2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2915.02. Gambling.

§ 2915.02. Gambling.
 

(A)  No person shall do any of the following: 

(1) Engage in bookmaking, or knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates bookmaking; 

(2) Establish, promote, or operate or knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates any game of chance conducted for profit or any scheme of chance; 

(3) Knowingly procure, transmit, exchange, or engage in conduct that facilitates the procurement, transmission, or exchange of information for use in establishing odds or determining winners in connection with bookmaking or with any game of chance conducted for profit or any scheme of chance; 

(4) Engage in betting or in playing any scheme or game of chance as a substantial source of income or livelihood; 

(5) With purpose to violate division (A)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section, acquire, possess, control, or operate any gambling device. 

(B)  For purposes of division (A)(1) of this section, a person facilitates bookmaking if the person in any way knowingly aids an illegal bookmaking operation, including, without limitation, placing a bet with a person engaged in or facilitating illegal bookmaking. For purposes of division (A)(2) of this section, a person facilitates a game of chance conducted for profit or a scheme of chance if the person in any way knowingly aids in the conduct or operation of any such game or scheme, including, without limitation, playing any such game or scheme. 

(C)  This section does not prohibit conduct in connection with gambling expressly permitted by law. 

(D)  This section does not apply to any of the following: 

(1) Games of chance, if all of the following apply: 

(a) The games of chance are not craps for money or roulette for money. 

(b) The games of chance are conducted by a charitable organization that is, and has received from the internal revenue service a determination letter that is currently in effect, stating that the organization is, exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

(c) The games of chance are conducted at festivals of the charitable organization that are conducted either for a period of four consecutive days or less and not more than twice a year or for a period of five consecutive days not more than once a year, and are conducted on premises owned by the charitable organization for a period of no less than one year immediately preceding the conducting of the games of chance, on premises leased from a governmental unit, or on premises that are leased from a veteran's or fraternal organization and that have been owned by the lessor veteran's or fraternal organization for a period of no less than one year immediately preceding the conducting of the games of chance. 

A charitable organization shall not lease premises from a veteran's or fraternal organization to conduct a festival described in division (D)(1)(c) of this section if the veteran's or fraternal organization already has leased the premises four times during the preceding year to charitable organizations for that purpose. If a charitable organization leases premises from a veteran's or fraternal organization to conduct a festival described in division (D)(1)(c) of this section, the charitable organization shall not pay a rental rate for the premises per day of the festival that exceeds the rental rate per bingo session that a charitable organization may pay under division (B)(1) of section 2915.09 of the Revised Code when it leases premises from another charitable organization to conduct bingo games. 

(d) All of the money or assets received from the games of chance after deduction only of prizes paid out during the conduct of the games of chance are used by, or given, donated, or otherwise transferred to, any organization that is described in subsection 509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is either a governmental unit or an organization that is tax exempt under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; 

(e) The games of chance are not conducted during, or within ten hours of, a bingo game conducted for amusement purposes only pursuant to section 2915.12 of the Revised Code. 

No person shall receive any commission, wage, salary, reward, tip, donation, gratuity, or other form of compensation, directly or indirectly, for operating or assisting in the operation of any game of chance. 

(2) Any tag fishing tournament operated under a permit issued under section 1533.92 of the Revised Code, as "tag fishing tournament" is defined in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code; 

(3) Bingo conducted by a charitable organization that holds a license issued under section 2915.08 of the Revised Code. 

(E)  Division (D) of this section shall not be construed to authorize the sale, lease, or other temporary or permanent transfer of the right to conduct games of chance, as granted by that division, by any charitable organization that is granted that right. 

(F)  Whoever violates this section is guilty of gambling, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of any gambling offense, gambling is a felony of the fifth degree. 
 

HISTORY: 134 v H 511 (Eff 1-1-74); 136 v S 398 (Eff 5-26-76); 136 v H 1547 (Eff 12-6-76); 137 v H 72 (Eff 12-15-77); 142 v H 514 (Eff 2-11-88); 143 v H 550 (Eff 5-3-90); 143 v H 573 (Eff 4-10-91); 145 v H 104 (Eff 10-7-93); 145 v H 336 (Eff 10-29-93); 146 v S 2 (Eff 7-1-96); 147 v S 37 (Eff 7-26-97); 149 v H 512. Eff 4-3-2003; 150 v H 95, § 1, eff. 7-1-03.
 

The effective date is set by section 182 of H.B. 95 (150 v  - ). 

Not analogous to former RC § 2915.02 (GC § 13054-1; Bureau of Code Revision, 10-1-53; 125 v 544), repealed 134 v H 511, § 2, eff 1-1-74.

 

Effect of Amendments

H.B. 95, Acts 2003, effective July 1, 2003, reenacted this section without change. 

 

19xx Committee Report or Comment.

1974 Committee Comment to H 511

This section is aimed at suppressing the business of gambling, and prohibits gambling for profit, as well as various peripheral activities which support it. It does not prohibit gambling (other than bookmaking) which is not conducted for profit. 

Schemes and games of chance conducted for profit, as well as bookmaking, are expressly forbidden. These prohibitions reach not only the bookie, the casino operator, and the manager of a floating crap game, but also the clerk of the handbook, the dealer, and the person who places a bet with a bookie or plays an illicit game or scheme. The penny-ante poker game in one's own home with friends, the dime-a-hole Saturday golf match, and the office football pool are not prohibited, unless some profit is taken other than the gain accruing to a winner. If a nominal charges is made for admission or for a seat in the game, or a small percentage of the pot or pool is taken, or the house takes an edge in the odds, then profit enters the picture. 

The section also prohibits various major fringe activities which support the business of gambling. The transmission of gambling information, an activity vital to bookmaking, numbers, and similar operations, is forbidden. The section also prohibits making one's living or a significant portion of one's income at gambling. In this regard, the section is designed to prohibit the activity of gambling rather than the status of being a gambler. Also, the section proscribes possessing, or trafficking in the tools of gambling for the purpose of engaging in illicit gambling. 

The section excludes pari-mutuel betting, because this is expressly permitted and regulated by law. 

Gambling is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender has previously been convicted of a gambling offense, violation of this section is a felony of the fourth degree.