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Title 18, Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-102

§1307 Exceptions Relating to Certain Advertisements and Other Information and to State-conducted Lotteries

Title 18 › PART I — CRIMES › CHAPTER 61 — LOTTERIES › § 1307

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Allows some lottery ads and mailings to be exempt from federal restrictions. Ads or prize lists about a lottery run by a State under its own law are allowed if they appear in publications or on radio/TV licensed in that State. Ads about lotteries, gift games, or similar schemes are also allowed if the State where they happen allows them and they are run by a not-for-profit group or a government body, or if a business does them only as an occasional, side promotion. It is also allowed to send or ship lottery equipment, tickets, or materials to addresses inside the State for that State’s lottery, or to someone in a foreign country if the item is meant for a lottery that country allows. Definitions: “State” = a U.S. State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. territory or possession. “Foreign country” = any empire, country, dominion, colony, protectorate, or part of one, not including the U.S. or its territories. “Lottery” = pooling money from ticket or chance sales and giving prizes by chance; it does not include betting on sports. “Not-for-profit organization” = an organization that would be tax-exempt under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §1307

Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The provisions of section 1301, 1302, 1303, and 1304 shall not apply to—
(1)an advertisement, list of prizes, or other information concerning a lottery conducted by a State acting under the authority of State law which is—
(A)contained in a publication published in that State or in a State which conducts such a lottery; or
(B)broadcast by a radio or television station licensed to a location in that State or a State which conducts such a lottery; or
(2)an advertisement, list of prizes, or other information concerning a lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme, other than one described in paragraph (1), that is authorized or not otherwise prohibited by the State in which it is conducted and which is—
(A)conducted by a not-for-profit organization or a governmental organization; or
(B)conducted as a promotional activity by a commercial organization and is clearly occasional and ancillary to the primary business of that organization.
(b)The provisions of section 1301, 1302, and 1303 shall not apply to the transportation or mailing—
(1)to addresses within a State of equipment, tickets, or material concerning a lottery which is conducted by that State acting under the authority of State law; or
(2)to an addressee within a foreign country of equipment, tickets, or material designed to be used within that foreign country in a lottery which is authorized by the law of that foreign country.
(c)For the purposes of this section (1) “State” means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States; and (2) “foreign country” means any empire, country, dominion, colony, or protectorate, or any subdivision thereof (other than the United States, its territories or possessions).
(d)For the purposes of subsection (b) of this section “lottery” means the pooling of proceeds derived from the sale of tickets or chances and allotting those proceeds or parts thereof by chance to one or more chance takers or ticket purchasers. “Lottery” does not include the placing or accepting of bets or wagers on sporting events or contests. For purposes of this section, the term a “not-for-profit organization” means any organization that would qualify as tax exempt under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (d), is classified to section 501 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Amendments

1988—Pub. L. 100–625, § 3(a)(1), substituted “Exceptions relating to certain advertisements and other information and to State-conducted lotteries” for “State-conducted lotteries” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–625, § 2(a), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: “The provisions of section 1301, 1302, 1303, and 1304 shall not apply to an advertisement, list of prizes, or information concerning a lottery conducted by a State acting under the authority of State law— “(1) contained in a newspaper published in that State or in an adjacent State which conducts such a lottery, or “(2) broadcast by a radio or television station licensed to a location in that State or an adjacent State which conducts such a lottery.” Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–625, §§ 2(b), 3(a)(3), inserted “subsection (b) of” after “purposes of” and inserted at end “For purposes of this section, the term a ‘not-for-profit organization’ means any organization that would qualify as tax exempt under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.” 1979—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–90, § 1(a), incorporated existing provision in text designated cl. (1), included mailing of equipment, and added cl. (2). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–90, § 1(b), designated existing text as cl. (1) and added cl. (2). 1976—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 94–525 inserted “or in an adjacent State which conducts such a lottery” after “State”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–625 effective 18 months after Nov. 7, 1988, see section 5 of Pub. L. 100–625, set out as a note under section 1304 of this title.

Severability

Pub. L. 100–625, § 4, Nov. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 3206, provided that: “If any provision of this Act or the

Amendments

made by this Act [amending section 1304 and 1307 of this title and section 3005 of Title 39, Postal Service, and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 1301 and 1304 of this title], or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and the

Amendments

made by this Act, and the application of such provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances, shall not be affected by such invalidation.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 1307

Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102