In very general terms, it is a federal crime
to use wire communications to place or receive bets on, or to transmit gambling information relating to, sporting contests or events; to conduct a large-scale gambling business in violation of state law; to travel interstate or overseas, or to use any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce, to facilitate the operation of an illegal gambling business; to conduct a gambling business and accept payment for illegal Internet gambling participation; to systematically commit these crimes in order to acquire or operate a commercial enterprise; to launder the proceeds of an illegal gambling business or to plow them back into the business; to spend or deposit more than $10,000 of the proceeds of illegal gambling in any manner; or to conspire with others, or to aid and abet them, in their violation of any of these federal laws. They may have their telephone service canceled at law enforcement request, and conduct that violates the Wire Act may provide the basis for a prosecution under the money laundering statutes, the Travel Act, the Illegal Gambling Business Act, RICO, or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Illegal Gambling Businesses

Section 1955, which outlaws conducting an illegal gambling business, appears on its face to reach any illegal gambling business conducted using the Internet. Illegal gambling is at the threshold of any prosecution under the section, and cannot to be pursued if the underlying state law is unenforceable under either the United States Constitution, or the operative state constitution. Whether a federal criminal statute applies overseas is a matter of Congressional intent. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) does so explicitly. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)

Illegal gambling may trigger the application of federal racketeering (RICO) provisions. A. through the collection of an unlawful debt, or
B. through a pattern of racketeering activity, defined to include:
1. any act of gambling which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment or more than 1 year;
2. any act which is indictable under 18 U.S.C. 1955 (relating to conducting an illegal gambling business, 18 U.S.C. UIGEA outlaws certain Internet gambling related transactions, not Internet gambling itself. 1956 and 1957, both of which involve financial disposition of the proceeds of various state and federal crimes, including violation of 18 U.S.C. The elements of the two are roughly comparable. The provision has promotional, concealment, and report evasion components. Principal among these have been questions as to Congress's legislative power under the Commerce Clause, restrictions imposed by the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, and due process concerns about the regulation of activities occurring at least in part overseas. First Amendment

Gambling implicates First Amendment free speech concerns on two levels. Due Process

Early commentators suggested application of federal criminal law to offshore Internet gambling entrepreneurs implicated due process, personal jurisdiction concerns, as understood in civil cases. Selected Federal Anti-Gambling Laws (Text)

		Wire Act (18 U.S.C. Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (31 U.S.C. 5367. 18 U.S. C. 1962 . Money Laundering (18 U.S.C.
This is a summary of the federal criminal statutes implicated by conducting illegal gambling using the Internet. 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. State officials and others have expressed concern that the Internet may be used to bring illegal gambling into their jurisdictions.
Illicit Internet gambling implicates at least seven federal criminal statutes. It is a federal crime (1) to conduct an illegal gambling business under the Illegal Gambling Business 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. 1084; (3) to use the facilities of interstate commerce to conduct an illegal gambling business under the Travel Act, 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. 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. 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. 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. 5361-5367.
Enforcement of these provisions has been challenged on constitutional grounds. Attacks based on the Commerce Clause, the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, and the Due Process Clause have enjoyed little success. The commercial nature of a gambling business seems to satisfy doubts under the Commerce Clause. The limited First Amendment protection afforded crime facilitating speech encumbers free speech objections. The due process arguments raised in contemplation of federal prosecution of offshore Internet gambling operations suffer when financial transactions with individuals in the United States are involved.
Citations to state and federal gambling laws, and the text of the statutes cited above, are included. This report appears in abridged form, without footnotes, full citations, or supplementary material, as CRS Report RS21984, Internet Gambling: An Abridged Overview of Federal Criminal Law. Related CRS reports include CRS Report RS22749, Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and Its Implementing Regulations, and CRS Report R41614, Remote Gaming and the Gambling Industry.