Section 16-12-22. Commercial gambling

   (a) A person commits the offense of commercial gambling when he intentionally does any of the following acts:

   (1) Operates or participates in the earnings of a gambling place;

   (2) Receives, records, or forwards a bet or offer to bet;

   (3) For gain, becomes a custodian of anything of value bet or offered to be bet;

   (4) Contracts to have or give himself or another the option to buy or sell or contracts to buy or sell at a future time any gain or other commodity whatsoever or any stock or security of any company, when it is at the time of making such contract intended by both parties thereto that the contract to buy or sell, the option whenever exercised or the contract resulting therefrom, shall be settled not by the receipt or delivery of such property but by the payment only of differences in prices thereof;

   (5) Sells chances upon the partial or final result of or upon the margin of victory in any game or contest or upon the performance of any participant in any game or contest or upon the result of any political nomination, appointment, or election or upon the degree of success of any nominee, appointee, or candidate;

   (6) Sets up or promotes any lottery, sells or offers to sell, or knowingly possesses for transfer or transfers any card, stub, ticket, check, or other device designed to serve as evidence of participation in any lottery; or

   (7) Conducts, advertises, operates, sets up, or promotes a bingo game without having a valid license to operate a bingo game as provided by law.

(b) A person who commits the offense of commercial gambling shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years or by a fine not to exceed $20,000.00, or both.

Code 1933, § 26-2703, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 236, § 6; Ga. L. 1977, p. 747, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 851, § 1.