  in  force.

(2) Nothing  in  the  Bombay    Prevention    of    Gambling  Act,  1887,  shall  apply  to  a
casino  licensed  under  this  Act  or  to  any  casino  games  played,  organised  or  exhibited
at  such  casino.

4.

(1) Every  person    desiring    to    obtain  a  licence  referred  to  in  sub-section  (1)
of  section    3    shall  make  an  application  in  writing  to  the  State  Government,  in  such
form  and  manner  as  may  be  prescribed.

(2) On    receipt    of    such    application,    the    State    Government    may,    after  making
such  inquiry  as  it  considers  necessary,  by  order  in  writing,  either  grant  the  licence  or
refuse  to  grant  the  licence  without  assigning  any  reasons  :

Provided  that,  where  the  State  Government  refuses  to  grant  a  licence,  it  shall  put

on  its  record  a  brief  statement  of  the  reasons  for  such  refusal.

(3) The  fees  on  payment  of  which,  the  period  for  which,  and  the  conditions  subject

to  which,  a  licence  may  be  granted  shall  be  such  as  may  be  prescribed.

1. For    Statement  of  Objects  and  Reasons see  Maharashtra  Government  Gazette,  1976,  Part  V,

p.  288.

Bom.
IV  of
1887.

Licensing  of
casinos  and
exemption  of
licensed
casinos  from
Bom.  IV  of
1887.

Application
for  licence
for  casino
and  grant  or
refusal  of
such  licence.

2

(4) The  State  Government  may,    on  application  made  to  it,  renew  the  licence  granted
under  this  Act,    on  payment  of  the  fee    prescribed  for  renewal  of  a  licence  or  refuse
to  renew  any  such  licence  without  assigning  any  reasons  ;  but  the  reasons  for  such
refusal  shall  be  stated  on  its  record.

Power  to
suspend  or
cancel
licences.

5.

(1) The  State  Government  may,    at  any  time,  after  giving    the  holder  of  any
licence  under  this  Act  a  reasonable  opportunity  of  being  heard,  suspend  or  cancel
the  licence  on  any  one  or  more  of  the  following  grounds,  namely  :—

(a) that  there  has  been  a    breach    of  any  of    the  conditions  subject  to  which

the  licence  was  granted,

(b) that  the  holder  of  the  licence  has  contravened  any  of  the  provisions  of  this

Act  or  the  rules  made  thereunder.

(2) Whenever  a  licence  is    suspended    or    cancelled,    the    State    Government
shall    record    a  brief  statement  of  the  reasons  for  such  suspension  or  cancellation
and  furnish  a  copy  thereof  to  the  person  whose  licence  has  been  suspended  or
cancelled.

6. Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  of  the  last  preceding  section,  if  the  holder
of  any  licence  under  this  Act  or  any  person  acting    on    his  behalf  has  committed  a
breach  of  any  of  the  conditions  of  the  licence,  he  shall,  on  conviction,  be  punished
with  fine  which  may  extend  to  five  thousand  rupees.

7.

(1) There  shall  be  levied  and  collected  and  paid    to  the    State  Government,
out  of      all    moneys    paid  or  agreed  to  be  paid  by  the  participants  by  way  of  stakes
or  bets  at  any  casino  game  played  at  any  casino  licensed  under  this  Act,  a  tax,  at
such  rate  not  exceeding  25  per  cent.  of  all  such  moneys,  as  the  State  Government
may,  by  notification  in  the  Official    Gazette,  specify  in  this  behalf.  Such  portion  of
such  moneys  as  is  equal  to  the  amount  of  the  tax  so  levied  shall  be  deemed  to  have
been  paid  by  the  participants  on  account  of  the  tax  and  shall  be  collected  by  the
licensee  at  every  game  on  behalf  of  the  State  Government  and  paid  to  the  State
Government  or  an  officer  authorised    by  the  State  Government  in  this  behalf    in  such
manner  as  may  be  prescribed.

(2) The  tax  payable    under    this    Act  shall  be  recoverable  from  the  licensee  as  an

arrear  of  land  revenue.

8. Every  holder  of  a  licence    under    this    Act    shall    keep    accounts  relating  to
the  casino  in  such  manner  and  submit  to  the  State  Government  or  to  an  officer
authorised  by  the  State  Government  in  this  behalf  a  statement  of  accounts  in  such
form  and  at  such  intervals  as  may  be  prescribed.  Such  accounts    shall    in    particular
show  the  moneys  paid  by  way  of  stakes  or  bets  at  every  casino  game  played  at  the
casino  and  such  other  particulars  as  may  be  prescribed.

9.

It  any  person  liable  under  the  last  preceding  section  to  keep  accounts  or  submit
statements  of  accounts  fails  to  keep    accounts    or  to  submit  statements  of  accounts
as  required  by  that  section  or  keeps    accounts  or  submits  statements  of  accounts
which  are  false  and  which  he  either  knows  or  believes  to  be    false  or  does  not  believe
to  be  true,  without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  of  section  5,  he  shall,  on  conviction,
be  punished  with  fine  which  may  extend  to  five  thousand  rupees.

Penalty  for
contravention
of  conditions
of  licences.

Levy  of  tax
on  betting  at
casinos.

Licence
holder  to
keep
accounts  and
submit  the
same  to
Government
or  authorised
officer.

Penalty  for
failure  to
keep  and
submit
accounts.

Best
judgment
assessment
of  tax  in
certain  cases.

Penalty  for
contravention
of  conditions
of  licence  or
of  rules  by
persons
playing
casino  games
and
exhibition  of
conditions  of
licence  by
licensee.

Offences  by
companies.

3

10.

(1) Where    an  officer  authorised  by    the    State  Government    in    this  behalf
is    not  satisfied    about    the    correctness    or    completeness    of    the    accounts  kept
by    any    licensee    or    where    any    licensee    fails    to    submit    any    statement    of
accounts    as    required    by    this    Act,    the    said    officer    shall    after    giving    a
reasonable  opportunity  to  the    licensee    to  be  heard  and  after  taking  into  account  all
relevant  material  which  he  may  have  gathered,  make  the  assessment  of  the  tax  payable
by  the  licensee  to  the  best  of  his  judgment  and  call  upon  the  licensee  by    order    in
writing  to  pay  the  amount  of  tax  so  assessed  on  or  before  such  date  as  may  be
specified  in  the  order.

(2) Any  licensee  aggrieved    by    any    order  made  under  sub-section  (1)  may  appeal
against  the  order  to  the  State  Government  within  a  period  of  sixty  days  from  the  date
of  receipt  of  such  order  and  the  order  passed  by  the  State  Government  in  appeal
shall  be  final  and  shall  not  be  called  in  question  in  any  Court.

11.

(1) If  any  person    other    than  a    licensee    while  playing  any  casino  games  at
a  casino  licensed  under    this  Act    commits  a  breach  of  any  of  the  conditions  of  the
licence  as  exhibited  under  sub-section  (2)  or  of  the  rules  to  be  observed  in  playing
such  games,    he    shall,    on  conviction,    be  punished  with  fine  which  may  extend  to
one  thousand  rupees.

(2) Every  licesee  shall  exhibit  at  a  prominent  place  within  the  casino  the  conditions

subject  to  which  the  licence  is  granted  to  him.

12.

(1) Where  an  offence  under    this Act    has  been  committed  by  a  company,
every  person  who  at  the  time  the  offence  was  committed    was  in  charge  of,  and  was
responsible  to,  the  company    for  the  conduct  of  the  business  of  the  company,  as
well  as  the  company,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of  the  offence    and    shall  be  liable
to  be  proceeded  against  and  punished  accordingly  :

Provided  that,    nothing    contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  any  such  person
liable  to  any    punishment  provided    in  this  Act    if  he  proves  that    the  offence  was
committed  without  his  knowledge  or  that    he  exercised  all  due  diligence  to  prevent
the  commission  of  such  offence.

(2) Notwithstanding    anything    contained    in    sub-section  (1),  where  an  offence
under  this  Act  has  been  committed  by  a  company  and  it  is  proved  that  the  offence
has  been  committed  with  the  consent  or  connivance  of,  or  is  attributable  to  any
neglect  on  the  part  of,  any  director,    manager,  secretary  or  other  officer  of  the  company,
such  director,  manager,  secretary  or  other  officer  shall  also  be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of
that  offence  and  shall  be  liable  to  be  proceeded  against  and  punished  accordingly.

Explanation.—For  the  purpose  of  this  section,—

(a) “  company  ”  means  a  body    corporate,    and    includes  a  firm  or  other

association  of  individuals;  and

(b) “  director  ”,  in  relation  to  a  firm,  means  a  partner  in  the  firm.

13.

(1) The  State  Government  or    any    officer    authorised  by    it  in  this  behalf
may,  either  before  or  after  the  institution  of  proceedings  for  any  offence  punishable
under  this  Act  or  any  rules  made    thereunder,  accept  from  any  person  charged  with
such  offence  by    way  of  composition    of    the  offence  such  sum  not  exceeding  double

Compounding
of  offences.

4

the  maximum    amount    of  fine  to  which  he  is  liable  on  conviction  for  such  offence,
as    may    be  determined  by  the  State  Government  or  the  authorised  officer,  as  the
case  may  be.

(2) On  payment  of  such  sum  as  may  be    determined    under  sub-section  (1),  no
further  proceedings  shall  be  taken  against  the  accused  person    in    respect  of  the
same  offence.

14. The  State  Government  or    any  officer  authorised    by    it  in  this  behalf  may,

for  the  purposes  of  this  Act,  at  all  reasonable  times,—

(i) require  any  licensee  to  produce  before  it  or  him  accounts  or  other  documents

or  to  furnish  any  other  information  ;  or

(ii) inspect  the  accounts  of  any  licensee.

Power  to
require
production
of  accounts
or  to  inspect
accounts.

Power  of
entry  and
search.

15.

(1) It  shall  be  lawful  for  any  police  officer,  not  below  the  rank  of Assistant
Commissioner  of    Police    or    Deputy    Superintendent    of    Police,    authorised  by  the
State  Government  in  this  behalf  by  general  of  special  order  in  writing,—

(a) to  enter,  if  necessary,  by  force,  whether  by  day  or    night,  with  such  assistants
as  he  considers  necessary,  any  casino  where  he  has  reason  to  believe  that  any
provisions  of  this  Act    or    the  rules  made  thereunder  are  or  are  being  or  are  likely
to  be  contravened  or  a  breach  of  any  of  the  conditions  of  the  licence  is  or  is
being  or  is  likely  to  be  committed  ;

(b) to  search  the  place  and  the  persons  whom  he  may  find  therein  ;

(c) to  take  into  custody    and    produce  before    a  Magistrate  all  such  persons
as  are  concerned  or  against  whom  a  reasonable  complaint  has  been  made  or  credible
information  has  been  received    or    a    reasonable  suspicion    exists  of  having  been
concerned    with    any    contravention    or    breach  referred  to  in  clause  (a),  and

(d) to  seize  all  things  found  therein  which  are  intended  to  be  used  or  are
reasonably  suspected  to  have  been    used  in  connection  with    such  contravention
or  breach.

(2) All  searches  under  this  section  shall  be  made  in  accordance  with  the  provisions

of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  1973.

II  of
1974.

16. All  offences  under  this  Act  shall  be  cognisable  and  bailable.

17. No  suit,    prosecution    or  other  legal  proceeding  shall  lie  against  the  State
Government  or  any  officer  of  Government  for  anything  which  is  in  good  faith  done  or
intended  to  be  done  under  this  Act  or  the  rules  made  thereunder.

18.

(1) The  State  Government  may,    by    notification    in  the Official  Gazette,  and
subject  to  the  condition  of  previous  publication,  make  rules  for  carrying  out  the
purposes  of  this  Act.

(2) In  particular  and  without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  power,

such  rules  may  provide  for    all    or  any  of  the  following  matters,  namely  :—

(a) the  games  of  wagering  or  betting  which  shall  be  casino  games  for  the

purposes  of  this  Act  and  the  rules  to  be  observed  in  playing  such  games  ;

Offences  to
be  cognisable
and  bailable.

Protection
of  action
taken  under
this  Act.

Power  to
make  rules.

5

(b) the  form  and  manner  of  making  application      for    a    licence    and  the  fees
to  be  paid    for    its  grant    or    renewal  and  the  conditions  subject  to  which  it  may
be  granted  ;

(c) the  manner  of  keeping    accounts    relating  to  a  casino,    the  other  particulars
to  be  shown  in  the  accounts,    and  the  form  in  which  and  the  intervals  at  which
they  shall  be  submitted    to  the    State    Government,  or    to  the  officer  authorised  ;

(d) the  restrictions  or  conditions  with  regard  to  the  age  of  the  persons  who
may  be  admitted  to,  or    employed    in,    a    casino    or    who    may    be  permitted  to
play    casino    games  or  otherwise  take  part  in  the  organisation  or  exhibition  of
such  games  ;

(e) the  other    restrictions  or  conditions  with  regard    to  the  admission  of  the
participants  and    guests  to  a  casino    and    the    fees,    if  any,  to  be  charged  for
their  admission  :

(f) the  hours  and  days  when  a  casino  may  be  kept  open  ;

(g) the  types  and  specifications  of  the  places  which  may  be  used  for    housing
a  casino  and  the  localities  where  casinos    may    be  situated  and  the  maximum
number  of  licences  which  may  be  granted  in  any  area  or  locality  ;

(h) the  types  of  notices  to  be  exhibited    and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to

be  exhibited  in  or  outside  a  casino  ;

(i) the  restrictions  or    conditions    with    regard  to  the    advertisements  pertaining

to  a  casino  ;

(j) the  restrictions    or    conditions    with    regard  to  providing    credit  facilities  by
the  licensee  to  the  participants    in    casino  games    and    the  prohibition  or  regulation
of  participation  by  proxy  in  casino  games  ;

(k) any  other  matter  which  is  required  to  be  or  may  be  prescribed.

(3) In    making    any    rule    the    State  Government    may  direct  that  a  breach  thereof
by  a  licensee  or    by    any  person  acting  on  his  behalf  shall,  on  conviction,  be  punished
with    fine    not  exceeding    five  thousand  rupees    and  a  breach  thereof  by  any  other
person    shall,    on    conviction,  be  punished    with  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand
rupees.

(4) Every  rule  made  under  this  section  shall  be  laid  as  soon  as  may  be  after  it  is
made  before  each  House  of  the  State  Legislature  while  it  is  in  session  for  a  total
period  of  thirty  days  which  may  be  comprised  in  one  session  or  in  two  successive
sessions,  and  if,  before  the  expiry  of  the  session  in  which  it  is  so  laid  or  the  session
immediately  following,  both  Houses  agree  in  making  any  modification  in  the  rule  or
both  Houses  agree  that  the  rule  should  not  be  made,  and  notify  such  decision  in  the
Official  Gazette,   the  rule  shall  from  the  date  of  publication  of  such  notification  have
effect  only  in such    modified  form  or  be  of  no  effect,  as  the  case  may  be;  so    however,
that    any  such  modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  validity  of
anything  previously  done  or  omitted  to  be  done  under  that  rule.

GPK.–H  176-3,279  Bks.-10.2013

—————

PRINTED  AT  THE  GOVERNMENT  PRESS,  KOLHAPUR.

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