Mob FilesPublic-domain archive of American organized crime

Record

Case file

1970-10-15

U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), United States Statutes at Large, vol. 84

Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Title VIII, Part C: Illegal Gambling Business (18 U.S.C. 1955), 84 Stat. 937

Section 803 of the 1970 Act added 18 U.S.C. 1955, which made it a federal crime to conduct, finance, manage, supervise, direct or own an illegal gambling business of five or more persons operating more than thirty days or grossing $2,000 in a day.

Date
1970-10-15
Kind
case-file
Source
U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), United States Statutes at Large, vol. 84
Retrieved
2026-10-12
Docket
84 Stat. 937 (Pub. L. 91-452, Title VIII, sec. 803)
Rights
An Act of Congress, a federal work in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. The text was read from the Statutes at Large PDF published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office on govinfo.

Title VIII of the Organized Crime Control Act deals with syndicated gambling. Its Part C, “Illegal Gambling Business”, section 803, adds section 1955, “Prohibition of illegal gambling businesses”, to chapter 95 of title 18.

Section 1955(a) reads: “Whoever conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or […] owns all or part of an illegal gambling business shall be fined not more than $20,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” (84 Stat. 937.) An “illegal gambling business” is one that violates the law of the State or political subdivision where 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 “pool-selling, bookmaking, maintaining slot machines, roulette wheels or dice tables, and conducting lotteries, policy, bolita or numbers games”.

The page number 937 is inferred from the running heads in the govinfo text layer. Section 1955 is listed in the same Act’s RICO definition of racketeering activity. The FBI’s 1954 to 1971 history essay refers to “illegal gambling laws” in general and does not name this section.

itemOrganized Crime Control Act of 1970: 84 Stat. 922-962 (Public Law 91-452), 15 October 1970"An Act Relating to the control of organized crime in the United States", with titles on special grand juries, witness immunity, recalcitrant witnesses, protected housing for government witnesses, syndicated gambling, racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO), dangerous special offenders and explosives.itemWire Act: 75 Stat. 491 (Public Law 87-216), 13 September 1961, adding 18 U.S.C. 1084The 1961 Act adding 18 U.S.C. 1084, which made it a crime for a person in the business of betting or wagering knowingly to use a wire communication facility to transmit bets, wagers or wagering information across state or national lines.itemJohnson Act (gambling devices): 64 Stat. 1134-1135 (Chapter 1194, Public Law 906), 2 January 1951"An Act To prohibit transportation of gambling devices in interstate and foreign commerce." It barred knowingly shipping slot machines and similar devices into a State unless that State had exempted itself by law, and required makers and dealers to register with the Attorney General.itemOrganized Crime Control Act of 1970, Title IX: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (18 U.S.C. 1961-1968), 84 Stat. 941-948Title IX of the 1970 Act, the RICO statute: it made it unlawful to conduct an enterprise's affairs through a "pattern of racketeering activity", defined the predicate offenses, and provided prison terms, fines and forfeiture. Section 904 directs that it "be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial purposes."