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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1955. Prohibition of illegal gambling businesses
(a) Whoever conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or
owns all or part of an illegal gambling business shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(b) As used in this section -
(1) "illegal gambling business" means a gambling business which
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(i) is a violation of the law of a State or political
subdivision in which it is conducted;
(ii) involves five or more persons who conduct, finance,
manage, supervise, direct, or own all or part of such business;
and
(iii) has been or remains in substantially continuous
operation for a period in excess of thirty days or has a gross
revenue of $2,000 in any single day.
(2) "gambling" includes but is not limited to pool-selling,
bookmaking, maintaining slot machines, roulette wheels or dice
tables, and conducting lotteries, policy, bolita or numbers
games, or selling chances therein.
(3) "State" means any State of the United States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory
or possession of the United States.
(c) If five or more persons conduct, finance, manage, supervise,
direct, or own all or part of a gambling business and such business
operates for two or more successive days, then, for the purpose of
obtaining warrants for arrests, interceptions, and other searches
and seizures, probable cause that the business receives gross
revenue in excess of $2,000 in any single day shall be deemed to
have been established.
(d) Any property, including money, used in violation of the
provisions of this section may be seized and forfeited to the
United States. All provisions of law relating to the seizures,
summary, and judicial forfeiture procedures, and condemnation of
vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage for violation of the
customs laws; the disposition of such vessels, vehicles,
merchandise, and baggage or the proceeds from such sale; the
remission or mitigation of such forfeitures; and the compromise of
claims and the award of compensation to informers in respect of
such forfeitures shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred
or alleged to have been incurred under the provisions of this
section, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with such
provisions. Such duties as are imposed upon the collector of
customs or any other person in respect to the seizure and
forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage under the
customs laws shall be performed with respect to seizures and
forfeitures of property used or intended for use in violation of
this section by such officers, agents, or other persons as may be
designated for that purpose by the Attorney General.
(e) This section shall not apply to any bingo game, lottery, or
similar game of chance conducted by an organization exempt from tax
under paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of section 501 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if no part of the gross
receipts derived from such activity inures to the benefits of any
private shareholder, member, or employee of such organization
except as compensation for actual expenses incurred by him in the
conduct of such activity.
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