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6 Iowa 394

Sipe v. Finarty

Supreme Court of Iowa

Decided June 22, 1858

Supreme Court of Iowa · decided 1858-06-22

The defendant gave the’plaintiff a promissory note of the following tenor: “ On or before the first of December next, I promise to pay Jacob Sipe, or bearer, the sum of forty dollars, for value received; Provided, that John C. Fremont has not a majority of six thousand votes at the ensuing election, in the State of Iowawhich note was dated October 18, 1856.

Decided 1858-06-22

"Woodward, J.

¶1— At common law, gaming, unaccompanied by fraud, is lawful. But by a statute of this State, gaming and betting are expressly prohibited. Code, section 2721. And all promises and contracts, when any part of the consideration is money, or any valuable thing, won or lost on any game or wager, are absolutely void. In this case, the plaintiff seeks to recover upon a note, which, we *396are clearly of the opinion is a betting transaction, and void. If the plaintiff claims to recover the value of the property delivered, he cannot do it in an action on the note, but must resort to an action for that specifically— granting that he can so recover, which we do not determine.

¶2The judgment is affirmed.

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