Transmission of wagering information; penalties
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(a) Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire 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, shall be or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
(b)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the transmission in of information for use in news reporting of sporting events or contests, or for the transmission of information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on a sporting event or contest from a State or foreign country where betting on that sporting event or contest is legal into a State or foreign country in which such betting is legal.
(c) Nothing contained in this section shall create immunity from criminal prosecution under any laws of any State.
(d) When any common carrier, subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission, is notified in writing by a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency, acting within its jurisdiction, that any facility furnished by it is being used or will be used for the purpose of transmitting or receiving gambling information in in violation of Federal, State or local law, it shall discontinue 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 thereby to secure an appropriate determination, as otherwise provided by law, in a Federal court or in a State or local tribunal or agency, that such facility should not be discontinued or removed, or should be restored.
(e)
As used in this section, the term "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States.
History: (Added Pub. L. 87–216, §2, Sept. 13, 1961, 75 Stat. 491; amended Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §7024, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4397 (PDF, 56 MB); Pub. L. 101–647, title XII, §1205(g), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4831 (PDF, 27 MB); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 (PDF, 52 MB).)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime for someone in the betting business to knowingly use phone lines or other wire communications to send bets, or information that helps place bets, across state or national lines.