§1829a — Title 12 Banks and Banking | U.S. Code

Summary

State nonmember insured banks must not sell or handle lottery tickets or bets, or announce, advertise, or publicize a lottery or who is playing or who wins. They also must not let anyone use their bank offices for those forbidden activities or give the public direct access from a bank office to a place used for them. Definitions (one line each): "deal in" means making, taking, buying, selling, redeeming, or collecting; "lottery" means an arrangement with three or more people where some can win more than they put in, chosen by chance, a game, or by event results; "lottery ticket" means any right or paper that could make someone a winner; "savings promotion raffle" means a raffle where entry requires a deposit into a savings account and each entry has an equal chance, subject to rules from the appropriate prudential regulator. Banks may still take deposits, cash checks, or provide other normal banking services for a State running a lottery or the State's lottery official. The Board of Directors must make rules to enforce these limits and stop evasions.

Title 12, §1829a

Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A State nonmember insured bank may not—

(1)deal in lottery tickets;

(2)deal in bets used as a means or substitute for participation in a lottery;

(3)announce, advertise, or publicize the existence of any lottery; or

(4)announce, advertise, or publicize the existence or identity of any participant or winner, as such, in a lottery.

(b)A State nonmember insured bank may not permit—

(1)the use of any part of any of its banking offices by any person for any purpose forbidden to the bank under subsection (a), or

(2)direct access by the public from any of its banking offices to any premises used by any person for any purpose forbidden to the bank under subsection (a).

(c)As used in this section—

(1)The term “deal in” includes making, taking, buying, selling, redeeming, or collecting.

(2)The term “lottery” includes any arrangement, other than a savings promotion raffle, whereby three or more persons (the “participants”) advance money or credit to another in exchange for the possibility or expectation that one or more but not all of the participants (the “winners”) will receive by reason of their advances more than the amounts they have advanced, the identity of the winners being determined by any means which includes—

(A)a random selection;

(B)a game, race, or contest; or

(C)any record or tabulation of the result of one or more events in which any participant has no interest except for its bearing upon the possibility that he may become a winner.

(3)The term “lottery ticket” includes any right, privilege, or possibility (and any ticket, receipt, record, or other evidence of any such right, privilege, or possibility), of becoming a winner in a lottery.

(4)The term “savings promotion raffle” means a contest in which the sole consideration required for a chance of winning designated prizes is obtained by the deposit of a specified amount of money in a savings account or other savings program, where each ticket or entry has an equal chance of being drawn, such contest being subject to regulations that may from time to time be promulgated by the appropriate prudential regulator (as defined in section 5481 of this title).

(d)Nothing contained in this section prohibits a State nonmember insured bank from accepting deposits or cashing or otherwise handling checks or other negotiable instruments, or performing other lawful banking services for a State operating a lottery, or for an officer or employee of that State who is charged with the administration of the lottery.

(e)The Board of Directors shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to the strict enforcement of this section and the prevention of evasions thereof.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2014—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 113–251, § 3(c)(1), inserted “, other than a savings promotion raffle,” before “whereby” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 113–251, § 3(c)(2), added par. (4). 1994—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 103–325 inserted “or” at end.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Apr. 1, 1968, see section 6 of Pub. L. 90–203, set out as a note under section 25a of this title.

§1829a Participation by State nonmember insured banks in lotteries and related activities