2006 Indiana Code - CHAPTER 5. GAMBLING
IC 35-45-5Chapter 5. Gambling
IC 35-45-5-1
Definitions
35-45-5-1 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter:
"Gain" means the direct realization of winnings.
"Gambling" means risking money or other property for gain,
contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, or the operation of
a gambling device; but it does not include participating in:
(1) bona fide contests of skill, speed, strength, or endurance in
which awards are made only to entrants or the owners of
entries; or
(2) bona fide business transactions that are valid under the law
of contracts.
"Gambling device" means:
(1) a mechanism by the operation of which a right to money or
other property may be credited, in return for consideration, as
the result of the operation of an element of chance;
(2) a mechanism that, when operated for a consideration, does
not return the same value or property for the same consideration
upon each operation;
(3) a mechanism, furniture, fixture, construction, or installation
designed primarily for use in connection with professional
gambling;
(4) a policy ticket or wheel; or
(5) a subassembly or essential part designed or intended for use
in connection with such a device, mechanism, furniture, fixture,
construction, or installation.
In the application of this definition, an immediate and unrecorded
right to replay mechanically conferred on players of pinball machines
and similar amusement devices is presumed to be without value.
"Gambling information" means:
(1) a communication with respect to a wager made in the course
of professional gambling; or
(2) information intended to be used for professional gambling.
"Interactive computer service" means an Internet service, an
information service, a system, or an access software provider that
provides or enables computer access to a computer served by
multiple users. The term includes the following:
(1) A service or system that provides access or is an
intermediary to the Internet.
(2) A system operated or services offered by a library, school,
state educational institution (as defined in IC 20-12-0.5-1), or
private college or university.
"Operator" means a person who owns, maintains, or operates an
Internet site that is used for interactive gambling.
"Profit" means a realized or unrealized benefit (other than a gain)
and includes benefits from proprietorship or management and
unequal advantage in a series of transactions.
As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.5. Amended by Acts 1977,
P.L.340, SEC.80; P.L.70-2005, SEC.2.
IC 35-45-5-2
Unlawful gambling
35-45-5-2 Sec. 2. (a) A person who knowingly or intentionally
engages in gambling commits unlawful gambling.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), unlawful gambling is a
Class B misdemeanor.
(c) An operator who knowingly or intentionally uses the Internet
to engage in unlawful gambling:
(1) in Indiana; or
(2) with a person located in Indiana;
commits a Class D felony.
As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.5. Amended by Acts 1977,
P.L.340, SEC.81; P.L.70-2005, SEC.3.
IC 35-45-5-3
Professional gambling; professional gambling over the Internet
35-45-5-3 Sec. 3. (a) A person who knowingly or intentionally:
(1) engages in pool-selling;
(2) engages in bookmaking;
(3) maintains, in a place accessible to the public, slot machines,
one-ball machines or variants thereof, pinball machines that
award anything other than an immediate and unrecorded right
of replay, roulette wheels, dice tables, or money or merchandise
pushcards, punchboards, jars, or spindles;
(4) conducts lotteries or policy or numbers games or sells
chances therein;
(5) conducts any banking or percentage games played with
cards, dice, or counters, or accepts any fixed share of the stakes
therein; or
(6) accepts, or offers to accept, for profit, money, or other
property risked in gambling;
commits professional gambling, a Class D felony.
(b) An operator who knowingly or intentionally uses the Internet
to:
(1) engage in pool-selling:
(A) in Indiana; or
(B) in a transaction directly involving a person located in
Indiana;
(2) engage in bookmaking:
(A) in Indiana; or
(B) in a transaction directly involving a person located in
Indiana;
(3) maintain, on an Internet site accessible to residents of
Indiana, the equivalent of:
(A) slot machines;
(B) one-ball machines or variants of one-ball machines;
(C) pinball machines that award anything other than an
immediate and unrecorded right of replay;
(D) roulette wheels;
(E) dice tables; or
(F) money or merchandise pushcards, punchboards, jars, or
spindles;
(4) conduct lotteries or policy or numbers games or sell chances
in lotteries or policy or numbers games:
(A) in Indiana; or
(B) in a transaction directly involving a person located in
Indiana;
(5) conduct any banking or percentage games played with the
computer equivalent of cards, dice, or counters, or accept any
fixed share of the stakes in those games:
(A) in Indiana; or
(B) in a transaction directly involving a person located in
Indiana; or
(6) accept, or offer to accept, for profit, money or other property
risked in gambling:
(A) in Indiana; or
(B) in a transaction directly involving a person located in
Indiana;
commits professional gambling over the Internet, a Class D felony.
As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.5. Amended by Acts 1977,
P.L.340, SEC.82; P.L.70-2005, SEC.4.
IC 35-45-5-4
Promoting professional gambling; acts constituting; boat
manufacturers; public utilities
35-45-5-4 Sec. 4. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a
person who:
(1) knowingly or intentionally owns, manufactures, possesses,
buys, sells, rents, leases, repairs, or transports a gambling
device, or offers or solicits an interest in a gambling device;
(2) before a race, game, contest, or event on which gambling
may be conducted, knowingly or intentionally transmits or
receives gambling information by any means, or knowingly or
intentionally installs or maintains equipment for the
transmission or receipt of gambling information; or
(3) having control over the use of a place, knowingly or
intentionally permits another person to use the place for
professional gambling;
commits promoting professional gambling, a Class D felony.
(b) Subsection (a)(1) does not apply to a boat manufacturer who:
(1) transports or possesses a gambling device solely for the
purpose of installing that device in a boat that is to be sold and
transported to a buyer; and
(2) does not display the gambling device to the general public
or make the device available for use in Indiana.
(c) When a public utility is notified by a law enforcement agency
acting within its jurisdiction that any service, facility, or equipment
furnished by it is being used or will be used to violate this section, it
shall discontinue or refuse to furnish that service, facility, or
equipment, and no damages, penalty, or forfeiture, civil or criminal,
may be found against a public utility for an act done in compliance
with such a notice. This subsection does not prejudice the right of a
person affected by it to secure an appropriate determination, as
otherwise provided by law, that the service, facility, or equipment
should not be discontinued or refused, or should be restored.
As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.5. Amended by Acts 1977,
P.L.340, SEC.83; P.L.164-1990, SEC.1; P.L.20-1995, SEC.19.
IC 35-45-5-4.5
Notice of illegal gambling to operator
35-45-5-4.5 Sec. 4.5. (a) A prosecuting attorney may send written
notice to an operator described in section 2(c) or 3(b) of this chapter.
The notice must:
(1) specify the illegal gambling activity;
(2) state that the operator has not more than thirty (30) days
after the date the notice is received to remove the illegal
gambling activity; and
(3) state that failure to remove the illegal gambling activity not
more than thirty (30) days after receiving the notice may result
in the filing of criminal charges against the operator.
A prosecuting attorney who sends a notice under this section shall
forward a copy of the notice to the attorney general. The attorney
general shall maintain a depository to collect, maintain, and retain
each notice sent under this section.
(b) The manner of service of a notice under subsection (a) must
be:
(1) in compliance with Rule 4.1, 4.4, 4.6, or 4.7 of the Indiana
Rules of Trial Procedure; or
(2) by publication in compliance with Rule 4.13 of the Indiana
Rules of Trial Procedure if service cannot be made under
subdivision (1) after a diligent search for the operator.
(c) A notice served under subsection (a):
(1) is admissible in a criminal proceeding under this chapter;
and
(2) constitutes prima facie evidence that the operator had
knowledge that illegal gambling was occurring on the operator's
Internet site.
(d) A person outside Indiana who transmits information on a
computer network (as defined in IC 35-43-2-3) and who knows or
should know that the information is broadcast in Indiana submits to
the jurisdiction of Indiana courts for prosecution under this section.
As added by P.L.70-2005, SEC.5.
IC 35-45-5-4.6
Blocking certain electronic mail messages
35-45-5-4.6 Sec. 4.6. (a) An interactive computer service may, on
its own initiative, block the receipt or transmission through its
service of any commercial electronic mail message that it reasonably
believes is or will be sent in violation of this chapter.
(b) An interactive computer service is not liable for such action.
As added by P.L.70-2005, SEC.6.
IC 35-45-5-4.7 Version a
Right of action by interactive computer service; defenses; remedies
Note: This version of section effective until 7-1-2009. See also
following version of this section, effective 7-1-2009.
35-45-5-4.7 Sec. 4.7. (a) An interactive computer service that handles
or retransmits a commercial electronic mail message has a right of
action against a person who initiates or assists the transmission of the
commercial electronic mail message that violates this chapter.
(b) This chapter does not provide a right of action against:
(1) an interactive computer service;
(2) a telephone company (as defined in IC 8-1-2-88);
(3) a CMRS provider (as defined in IC 36-8-16.5-6);
(4) a cable operator (as defined in 47 U.S.C. 522(5)); or
(5) any other entity that primarily provides connectivity to an
operator;
if the entity's equipment is used only to transport, handle, or
retransmit information that violates this chapter and is not capable of
blocking the retransmission of information that violates this chapter.
(c) It is a defense to an action under this section if the defendant
shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation of this
chapter resulted from a good faith error and occurred
notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted
to avoid violating this chapter.
(d) If the plaintiff prevails in an action filed under this section, the
plaintiff is entitled to the following:
(1) An injunction to enjoin future violations of this chapter.
(2) Compensatory damages equal to any actual damage proven
by the plaintiff to have resulted from the initiation of the
commercial electronic mail message. If the plaintiff does not
prove actual damage, the plaintiff is entitled to presumptive
damages of five hundred dollars ($500) for each commercial
electronic mail message that violates this chapter and that is
sent by the defendant:
(A) to the plaintiff; or
(B) through the plaintiff's interactive computer service.
(3) The plaintiff's reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation
costs reasonably incurred in connection with the action.
(e) A person outside Indiana who:
(1) initiates or assists the transmission of a commercial
electronic mail message that violates this chapter; and
(2) knows or should know that the commercial electronic mail
message will be received in Indiana;
submits to the jurisdiction of Indiana courts for purposes of this
chapter.
As added by P.L.70-2005, SEC.7.
IC 35-45-5-4.7 Version b
Right of action by interactive computer service; defenses; remedies
Note: This version of section effective 7-1-2009. See also
preceding version of this section, effective until 7-1-2009.
35-45-5-4.7 Sec. 4.7. (a) An interactive computer service that handles
or retransmits a commercial electronic mail message has a right of
action against a person who initiates or assists the transmission of the
commercial electronic mail message that violates this chapter.
(b) This chapter does not provide a right of action against:
(1) an interactive computer service;
(2) a telephone company;
(3) a CMRS provider (as defined in IC 36-8-16.5-6);
(4) a cable operator (as defined in 47 U.S.C. 522(5)); or
(5) any other entity that primarily provides connectivity to an
operator;
if the entity's equipment is used only to transport, handle, or
retransmit information that violates this chapter and is not capable of
blocking the retransmission of information that violates this chapter.
(c) It is a defense to an action under this section if the defendant
shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation of this
chapter resulted from a good faith error and occurred
notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted
to avoid violating this chapter.
(d) If the plaintiff prevails in an action filed under this section, the
plaintiff is entitled to the following:
(1) An injunction to enjoin future violations of this chapter.
(2) Compensatory damages equal to any actual damage proven
by the plaintiff to have resulted from the initiation of the
commercial electronic mail message. If the plaintiff does not
prove actual damage, the plaintiff is entitled to presumptive
damages of five hundred dollars ($500) for each commercial
electronic mail message that violates this chapter and that is
sent by the defendant:
(A) to the plaintiff; or
(B) through the plaintiff's interactive computer service.
(3) The plaintiff's reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation
costs reasonably incurred in connection with the action.
(e) A person outside Indiana who:
(1) initiates or assists the transmission of a commercial
electronic mail message that violates this chapter; and
(2) knows or should know that the commercial electronic mail
message will be received in Indiana;
submits to the jurisdiction of Indiana courts for purposes of this
chapter.
As added by P.L.70-2005, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.27-2006, SEC.60.
IC 35-45-5-5
Pari-mutuel wagering; application of chapter
35-45-5-5 Sec. 5. The provisions of this chapter do not apply to
pari-mutuel wagering conducted at racetrack locations or satellite
facilities licensed for pari-mutuel wagering under IC 4-31.
As added by Acts 1977, P.L.47, SEC.3. Amended by
P.L.341-1989(ss), SEC.13; P.L.24-1992, SEC.61.
IC 35-45-5-6
Sale of lottery tickets; application of chapter
35-45-5-6 Sec. 6. This chapter does not apply to the sale of lottery
tickets authorized by IC 4-30.
As added by P.L.341-1989(ss), SEC.14.
IC 35-45-5-7
Advertisements; wagering; application of chapter
35-45-5-7 Sec. 7. This chapter does not apply to the publication
or broadcast of an advertisement, a list of prizes, or other information
concerning:
(1) pari-mutuel wagering on horse races or a lottery authorized
by the law of any state; or
(2) a game of chance operated in accordance with IC 4-32.2.
As added by P.L.217-1991, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.91-2006,
SEC.13.
IC 35-45-5-8
Sale and use of gambling devices; application of chapter
35-45-5-8 Sec. 8. This chapter does not apply to the sale or use of
gambling devices authorized under IC 4-32.2.
As added by P.L.24-1992, SEC.62. Amended by P.L.91-2006,
SEC.14.
IC 35-45-5-9
Reserved
IC 35-45-5-10
Riverboat gambling
35-45-5-10 Sec. 10. This chapter does not apply to riverboat
gambling authorized by IC 4-33.
As added by P.L.277-1993(ss), SEC.132.
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Indiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.