I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3215
To amend title 18, United States Code, to expand and modernize the
prohibition against interstate gambling, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 1, 2001
Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Ms. JACK-
SON-LEE of Texas, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. LEACH, Mr. WOLF,
Mr. ROEMER, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. BACHUS, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Vir-
ginia, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. FLETCHER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. GOODE, Mr.
GRAHAM, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. PITTS, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan,
Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WAMP, Mr.
PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mrs. KELLY, and Mr. HASTINGS of Florida)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to expand and mod-
ernize the prohibition against interstate 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.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combatting Illegal
Gambling Reform and Modernization Act’’.
SEC. 2. 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) 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 ‘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 greater
value than the amount staked or risked 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); and
‘‘(C) does not include—
‘‘(i) a bona fide business transaction
governed by the securities laws (as that
term is defined in section 3(a)(47) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78c(a)(47))) for the purchase or
sale at a future date of securities (as that
term is defined in section 3(a)(10) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78c(a)(10)));
‘‘(ii) a transaction on or subject to the
rules of a contract market designated pur-
suant to section 5 of the Commodity Ex-
change Act (7 U.S.C. 7) or to any trans-
action subject to an exemption pursuant to
section 4(c) of such Act;
‘‘(iii) any over-the-counter derivative
instrument;
‘‘(iv) a contract of indemnity or guar-
antee;
‘‘(v) a contract for life, health, or ac-
cident insurance;
‘‘(vi) 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) point 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
‘‘(vii) participation in any simulation
sports game or educational game or con-
test in which (if the game or contest in-
volves a team or teams) all teams are fic-
tional and no team is a member of an
amateur or professional sports organiza-
tion (as those terms are defined in section
3701 of title 28) and that meets the fol-
lowing 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 term ‘foreign jurisdiction’ means a ju-
risdiction of a foreign country or political subdivision
thereof.
‘‘(8) The term ‘gambling business’ means a
business of betting or wagering;
‘‘(9) The term ‘information assisting in the
placing of bets or wagers’ means information know-
ingly transmitted by an individual in a gambling
business for use in placing, receiving, making, or
otherwise enabling or facilitating 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.
‘‘(10) The term ‘person’ includes a government
(including any governmental entity (as defined in
section 3701(2) of title 28)).
‘‘(11) 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.
‘‘(12) The terms ‘credit’, ‘creditor’, and ‘credit
card’ have the meanings given such terms in section
103 of the Truth in Lending Act.
‘‘(13) The term ‘electronic fund transfer’—
‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in
section 903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer
Act; or
‘‘(B) any fund transfer covered by Article
4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, as in ef-
fect in any State.
‘‘(14) The term ‘financial institution’ has the
meaning given such term in section 903 of the Elec-
tronic Fund Transfer Act.
‘‘(15) 
The 
term 
‘insured 
depository
institution’—
‘‘(A) has the same meaning as in section
3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; and
‘‘(B) includes any insured credit union (as
defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit
Union Act).
‘‘(16) The terms ‘money transmitting business’
and ‘money transmitting service’ have the meanings
given such terms in section 5330(d) of title 31,
United States Code.
‘‘(17) The terms ‘own or control’ and to be
‘owned or controlled’ have the same meanings as in
section 2(a)(2) of the Bank Holding Company Act
of 1956.
‘‘(18) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary
of the Treasury.
‘‘(19) 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).’’.
SEC. 3. 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; Penalties
‘‘(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
whoever, being engaged in a gambling business, 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-
cipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets
or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing
of bets or wagers;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both.
‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), who-
ever, being engaged in a gambling business, knowingly ac-
cepts, in connection with the transmission of a commu-
nication in interstate or foreign commerce, within the spe-
cial maritime and territorial 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 assist-
ing in the placing of bets or wagers—
‘‘(A) credit, or the proceeds of credit, extended
to or on behalf of another (including credit extended
through the use of a credit card);
‘‘(B) an electronic fund transfer or funds trans-
mitted by or through a money transmitting 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 instrument
which is drawn by or on behalf of the other person
and is drawn on or payable through any financial in-
stitution; or
‘‘(D) the proceeds of any other form of finan-
cial transaction as the Secretary of the Treasury
may prescribe by regulation which involves a finan-
cial 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.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (b)(1) does not apply if the use of
a communication facility for the transmission of bets or
wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or
wagers is permitted under subsections (c) or (d).
‘‘(c) 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; or
‘‘(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.
‘‘(d) 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 any facility or support
service processing those bets or wagers is physically
located in the same State, and the State has a se-
cure and effective customer verification and age
verification system to assure compliance with age
and residence requirements, 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;
‘‘(3) the State has explicitly authorized and li-
censed the operation of the gambling business, any
facility processing the bets and wagers, and the sup-
port service within its borders or the Tribe has ex-
plicitly authorized and licensed the operation of such
gambling business, any facility processing the bets
and wagers, and the support service on Indian lands
within its jurisdiction;
‘‘(4) with respect to class II or class III gam-
ing, the game is permitted under and conducted in
accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act;
‘‘(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 facility or support serv-
ice processing those bets or wagers are physically lo-
cated; and
‘‘(6) with respect to class III gaming under the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, each such Tribal-
State compact expressly provides that the game may
be conducted using a communication facility to
transmit bets or wagers or information assisting in
the placing of bets or wagers.
‘‘(e) Nothing in this section creates immunity from
criminal prosecution under any laws of any State or Tribe.
‘‘(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to pro-
hibit an activity allowed under Public Law 95–515 (15
U.S.C. 3001 et seq.).
‘‘(g) Nothing in this section authorizes activity that
is prohibited under chapter 178 of title 28, United States
Code.
‘‘(h) 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
to any transmission to or from the United States in viola-
tion of Federal, State, tribal or local law, it shall dis-
continue or refuse, the leasing, furnishing, or maintaining
of such facility, after reasonable notice to the subscriber,
but no damages, penalty or forfeiture, civil or criminal,
shall be found against any common carrier for any act
done in compliance with any notice received from a law
enforcement agency. Nothing in this section shall be
deemed to prejudice the right of any person affected there-
by to secure an appropriate determination, as otherwise
provided by law, in a Federal court or in a State, tribal,
or local tribunal or agency, that such facility should not
be discontinued or removed, or should be restored.
‘‘(i)(1) A Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforce-
ment agency, acting within its jurisdiction may, in a civil
action, obtain injunctive or declaratory relief to restrain
or prevent any person from paying or assisting in the pay-
ment of bets or wagers, or communicating information as-
sisting in the placing of bets or wagers, 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 in viola-
tion of Federal, State, tribal, or local law.
‘‘(2) No damages, penalty, or forfeiture, civil or
criminal, shall be found against any person or entity for
any act done in compliance with any notice received from
a law enforcement agency.
‘‘(3) No relief requiring the blocking of websites may
be granted under paragraph (1) against an interactive
computer service (as defined in section 230(f) of the Com-
munications Act of 1934), unless the service is acting in
concert with a person who is violating the law and the
service receives actual notice of the relief.’’.
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