aleatory contract

The extent and even the existence of an obligation at the time of an aleatory contract conclusion may be uncertain for one or all parties to the contract; however the chances of gain or loss exist always for all contracting parties and are never of a unilateral nature.

For instance, in the case of the aleatory contract of life annuity, constituted on an onerous title, the chances of gain and, respectively of losses exist for both parties, being thus, bilateral.

The chance of win-lose being the essence of the aleatory contract, a commutative contract cannot ever turn into aleatory one even if it turns out later that it is advantageous for one party and unfavorable or detrimental to the other, for independent and exterior reasons to the contract effects.

The Civil Code of 1864 devoted three articles to the contract of gaming and betting in the Title 13 About aleatory contracts, Chapter I About aleatory contracts in general, according to which: "The law gives no action to pay a debt in the game or wager" (Article 1636); "The games that contribute to physical exercises are exempted, as follows: weapons, races on foot, horseback or by cart and the bike.

The new Civil Code regulates within three articles (Articles 2264-2266) the gambling and betting, as subspecies of aleatory contracts.