# Wagering taxes: Revenue Act of 1951, Part VII, sec. 471 (Public Law 183), 65 Stat. 529

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/items/statutes-at-large-65-stat-529-wagering-tax/

Part VII of the Revenue Act of 1951 added a chapter of wagering taxes: a 10 percent excise tax on wagers, including "the numbers game, policy, and similar types of wagering", and a $50 special tax with registration for those in the business. The Supreme Court limited its criminal enforcement in 1968.

The Revenue Act of 1951, Public Law 183, Chapter 521 (H.R. 4473), "To provide revenue, and for other purposes", begins at page 452 of volume 65 with the margin date October 20, 1951. Part VII, "Wagering", section 471, begins at page 529 and inserts a new Chapter 27A, "Wagering Taxes", into the Internal Revenue Code.

New section 3285(a) reads: "There shall be imposed on wagers, as defined in subsection (b), an excise tax equal to 10 per centum of the amount thereof." (65 Stat. 529.) Taxable wagers are those on a sports event or contest placed with a person in the business of accepting them, those placed in a wagering pool conducted for profit, and those placed in a lottery conducted for profit; "The term 'lottery' includes the numbers game, policy, and similar types of wagering." Licensed parimutuel wagering is excluded. New section 3290 imposes "A special tax of $50 per year" on each person liable for the excise tax or engaged in receiving wagers for such a person, and section 3291 requires those persons to register with the collector of the district.

In Marchetti v. United States and Grosso v. United States, both decided January 29, 1968 and filed separately, the Supreme Court held that a proper claim of the Fifth Amendment privilege defeats a criminal conviction for failing to register and pay the occupational tax or to pay the excise tax. The effective date of the wagering provisions was not read. No IRS or Justice Department history page on this tax could be opened during research, and the Library of Congress has no page images of volume 65, so the govinfo PDF is the source.

## Sources

- U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), United States Statutes at Large, vol. 65: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-65/pdf/STATUTE-65-Pg452.pdf