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Constitution of the State of Delaware, Art. II, § 17B. Lotteries not under State control;  organizations authorized to conduct;  submission to referendum;  districts;  regulation;  penalties

Current as of January 01, 2026 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) Lotteries not under State control shall be lawful when sponsored and conducted by volunteer fire companies, veterans organizations, religious or charitable organizations, or by fraternal societies provided that the company, organization, or society has been in existence a minimum of 2 years and provided the net receipts or profits arising from the conducting or operating of such lotteries by the aforementioned companies, organizations, or societies are used solely for the promotion or achievement of the purposes of such companies, organizations, or societies, and provided further that the aforementioned companies, organizations, or societies are operated in a manner so as to come within § 170 of the United States Revenue Code and regulations promulgated thereunder by the United States Secretary of the Treasury.

(b)(1) The General Assembly shall provide by law for the submission to the vote of the qualified electors of the several districts of this State, or any of them, mentioned in paragraph (b)(2) of this Section at the general election held in 1984, the question whether the playing of lotteries not under State control shall be licensed or prohibited within the limits thereof;  and in every district in which there is a majority against license, no organization, mentioned in this Section, shall thereafter sponsor or permit lotteries not under State control, within the district, until at a subsequent submission of such question a majority of votes shall be cast in the district for license.  Whenever a majority of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly by the qualified electors in any district named in paragraph (b)(2) of this Section shall request the submission of the question of license or no license to a vote of the qualified electors in the district, the General Assembly shall provide for the submission of such question to the qualified electors in such district at the next general election thereafter.

(2) Under this Article, Sussex County shall comprise 1 district, Kent County shall comprise 1 district, the City of Wilmington, as its corporate limits now are or may hereafter be extended, 1 district, and the remaining part of New Castle County, 1 district.

(c) The General Assembly shall enact comprehensive legislation providing for licensing for all organizations conducting and regulating the conduct of lotteries under this Section and may provide such penalties as may be necessary to enforce such legislation.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Constitution of the State of Delaware, Art. II, § 17B. Lotteries not under State control;  organizations authorized to conduct;  submission to referendum;  districts;  regulation;  penalties - last updated January 01, 2026 | https://codes.findlaw.com/de/constitution-of-the-state-of-delaware/de-const-art-2-sect-17b/

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