Any gambling device or other equipment of any type used in gambling is subject to forfeiture, and the provisions of the Forfeiture Act [Chapter 31, Article 27 NMSA 1978] apply to the seizure, forfeiture and disposal of such property.

History: 1953 Comp., § 40A-19-10, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 303, § 19-10; 2002, ch. 4, § 14.

The 2002 amendment, effective July 1, 2002, after the first phrase, "Any gambling device or other equipment of any type used in gambling," deleted the rest of the section, which contained standards and procedures for the forfeiture of gambling devices and other equipment of any type used in gambling; and added the present remainder of section.

Under law prior to 2002, slot machines in private home that are not used for illegal gambling are not gaming machines or gambling devices and therefore are not subject to forfeiture because they are not licensed under the Gaming Control Act. State ex rel. N.M. Gaming Control Bd. v. Ten (10) Gaming Devices, 2005-NMCA-117, 138 N.M. 426, 120 P.3d 848, cert. quashed, 2006-NMCERT-003, 139 N.M. 352, 132 P.3d 1038.

Forfeiture of money. — Money segregated as gambling paraphernalia cannot be restored to the former owner, and such money which has been earmarked as an integral part of gambling equipment may be seized as a gambling device; this rule is not limited to situations where money is placed inside a gambling device such as a slot machine and becomes a component part thereof, but includes money found lying on a card table which had been used in the game. State v. Casarez, 1965-NMSC-103, 75 N.M. 436, 405 P.2d 759.

Applicability. — Statute providing for forfeiture of gambling devices seized by law enforcement officials has no application to equipment not "used in gambling." 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-54.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 38 Am. Jur. 2d Gambling §§ 174 to 183.

Money in gambling machine or other receptacle, used in connection with gambling, seized by public authorities, rights and remedies in respect of, 79 A.L.R. 1007.

Forfeiture of property for unlawful use before trial of individual offender, 3 A.L.R.2d 738.

Forfeiture of money used in connection with gambling or lottery, or seized by officers in connection with an arrest or search on premises where such activities took place, 19 A.L.R.2d 1228.

Paraphernalia or appliances used for recording gambling transactions or receiving or furnishing gambling information as gaming "devices" within criminal statute or ordinance, 1 A.L.R.3d 726.

Lawfulness of seizure of property used in violation of law as prerequisite to forfeiture action or proceeding, 8 A.L.R.3d 473.

Constitutionality of statutes providing for destruction of gambling devices, 14 A.L.R.3d 366.

38A C.J.S. Gaming § 75 et seq.