Title 28Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73

§3704 Applicability

Title 28 › Part PART VI— - PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS › Chapter CHAPTER 178— - PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR SPORTS PROTECTION › § 3704

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Some state or local gambling is not covered by the federal rule. The exceptions are: lotteries, sweepstakes, or other betting run by a state or government if they operated at any time from January 1, 1976, through August 31, 1990; games allowed by state law on October 2, 1991, if a similar game (not including parimutuel animal racing or jai‑alai) actually ran in that state between September 1, 1989, and October 2, 1991 under state law; games run only in casinos in one city or town that met two timing and regulation tests; and parimutuel animal racing or jai‑alai. Except for those exclusions, the rule applies on the Indian lands listed in section 4(4) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703(4)).

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §3704

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)section 3702 shall not apply to—
(1)a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme in operation in a State or other governmental entity, to the extent that the scheme was conducted by that State or other governmental entity at any time during the period beginning January 1, 1976, and ending August 31, 1990;
(2)a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme in operation in a State or other governmental entity where both—
(A)such scheme was authorized by a statute as in effect on October 2, 1991; and
(B)a scheme described in section 3702 (other than one based on parimutuel animal racing or jai-alai games) actually was conducted in that State or other governmental entity at any time during the period beginning September 1, 1989, and ending October 2, 1991, pursuant to the law of that State or other governmental entity;
(3)a betting, gambling, or wagering scheme, other than a lottery described in paragraph (1), conducted exclusively in casinos located in a municipality, but only to the extent that—
(A)such scheme or a similar scheme was authorized, not later than one year after the effective date of this chapter, to be operated in that municipality; and
(B)any commercial casino gaming scheme was in operation in such municipality throughout the 10-year period ending on such effective date pursuant to a comprehensive system of State regulation authorized by that State’s constitution and applicable solely to such municipality; or
(4)parimutuel animal racing or jai-alai games.
(b)Except as provided in subsection (a), section 3702 shall apply on lands described in section 4(4) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703(4)).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The

Effective Date

of this chapter, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(A), is Jan. 1, 1993, see section 3 of Pub. L. 102–559, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 3701 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 1993, see section 3 of Pub. L. 102–559, set out as a note under section 3701 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 3704

Title 28Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73