The limited First Amendment protection afforded crime facilitating speech encumbers free speech objections. The commercial nature of a gambling business seems to satisfy doubts under the Commerce Clause. Attacks based on the Commerce Clause, the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, and the Due Process Clause have enjoyed little success. 5361-5367.Įnforcement of these provisions has been challenged on constitutional grounds. 1957 or (7) for a gambling business to accept payment for illegal Internet gambling under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), 31 U.S.C. 1956 (6) to spend more than $10,000 of the proceeds from an illegal gambling operation at any one time and place under the money laundering provisions, 18 U.S.C.

1962 (5) to launder the proceeds from an illegal gambling business or to plow them back into such a business under money laundering provisions of 18 U.S.C. 1952 (4) to conduct the activities of an illegal gambling business involving either the collection of an unlawful debt or a pattern of gambling offenses, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) provisions, 18 U.S.C. 1084 (3) to use the facilities of interstate commerce to conduct an illegal gambling business under the Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. 1955 (2) to use the telephone or telecommunications to conduct an illegal gambling business involving sporting events or contests under the Wire Act, 18 U.S.C.

It is a federal crime (1) to conduct an illegal gambling business under the Illegal Gambling Business Act, 18 U.S.C.

Illicit Internet gambling implicates at least seven federal criminal statutes. State officials and others have expressed concern that the Internet may be used to bring illegal gambling into their jurisdictions. Gambling is primarily a matter of state law, reinforced by federal law in instances where the presence of an interstate or foreign element might otherwise frustrate the enforcement policies of state law. This is a summary of the federal criminal statutes implicated by conducting illegal gambling using the Internet.

States with illegal gambling