New Jersey Section 2C:37-6 – Lottery offenses; no defense

New Jersey’s Lottery Offense Law – What You Need to Know

New Jersey has a specific law that covers lottery offenses – Section 2C:37-6 of the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. This law makes it illegal to commit certain acts related to lotteries, even if the lottery itself takes place outside of New Jersey. As a lawyer, it’s important to understand this law and how it applies to your clients.

What the Law Says

The key part of 2C:37-6 states:

“Any offense defined in this article which consists of the commission of acts relating to a lottery is no less criminal because the lottery itself is drawn or conducted without the State.”

In plain English, this means you can be charged with a lottery offense under New Jersey law even if the actual lottery takes place in another state. The law focuses on the acts you commit related to the lottery, not where the lottery happens.

For example, if you buy Powerball tickets online through the New Jersey Lottery for a drawing held in another state, your purchase and possession of those tickets in NJ can be charged as a lottery offense if it violates other parts of the law. The fact that the actual lottery drawing occurs outside New Jersey doesn’t matter.

Lottery Offenses Covered

Section 2C:37-6 works together with other parts of Article 37 to define different lottery offenses. Some of the main offenses include:

• Promoting gambling – Taking or receiving more than 5 bets totaling over $1,000 in a day, or taking 3+ bets in a 2-week period (2C:37-2)
• Possession of gambling records – Possessing records on over 5 bets totaling over $1,000, or records on over 100 lottery plays or chances (2C:37-3)
• Maintaining a gambling resort – Knowingly allowing premises you control to be used for illegal gambling activity (2C:37-4)
• Possession of lottery devices – Making, selling, transferring, or possessing devices used for illegal lotteries (2C:37-7)

So even if those acts relate to an out-of-state lottery, you can still be charged under New Jersey law per 2C:37-6.

Real World Examples

Here are some examples of how 2C:37-6 could apply in the real world:

• Jim buys 20 Mega Millions tickets online through the New Jersey Lottery website for a drawing happening in New York. This violates the law against possession of lottery records. Even though the drawing is in NY, Jim can be charged in NJ.
• Sally runs a cafe in NJ and allows customers to place bets on horse races happening at tracks across the country. The races themselves happen outside NJ, but Sally’s activities within the state violate gambling laws.
• Bob hosts poker games with $5,000 buy-ins in the basement of his NJ home every Friday night. The lottery drawing might be happening in Nevada, but Bob’s poker games in NJ run afoul of promoting gambling laws.
• Dave operates a website that sells lottery tickets for drawings held across the US. He has customers in NJ buying tickets through his site. Dave is committing lottery offenses in NJ even though the actual lotteries are happening elsewhere.

Defenses

Section 2C:37-6 closes the loophole that offenses don’t count if the lottery is outside New Jersey. But there are some potential defenses to lottery charges:

• You didn’t actually commit the offense – for example, you never possessed lottery records or devices.
• You qualify for one of the exemptions under 2C:37-2 – like being a senior citizen club conducting legal bingo games.
• You were acting under duress or necessity – for example, being forced to hold lottery records for someone else.
• You meet the burden of proving you were “only” a player in the lottery under 2C:37-2 and didn’t promote gambling.
• You were engaged in legal gambling activities on certain vessels outside NJ waters.
• The items you possessed don’t actually qualify as gambling records or devices.
• There are issues with the evidence against you – it was obtained illegally, is unreliable, etc.

But in general, 2C:37-6 makes it hard to avoid lottery offenses by claiming the lottery itself was legal elsewhere. The law targets your acts in New Jersey.

Penalties

Like other criminal laws, lottery offenses have graded penalties based on the severity of the crime. For example:

• Promoting gambling can be a 3rd, 4th, or disorderly persons offense. 3rd degree carries up to 5 years imprisonment and a $35K fine.
• Possession of gambling records can be a 3rd degree or disorderly persons offense based on the number and value of records.
• Maintaining a gambling resort is a crime equal to the most serious gambling offense committed there.
• Possession of lottery devices is a disorderly persons offense.

Judges can also impose other discretionary penalties like probation, community service, counseling, or the forfeiture of property.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that 2C:37-6 allows New Jersey to prosecute lottery offenses even if the lottery itself happens outside the state. The law focuses on penalizing your gambling-related acts within NJ, regardless of where the lottery takes place. If you’re involved in illegal lottery activities in New Jersey, you can’t avoid charges simply because the lottery drawing was held elsewhere.

I hope this overview has helped explain how New Jersey’s lottery offense law works! Let me know if you have any other questions.