Court Opinion

ID: 9860781
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 23:32:36.244893+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:26:41.240288
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE NASH, dissenting: I respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority opinion in which it holds that a “recording” of wagers by defendant is an element of the offense of syndicated gambling when premised upon bookmaking (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 28 — 1.1(b)). It is correct, as noted in the opinion, that the gist of the former offense of bookmaking was the keeping of a book, instrument, or device for the purpose of recording or registering bets or wagers (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1959, ch. 38, par. 336), and, under that form of the statute, it was held that without a recording there could be no bookmaking. (People v. Lloyd (1954), 3 Ill. App. 2d 257, 2571.) That statute, and its explicit recording language, was repealed, however, on the enactment of the Criminal Code of 1961 and “bookmaking” now appears in the Criminal Code only as a part of the syndicated gambling statute. It is there redefined as follows: “(d) A person engages in bookmaking when he receives or accepts more than five bets or wagers upon the result of any trials or contests of skill, speed or power of endurance or upon any lot, chance, casualty, unknown or contingent event whatsoever, which bets or wages shall be of such size that the total of the amounts of money paid to such bookmaker on account thereof shall exceed $2,000. Bookmaking is the receiving or accepting of such bets or wagers regardless of the form or manner in which the bookmaker records them.” (Emphasis added.) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 28-1.1(d).) As may be seen, bookmaking is no longer the keeping of a record of wagers, but is defined as occurring when one accepts multiple wagers aggregating over $2,000 upon the outcome of certain occurrences. The previous requirement that a book or record be kept in which wagers are recorded is not seen in the present statute and should not be inserted by this court after having been removed by the legislature. Perhaps to avoid that result, the legislature stipulated that bookmaking is the receiving or accepting of wagers “regardless of the form or manner in which the bookmaker records them.” I do not consider that it was intended by this language that proof of a recording of wagers must be shown as an element of the offense of syndicated gambling. I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.