I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2380
To amend title 18 of the United States Code with respect to gambling
on the Internet, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 3, 1997
Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself and Mr. LOBIONDO) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18 of the United States Code with respect
to gambling on the Internet, 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 ‘‘Internet Gambling
Prohibition Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 1081 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in the matter immediately following the
colon, by designating the first 5 undesignated para-
graphs as paragraphs (1) through (5), respectively,
and moving the indentation of each paragraph 2 ems
to the right;
(2) in paragraph (5), as so designated—
(A) by striking ‘‘wire communication’’ and
inserting ‘‘communication’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘transmission of writings’’
and inserting ‘‘transmission or receipt of data,
writings’’; and
(C) by striking ‘‘or other like’’ and all that
follows before the period and inserting ‘‘radio,
electromagnetic, photo-optical, photoelectric, or
other similar facility’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) BETS OR WAGERS.—The term ‘bets or wa-
gers’—
‘‘(A) means the staking or risking by any
person of something of value (other than in a
de minimis amount, such as postage, filling out
a form or survey, or visits to a place where no
charge is made for such visits) upon the out-
come of a contest of chance or a future contin-
gent event which contest or event is predomi-
nantly subject to pure chance, upon an agree-
ment or understanding that the person or an-
other person will receive something of greater
value than the amount staked or risked in the
event of a certain outcome;
‘‘(B) includes—
‘‘(i) the purchase of a chance or op-
portunity to win a lottery or other prize if
the opportunity to win is subject to pure
chance and the purchase requires a consid-
eration that is not in a de minimis amount
as described in subparagraph (A) and
‘‘(ii) information that is intended by
the sender to be used by a person engaged
in the business of betting or wagering to
accept or place a bet or wager; 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 contract of indemnity or guar-
antee; or
‘‘(iii) a contract for life, health, or ac-
cident insurance.
‘‘(7) INFORMATION ASSISTING IN THE PLACING
OF BETS OR WAGERS.—The term ‘information as-
sisting in the placing of bets or wagers means infor-
mation that is sent by a person engaged in the busi-
ness of betting or wagering that is necessary in
order for the recipient to place a bet or wager by
means of a communication facility being used in
interstate or foreign commerce.’’.
SEC. 3. TRANSMISSION OF WAGERING INFORMATION; PEN-
ALTIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1084 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by striking subsections (a)
through (c) and inserting the following:
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) PERSONS ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF
BETTING OR WAGERING.—Whoever, being engaged
in the business of betting or wagering knowingly
uses a communication facility for the transmission
or receipt in interstate or foreign commerce of bets
or wagers, information assisting in the placing of
bets or wagers, or a communication that entitles the
transmitter or receiver to the opportunity to receive
money or credit as a result of bets or wagers made
using a communication facility in interstate or for-
eign commerce, shall be fined under this title or im-
prisoned not more than 4 years, or both.
‘‘(2) OTHER PERSONS.—Whoever (other than a
person described in paragraph (1)) knowingly uses a
communication facility for the transmission or re-
ceipt in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or
wagers, information assisting in the placing of bets
or wagers, or a communication that entitles the
transmitter or receiver to the opportunity to receive
money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, shall
be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than 6 months, or both.
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—
‘‘(1) NEWS REPORTING; LEGAL BETS AND WA-
GERS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit the transmission or receipt in interstate or
foreign commerce of any information—
‘‘(A) for use in the news reporting of any
activity, event, or contest upon which bets or
wagers are based;
‘‘(B) assisting in the placing of bets or wa-
gers, if betting or wagering on such activity,
event, or contest—
‘‘(i) is not illegal in the State or for-
eign country in which the transmission
originates; and
‘‘(ii) is not illegal in each State and
each foreign country in which the sender
intends the transmission to be received for
the purposes of betting or wagering; or
‘‘(C) advertising, promotion, or other com-
munication by, or authorized by, anyone li-
censed to operate a gambling business in a
State in which such business is lawful and in
which the recipient of the information must be
physically present at the licensed business es-
tablishment in order to place a bet or wager or
engage in a contest which is conducted at such
establishment.
‘‘(2) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this section shall
be construed to preempt any State law.’’.
(b) DUTIES
OF COMMON CARRIERS
AND INTER-
ACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE PROVIDERS.—Subsection (d)
of section 1084 of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking ‘‘(d) When’’ and inserting the
following:
‘‘(c) DUTIES OF COMMON CARRIERS AND INTER-
ACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE PROVIDERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘or interactive computer service
provider’’ after ‘‘common carrier’’ each place that
term appears;
(3) by striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(3) JUDICIAL ACTION.—Nothing’’; and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (1), as amend-
ed by subparagraph (1), the following:
‘‘(2) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Any State or local
law enforcement agency acting within its jurisdic-
tion, may, following the issuance of a notice under
paragraph (1), in a civil action, obtain an injunction
or other appropriate relief preventing the use of such
facility for the purpose of transmitting or receiving
gambling information in interstate or foreign com-
merce in violation of State or local law.’’.
(c) STYLISTIC AMENDMENT.—Section 1084(e) of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting
‘‘.—Definition’’.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the Federal Gov-
ernment should have extraterritorial jurisdiction over the
transmission to or receipt from the United States of—
(1) bets or wagers (as that term is defined in
section 1081 of title 18, United States Code);
(2) information assisting in the placing of bets
or wagers; and
(3) any communication that entitles the trans-
mitter or recipient to the opportunity to receive
money or credit as a result of bets or wagers.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
Not later than one year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit a report
to Congress that includes—
(1) an analysis of the problems, if any, associ-
ated with enforcing section 1084 of title 18, United
States Code, as amended by this Act; and
(2) recommendations for the best use of the re-
sources of the Department of Justice to enforce that
section.
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