I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5020
To prohibit Internet gambling.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 27, 2000
Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. CANNON) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To prohibit Internet gambling.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive Inter-
net Gambling Prohibition Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION.
Section 1081 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by designating the five undesignated para-
graphs that begin with ‘‘The term’’ as paragraphs
(1) through (5) respectively;
(2) in paragraph (5), as so designated—
(A) by striking ‘‘wire communication’’ and
inserting ‘‘communication’’;
(B) by inserting ‘‘satellite, microwave,’’
after ‘‘cable,’’; and
(C) by inserting ‘‘(whether fixed or mo-
bile)’’ after ‘‘connection’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) The term ‘information assisting in the
placing of bets or wagers’ means information know-
ingly transmitted by an individual in the business of
betting or wagering for use in placing, receiving,
making, or otherwise enabling or facilitating a bet or
wager that violates applicable Federal, State, tribal,
or local law, but does not include—
‘‘(A) the transmission of information for
use in news reporting of wagering activities, as
long as such transmission does not solicit or
provide information for the purpose of facili-
tating or enabling the placing or receipt of bets
or wagers in a jurisdiction where such betting
is illegal;
‘‘(B) any posting or reporting of any edu-
cational information on how to make a legal bet
or wager or the nature of betting or wagering,
as long as such transmission does not solicit or
provide information for the purpose of facili-
tating or enabling the placing or receipt of bets
or wagers in a jurisdiction where such betting
is illegal;
‘‘(C) advertising relating to betting or wa-
gering in a jurisdiction where such betting or
wagering is legal, as long as such advertising
does not solicit or provide information for the
purpose of facilitating or enabling the placing
or receipt of bets or wagers in a jurisdiction
where such betting is illegal; or
‘‘(D) the transmission of information as-
sisting in the placing of bets or wagers from a
State or foreign country where such bets or wa-
gers are legal into a State or foreign country in
which such betting or wagering is legal.
‘‘(7) The term ‘transmission’ or ‘transmit’
means to place, send, receive, transfer, post, dissemi-
nate, or otherwise convey from one person or place
to another.
‘‘(8) The term ‘fantasy sports league or rotis-
serie league’ means an activity that—
‘‘(A) consists of persons who pay an en-
trance or administrative fee to participate in a
league that allows each participant to create a
fictitious team composed of athletes from a pro-
fessional sport;
‘‘(B) allows for the selection or subsequent
replacement of players without charging any
fees in excess of the initial entrance or adminis-
trative fee;
‘‘(C) allows a participant to accrue points
for the performance of that participant’s team
that can be compared to the points secured by
other participants and may award de minimis
prizes daily, weekly, or monthly during the reg-
ular season or after each round of postseason
play based on total points accrued, or other
prizes at the conclusion of the regular season or
postseason, or both based on the cumulative
points accrued during the regular season or
postseason, or both;
‘‘(D) designates the specific prizes (includ-
ing amounts, if monetary prizes) to be won by
participants in the league at the start of the
regular season before the registration of, or ac-
ceptance of fees from, the participants and does
not base the value of prizes on the number of
participants or the total amount of entrance or
administrative fees collected; and
‘‘(E) provides to each participant the rules
governing the conduct of the fantasy sports
league.
‘‘(9) The term ‘bets or wagers’ means the stak-
ing or risking by any person of something of value
upon—
‘‘(A) any contest or game based in whole
or in part on chance, including a lottery;
‘‘(B) one or more sporting events or con-
tests, or one or more performances of the par-
ticipants in such events or contests, including
any scheme of a type described in section 3702
of title 28, United States Code; or
‘‘(C) a future contingent event not under
the person’s control or influence;
with an agreement or understanding that the person
or another person will or may receive something of
value as a result of such stake or risk. However,
such term does not include a bona fide business
transaction in securities or commodities of the na-
ture governed by the Federal securities and trading
laws of the United States, a contract of indemnity
or guarantee, a contract for insurance, or an en-
trance or administrative fee collected by a fantasy
sports or rotisserie league where the operation of or
participation in such league does not violate applica-
ble Federal, State, tribal, or local laws and such
league does not collect fees from or allow participa-
tion by individuals under the age of 18.’’.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF EXISTING PROHIBITION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1084 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 1084. Use of a communication facility to transmit
bets or wagers; penalties
‘‘(a) Whoever being engaged in the business of bet-
ting or wagering knowingly uses a communication
facility—
‘‘(1) for the transmission in interstate or for-
eign commerce, within the special maritime and ter-
ritorial jurisdiction of the United States, or to or
from any place outside the jurisdiction of any nation
with respect to any transmission to or from the
United States, of bets or wagers, or information as-
sisting in the placing of bets or wagers; or
‘‘(2) for the transmission of a communication in
interstate or foreign commerce, within the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United
States, or to or from any place outside the jurisdic-
tion of any nation with respect to any transmission
to or from the United States, which entitles the re-
both Federal and non-Federal interoperable
packet switched data networks.
‘‘(2) IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR USE BY
ANOTHER.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An interactive com-
puter service provider shall not be liable, under
this section or any other provision of Federal or
State law prohibiting or regulating gambling or
gambling-related activities, for the use of its fa-
cilities or services by another person to engage
in Internet gambling activity that violates such
law—
‘‘(i) arising out of any transmitting,
routing, or providing of connections for
gambling-related material or activity (in-
cluding intermediate and temporary stor-
age in the course of such transmitting,
routing, or providing connections) by the
provider, if—
‘‘(I) the material or activity was
initiated by or at the direction of a
person other than the provider;
‘‘(II) the transmitting, routing,
or providing of connections is carried
out through an automatic process
without selection of the material or
activity by the provider;
‘‘(III) the provider does not se-
lect the recipients of the material or
activity, except as an automatic re-
sponse to the request of another per-
son; and
‘‘(IV) the material or activity is
transmitted through the system or
network of the provider without modi-
fication of its content; or
‘‘(ii) arising out of any gambling-re-
lated material or activity at an online site
residing on a computer server owned, con-
trolled, or operated by or for the provider,
or arising out of referring or linking users
to an online location containing such mate-
rial or activity, if the material or activity
was initiated by or at the direction of a
person other than the provider.
‘‘(3) IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR ADVER-
TISING OR PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(A) An interactive computer service pro-
vider shall not be liable, under any provision of
Federal or State law prohibiting or regulating
gambling or gambling-related activities, or
under any State law prohibiting or regulating
advertising and promotional activities, for con-
tent, provided by another person, that adver-
tises or promotes gambling activity that violates
such law, unless the provider is engaged in the
business of such gambling.
‘‘(4) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—
‘‘(A) IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR COM-
PLIANCE.—An interactive computer service pro-
vider shall not be liable for any damages, pen-
alty, or forfeiture, civil or criminal, under Fed-
eral or State law for taking in good faith any
action to comply with a notice described in sub-
section (c).
‘‘(B) DISCLAIMER
OF
OBLIGATIONS.—
Nothing in this section may be construed to im-
pose or authorize an obligation on an inter-
active computer service provider—
‘‘(i) to monitor material or use of its
service; or
‘‘(ii) except as required by a notice
under subsection (c), to discontinue or
refuse the leasing, furnishing, or maintain-
ing of a facility.’’.
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