109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4411
AN ACT 
To prevent the use of certain payment instruments, 
credit cards, and fund transfers for unlawful 
Internet gambling, and for other purposes.
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4411
AN ACT 
To prevent the use of certain payment instruments, credit 
cards, and fund transfers for unlawful Internet gambling, 
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is 
as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
TITLE I—MODERNIZATION OF THE WIRE ACT OF 1961
Sec. 101. Definitions. 
Sec. 102. Modification of existing prohibition. 
Sec. 103. Authorization of civil enforcement. 
Sec. 104. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 105. Rules of construction. 
Sec. 106. Sense of Congress. 
TITLE II—POLICIES AND PROCEDURES REQUIRED TO PREVENT 
PAYMENTS FOR UNLAWFUL GAMBLING 
Sec. 201. Policies and procedures required to prevent payments for unlawful 
gambling. 
Sec. 202. Technical and conforming amendment. 
TITLE III—INTERNET GAMBLING IN OR THROUGH FOREIGN 
JURISDICTIONS 
Sec. 301. Internet gambling in or through foreign jurisdictions.
TITLE I—MODERNIZATION OF 
THE WIRE ACT OF 1961
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 
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) by amending paragraph (5), as so des-
ignated, to read as follows:
‘‘(5) The term ‘communication facility’ means 
any and all instrumentalities, personnel, and services 
(among other things, the receipt, forwarding, or de-
livery of communications) used or useful in the 
transmission of writings, signs, pictures, and sounds 
of all kinds by aid of wire, cable, radio, or an elec-
tromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system, 
or other like connection (whether fixed or mobile) 
between the points of origin and reception of such 
transmission.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) The term ‘bets or wagers’—
‘‘(A) means the staking or risking by any 
person of something of value upon the outcome 
of a contest of others, a sporting event, or a 
game predominantly subject to chance, upon an 
agreement or understanding that the person or 
another person will receive something of value 
in the event of a certain outcome; 
‘‘(B) includes the purchase of a chance or 
opportunity to win a lottery or other prize 
(which opportunity to win is predominantly sub-
ject to chance); 
‘‘(C) includes any scheme of a type de-
scribed in section 3702 of title 28; and
‘‘(D) does not include—
‘‘(i) any activity governed by the secu-
rities laws (as that term is defined in sec-
tion 3(a)(47) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934) for the purchase or sale of se-
curities (as that term is defined in section 
3(a)(10) of that Act); 
‘‘(ii) any transaction conducted on or 
subject to the rules of a registered entity 
or exempt board of trade under the Com-
modity Exchange Act; 
‘‘(iii) any over-the-counter derivative 
instrument; 
‘‘(iv) any other transaction that—
‘‘(I) is excluded or exempt from 
regulation under the Commodity Ex-
change Act; or 
‘‘(II) is exempt from State gam-
ing or bucket shop laws under section 
12(e) of the Commodity Exchange Act 
or section 28(a) of the Securities Ex-
change Act of 1934; 
‘‘(v) any contract of indemnity or 
guarantee; 
‘‘(vi) any contract for insurance;
‘‘(vii) any deposit or other transaction 
with an insured depository institution; 
‘‘(viii) participation in any game or 
contest in which participants do not stake 
or risk anything of value other than—
‘‘(I) personal efforts of the par-
ticipants in playing the game or con-
test or obtaining access to the Inter-
net; or 
‘‘(II) points or credits that the 
sponsor of the game or contest pro-
vides to participants free of charge 
and that can be used or redeemed 
only for participation in games or con-
tests offered by the sponsor; or 
‘‘(ix) participation in any fantasy or 
simulation sports game or educational 
game or contest in which (if the game or 
contest involves a team or teams) no fan-
tasy or simulation sports team is based on 
the current membership of an actual team 
that is a member of an amateur or profes-
sional sports organization (as those terms 
are defined in section 3701 of title 28) and 
that meets the following conditions:
‘‘(I) All prizes and awards of-
fered to winning participants are es-
tablished and made known to the par-
ticipants in advance of the game or 
contest and their value is not deter-
mined by the number of participants 
or the amount of any fees paid by 
those participants. 
‘‘(II) All winning outcomes re-
flect the relative knowledge and skill 
of the participants and are determined 
predominantly by accumulated statis-
tical results of the performance of in-
dividuals (athletes in the case of 
sports events) in multiple real-world 
sporting or other events. 
‘‘(III) No winning outcome is 
based—
‘‘(aa) on the score, point-
spread, or any performance or 
performances of any single real-
world team or any combination of 
such teams; or 
‘‘(bb) solely on any single 
performance of an individual ath-
lete in any single real-world 
sporting or other event. 
‘‘(7) The terms ‘credit’, ‘creditor’, ‘credit card’, 
and ‘card issuer’ have the same meanings as in sec-
tion 103 of the Truth in Lending Act. 
‘‘(8) The term ‘electronic fund transfer’—
‘‘(A) has the same meaning as in section 
903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, ex-
cept that such term includes transfers that 
would otherwise be excluded under section 
903(6)(E) of that Act; and 
‘‘(B) includes any fund transfer covered by 
Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, as 
in effect in any State. 
‘‘(9) The term ‘financial institution’ has the 
same meaning as in section 903 of the Electronic 
Fund Transfer Act, except that such term does not 
include a casino, sports book, or other business at or 
through which bets or wagers may be placed or re-
ceived. 
‘‘(10) The term ‘financial transaction provider’ 
has the same meaning as in section 5361 of title 31 
(as added by title II of this Act).
‘‘(11) The term ‘foreign jurisdiction’ means a 
jurisdiction of a foreign country or political subdivi-
sion thereof. 
‘‘(12) The term ‘gambling business’ means a 
business of betting or wagering. 
‘‘(13) The term ‘information assisting in the 
placing of bets or wagers’ means information know-
ingly transmitted by an individual in a gambling 
business that enables or facilitates a bet or wager 
and does not include—
‘‘(A) 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 posting or reporting 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 bet-
ting is illegal; or 
‘‘(B) 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.
‘‘(14) The term ‘insured depository institu-
tion’—
‘‘(A) has the same meaning as in section 
3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; and 
‘‘(B) includes an insured credit union (as 
defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit 
Union Act). 
‘‘(15) The term ‘interactive computer service’ 
has the same meaning as in section 230(f) of the 
Communications Act of 1934. 
‘‘(16) The terms ‘money transmitting business’ 
and ‘money transmitting service’ have the same 
meanings as in section 5330(d) (determined without 
regard to any regulations prescribed by the Sec-
retary thereunder). 
‘‘(17) The terms ‘own or control’ and to be 
‘owned or controlled’ include circumstances within 
the meaning of section 2(a)(2) of the Bank Holding 
Company Act of 1956. 
‘‘(18) The term ‘person’ includes a government 
(including any governmental entity (as defined in 
section 3701(2) of title 28)). 
‘‘(19) The term ‘State’ means a State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, or a com-
monwealth, territory, or possession of the United 
States. 
‘‘(20) The term ‘tribe’ or ‘tribal’ means an In-
dian tribe, as defined under section 4(5) of the In-
dian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988). 
‘‘(21) For purposes of Section 1085(b), the 
term ‘account’ means—
‘‘(A) the unpaid balance of money or its 
equivalent received or held by an insured depos-
itory institution in the usual course of business 
and for which it has given or is obligated to 
give credit, either conditionally or uncondition-
ally, to an account, including interest credited, 
or which is evidenced by an instrument on 
which the depository institution is primarily lia-
ble; and 
‘‘(B) money received or held by an insured 
depository institution, or the credit given for 
money or its equivalent received or held by the 
insured depository institution in the usual 
course of business for a special or specific pur-
pose, regardless of the legal relationships estab-
lished thereby, including escrow funds, funds 
held as security for securities loaned by the de-
pository institution, funds deposited as advance
payment on subscriptions to United States Gov-
ernment securities, and funds held to meet its 
acceptances.’’. 
SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF EXISTING PROHIBITION. 
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; criminal penalties 
‘‘(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, 
whoever, being engaged in a gambling business, know-
ingly—
‘‘(1) uses a communication facility for the 
transmission in interstate or foreign commerce, 
within the special maritime and territorial jurisdic-
tion 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—
‘‘(A) bets or wagers; 
‘‘(B) information assisting in the placing 
of bets or wagers; or 
‘‘(C) a communication, which entitles the 
recipient to receive money or credit as a result 
of bets or wagers, or for information assisting 
in the placing of bets or wagers; or
‘‘(2) accepts, in connection with the trans-
mission of a communication in interstate or foreign 
commerce, within the special maritime and terri-
torial 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 assisting in 
the placing of bets or wagers—
‘‘(A) credit, or the proceeds of credit, ex-
tended to or on behalf of another (including 
credit extended through the use of a credit 
card); 
‘‘(B) an electronic fund transfer or funds 
transmitted by or through a money transmit-
ting business, or the proceeds of an electronic 
fund transfer or money transmitting service, 
from or on behalf of the other person; 
‘‘(C) any check, draft, or similar instru-
ment which is drawn by or on behalf of the 
other person and is drawn on or payable 
through any financial institution; or 
‘‘(D) the proceeds of any other form of fi-
nancial transaction as the Secretary of the 
Treasury and the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System may prescribe by regu-
lation which involves a financial institution as a 
payor or financial intermediary on behalf of or 
for the benefit of the other person, 
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 
five years, or both. 
‘‘(b) Nothing in this section prohibits—
‘‘(1) the transmission of information assisting 
in the placing of bets or wagers for use in news re-
porting if such transmission does not solicit or pro-
vide information for the purpose of facilitating or 
enabling the placing or receipt of bets or wagers in 
a jurisdiction where such betting is illegal; 
‘‘(2) the transmission of information assisting 
in the placing of bets or wagers from a State or for-
eign country where such betting or wagering is per-
mitted under Federal, State, tribal, or local law into 
a State or foreign country in which such betting on 
the same event is permitted under Federal, State, 
tribal, or local law; or 
‘‘(3) the interstate transmission of information 
relating to a State-specific lottery between a State or 
foreign country where such betting or wagering is 
permitted under Federal, State, tribal, or local law 
and an out-of-State data center for the purposes of
assisting in the operation of such State-specific lot-
tery. 
‘‘(c) Nothing in this section prohibits the use of a 
communication facility for the transmission of bets or wa-
gers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wa-
gers, if—
‘‘(1) at the time the transmission occurs, the 
individual or entity placing the bets or wagers or in-
formation assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, 
the gambling business, and, subject to section 
1084(b)(3), any individual or entity acting in con-
cert with a gambling business to process the bets or 
wagers are physically located in the same State, and 
for class II or class III gaming under the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act, are physically located on 
Indian lands within that State; 
‘‘(2) the State or tribe has explicitly authorized 
such bets and wagers, the State or tribal law re-
quires a secure and effective location and age 
verification system to assure compliance with age 
and location requirements, and the gambling busi-
ness and any individual or entity acting in concert 
with a gambling business to process the bets or wa-
gers complies with such law;
‘‘(3) the State has explicitly authorized and li-
censed the operation of the gambling business and 
any individual or entity acting in concert with a 
gambling business to process the bets and wagers 
within its borders or the tribe has explicitly author-
ized and licensed the operation of the gambling busi-
ness and any individual or entity acting in concert 
with a gambling business to process the bets and 
wagers, on Indian lands within its jurisdiction; 
‘‘(4) with respect to class II or class III gam-
ing, the game and gambling business complies with 
the requirements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory 
Act; and 
‘‘(5) with respect to class III gaming under the 
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the game is author-
ized under, and is conducted in accordance with, the 
respective Tribal-State compact of the Tribe having 
jurisdiction over the Indian lands where the indi-
vidual or entity placing the bets or wagers or infor-
mation assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, the 
gambling business, and any individual or entity act-
ing in concert with a gambling business to process 
those bets or wagers are physically located, and such 
Tribal-State compact expressly provides that the 
game may be conducted using a communication fa-
cility to transmit bets or wagers or information as-
sisting in the placing of bets or wagers. 
For purposes of this subsection, the intermediate routing 
of electronic data constituting or containing all or part of 
a bet or wager, or all or part of information assisting in 
the placing of bets or wagers, shall not determine the loca-
tion or locations in which a bet or wager is transmitted, 
initiated, received or otherwise made; or from or to which 
a bet or wager, or information assisting in the placing of 
bets or wagers, is transmitted. 
‘‘(d) Nothing in this section creates immunity from 
criminal prosecution under any laws of any State or tribe. 
‘‘(e) Nothing in this section authorizes activity that 
is prohibited under chapter 178 of title 28, United States 
Code. 
‘‘(f) When any common carrier, subject to the juris-
diction of the Federal Communications Commission, is no-
tified in writing by a Federal, State, tribal, or local law 
enforcement agency, acting within its jurisdiction, that 
any communication facility furnished by it is being used 
or will be used by its subscriber for the purpose of trans-
mitting or receiving gambling information in interstate or 
foreign commerce, within the special maritime and terri-
torial jurisdiction of the United States, or to or from any 
place outside the jurisdiction of any nation with respect