Federal · Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

18 U.S.C. § 1511: Obstruction of State or local law enforcement

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

Federal law prohibits conducting an illegal gambling business involving five or more persons with continuous operation over 30 days or $2,000 daily revenue. Violation carries up to five years imprisonment and/or fines.

Read the full statutory text
one or more of such persons does any act to effect the object of such a conspiracy; one or more of such persons is an official or employee, elected, appointed, or otherwise, of such State or political subdivision; and one or more of such persons conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of an illegal gambling business. is a violation of the law of a State or political subdivision in which it is conducted; involves five or more persons who conduct, finance, manage, supervise, direct, or own all or part of such business; and 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. “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. “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. 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 benefit 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. Whoever violates this section shall be punished by a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.