With the rise in online betting and the increase in casinos in California, gambling has become more rampant. Despite this, particular gambling activities are considered unlawful and carry severe penalties upon conviction. These offenses include bookmaking, pool-selling, and wagering, prescribed under PEN 337. The offense is a wobbler; your penalties depend on the prosecutor’s preferred charge. A guilty verdict for a felony or misdemeanor charge can have severe consequences, so you should contest them aggressively. At the Law Offices of Anna R. Yum, we understand the most suitable defenses against the charges and will help you attain a fair verdict in San Diego County.
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Legal Definition of Bookmaking, Pool-selling, and Wagering
California PEN 337 prohibits individuals from participating in these activities linked with gambling:
- Bookmaking
- Pool selling
- Recording bets
- Maintenance or occupying an enclosed structure or room to register bets
- Forwarding, holding, or obtaining money or valuables utilized as a wager in a bet
- Allowing a space you are leasing, owning, or renting to be utilized for unlawful activities
Engaging in these activities is prohibited under PEN 337, even when you do not engage in gambling fraud and employ fair practices.
Examples of activities that can result in PEN 337 violation charges:
- Generating income from taking, recording, registering, and paying out wagers on horse racing events
- Knowingly renting out commercial premises for criminal gangs to conduct bookmaking
Different subsections of PEN 337 define the terms bookmaking, wagering, and pool-selling. Understanding these terms is crucial before highlighting the crime’s penalties.
Bookmaking and Pool-Selling
PEN 337a criminalizes pool betting and bookmaking. The law defines bookmaking as the deliberate recording of bets, vocally, in writing, or recording. Actions that amount to this offense include:
- Accepting orally or through speech, a bet statement
- Taking a telephone call for a bet
- Recording an audio or visual message of a bet
- Accepting a bet
In contrast, pool-selling refers to selling, running, or distributing shares from a betting pool.
PEN 337 also defines a wager as a bet or contract between at least two persons who bet on an unknown future event and collectively agree that the party that loses the bet will pay the prize winner or relinquish to the winner a valuable item. Even when the uncertain future event never happens, the wager will still be deemed to have occurred.
Many wagers are placed on the results of sporting occasions like horse racing, although a few individuals bet on political elections.
During prosecution for bookmaking or pool betting, the DA must show that you engaged in the activities knowingly, meaning you were aware of your actions, the events taking place, and what it entailed. Besides, the DA will secure a guilty verdict even if you do not engage in these activities as a professional or to make profits.
For instance, Peter falls into an enormous debt with a bookmaker after placing a high-stakes bet and loses it. The bookmaker allows Peter to repay the debt by helping collect bet money and finding new customers. Peter also takes and records wagers for sporting events for different clients. He also collects money from bet losers to pay the winners. Even though these activities are not Peter’s profession or business, they amount to bookmaking, a contravention of PEN 337a.
In a separate case, employees sharing an office run a college basketball pool during the NCAA Tournament. Every office member gives money to the basketball pool and should purchase it to participate. The individual with the most wins in the tournament period wins the pool. These individuals do this for fun, and their activities seem harmless. Nevertheless, their actions amount to pool-selling, a contravention of PEN 337a. Those running the pool and participating in all risk charges under PEN 337a.
Occupying Space
A conviction under PEN 337a is possible if the following is true:
- You retain or inhabit a space or room for any considerable duration
- Your reasons for keeping or occupying the space are to record, write, or register wagers in a pool
- The space you are occupying has a pen, paper, or tools utilized in recording wagers or shares in a pool
- The tools, apparatus, or devices exist to enable you to write or register wagers in a pool
The room or space does not necessarily mean a building. It could be a tent, car, stall, stand, or enclosed area.
For instance, Dave is a savant in predicting sporting event outcomes. He aims to make quick money from the activity to save and start a business out of town. Dave sells his truck and uses the funds to purchase an Airstream trailer. He then sets up all the apparatus required for bookmaking in the trailer, including computers and office supplies. The objective is to maintain a discreet location by moving from one parking lot to another while taking bets. The idea is informed by the fact that his gig will not have a specific area, making clients more comfortable as the risk of arrest is minimal.
Dave’s roommate discovers his plan and reports him to the police before taking or registering a single wager. Even if Dave was arrested before taking a bet, he is guilty of a PC 337a violation because he kept a room or space in a trailer for bookmaking. Again, possessing bookmaking apparatus or paraphernalia like computers and officer apparatus is a crime. Dave will face charges and a possible conviction for occupying a trailer for bookmaking.
Obtaining, Holding, or Distributing Betting Funds
PEN 337a makes it a crime to obtain, hold, or distribute money or valuable items when you know the funds or valuables were entrusted to you as a wager.
For instance, if you want to make quick money to leave town, you are hired as a messenger. Your job involves receiving and keeping people’s bets and forwarding or distributing them to bookmakers. You receive the wagers in envelopes, each bearing the name or initials of the person betting and with the bet amount inside.
One day, when delivering the envelopes to a bookie on a bicycle, you are involved in an accident, and the bag rips open, spilling the envelopes on the road. Upon seeing the marked envelopes, traffic officers responding to the accident become suspicious that you could be committing a crime. They open the envelopes only to find money and notes indicating the name of a person and their wager on a sporting occasion.
You knowingly or willfully received, kept, and delivered the envelopes to a bookmaker. Additionally, you are the one who indicated the names or initials of the gamblers in the wrappers or envelopes. Under the circumstances, you are guilty of pool-selling.
However, when you only took the job as a messenger and never knew the contents of the envelopes you were delivering, the prosecutor cannot convict you of a PEN 337a violation unless they have evidence that you were forwarding the funds or envelopes for betting or wagering to a bookmaker.
Writing or Recording Wagers for Bets
Another way you can contravene California PEN 337a is by deliberately registering or writing a wager. Registering means writing on material like paper or recording it on a computer device to enable future bet distribution to the winners. The recording is different from the typical one that happens in typical businesses.
Anyone working with bookmakers, even to help with simple tasks like recording names and bet amounts of gamblers, is guilty of a PEN 337a violation.
Permitting the Use of Your Space or Building for Bookmaking
You risk a guilty verdict for bookmaking, wagering, and pool-selling when:
- You own, lease, or rent a property or space
- And permit other individuals to utilize it for activities prohibited under PEN 337
- You are aware your premises are used for these unlawful activities
The court can convict you even if you are not directly engaging in the bookmaking. Allowing people to use your house, hotel room, camper, apartment, or tent for bookmaking and betting is sufficient to earn you a guilty verdict.
For example, Marissa owns several commercial buildings, some of which have been vacant for years because of a lack of interest from business owners. Marissa’s cousin exited jail after a short sentence for simple possession. Before going to jail, the cousin regularly placed bets on sporting events and made money. As the cousin does not have a job, Marissa agrees to rent out one of her vacant commercial spaces for bookmaking, pool selling, and wagering. Desperate to make money from the empty houses, Marissa rents the cousin her space. Marissa knows that her cousin intends to act as a bookmaker, guaranteeing profits regardless of the sporting event outcome, meaning rent will be paid.
Marissa does not participate in bookmaking, pool-selling, or betting but allows her property to be used for these activities. Therefore, Marissa is as guilty as her cousin for violating PEN 337. However, the judge would not find Marissa guilty if she was unaware of the activities in the rented space and the prosecutor could not prove she knew.
Making, Providing, or Accepting Bets
It is a crime to offer or receive a bet willfully. The offense is called wagering and is a violation of PEN 337.
PEN 337a Exceptions
PEN 337 makes it a crime to engage in bookmaking or wagering, even for fun or with no intent to make profits. Thankfully, another statute protects you from criminal charges for participating in minor or friendly wagers or betting pools. California PEN 336.9a protects you from prosecution under PEN 337a for engaging in friendly or small betting pools under the following circumstances:
- You were not interested in profits or rewards other than the fact that a stake was necessary to participate in the bet.
- All the other betters are not waging for profits or rewards, only because a stake is a requirement for participation.
- You were not playing the roles of a bookmaker or pool seller
- The betting pool or wager is offline
- The stake in the pool is at most $2,500
Wagering under these circumstances is an infraction, meaning that a conviction can only result in a $250 financial court fine and no jail incarceration.
PEN 337a Violation Penalties
The DA charges you with a felony or misdemeanor bookmaking, depending on your criminal history and the case’s circumstances. As a misdemeanor, bookmaking, when found guilty, attracts:
- Summary probation
- At most twelve months of county jail confinement
- Court fines of at most $5,000
In contrast, a felony conviction attracts harsher consequences, including:
- Formal probation
- 16, 24, or 36 months of prison confinement
- At most $5,000 in financial court fines
Your penalties increase if you have a prior record for a PEN 337 violation. A previous bookmaking conviction that did not result in prison incarceration means a second conviction will lead to twelve months of jail incarceration and payment of between $1,000 and $10,000 in financial court fines.
A second or subsequent conviction attracts a court fine of $15,000. The penalty enhancement is imposed even when the previous guilty verdict only led to a probation sentence.
Also, you will face a sentence enhancement if other unlawful activities happen during the bookmaking. For example, when the court issues a guilty verdict for dogfighting, you could face additional penalties for a PEN 597.5 violation.
A guilty verdict for a felony PEN 337 violation and dogfighting means you risk a sentence of at most thirty-six months of prison confinement and $5,000 in financial court fines for bookmaking and an additional 16, 24, or 36 months of incarceration or $50,000 in court fines for felony dogfighting.
If you have multiple prior guilty verdicts or the circumstances in your case make it likely to face penalty enhancement, you should speak to an experienced criminal attorney for a fair verdict or to avoid maximum penalties due to an enhancement.
Contesting PEN 337 Violation Charges
PEN 337 was designed to arrest and hold bookmakers to account. However, even individuals betting for fun or barely involved in betting, some of whom did not engage in criminal violations, end up with charges and even wrongful convictions for offenses they did not commit. Luckily, even when falsely accused, a profound criminal defense attorney will know the best defense strategies to apply to contest the charges for a fair outcome, including sentence reduction or charge dismissal. The standard legal defense strategies for bookmaking are:
- You were Acting Under Duress
Circumstances exist where you could be forced through violence, threats, or intimidation to help a bookmaker in their activities after you have accumulated an enormous gambling debt and are unable to pay. You can argue that you acted under duress if you committed the offense under these circumstances. For the defense to be held in court, you should show that you did not commit the offense willingly but were threatened with death or the use of physical force against you or an immediate family if you did not assist a bookmaker with activities like registering bets. Further, the attorney should show that the threat was credible and that an ordinary person could have felt threatened under your circumstances. The court will not convict you if the only reason for the violation was fear of bodily harm.
- You Lacked Knowledge
One primary element the DA should prove in PEN 337 and 337a violation charges is that you knew that you or someone else was engaging in bookmaking or that your property was used for the same. You are innocent if you have no idea of the ongoing criminal activities.
- Inadequate or Insufficient Evidence
You can only be guilty of a PEN 337 violation if the prosecutor demonstrates all the facts of the case beyond moral certainty. Bookmaking, wagering, and pool-selling are complex gambling activities. Sometimes, it can be difficult for the prosecutor to follow the evidence and prove beyond moral certainty that you committed the offense.
Additionally, the DA should show that you engaged in the PEN 337a violation knowingly or deliberately. Proving this element can be challenging because the prosecutor relies on circumstantial evidence, making it difficult for them to satisfy the evidentiary standard.
Also, gathering evidence in these cases can be challenging. You will be guilty of bookmaking if you possess apparatus or tools for these activities, like computers, ledgers, notes on wagers, envelopes containing money, bets, and names of gamblers. Besides, to face an arrest, there must be oral, written, or electronic recordings of you making a bet.
Gathering the evidence needed for a conviction can be difficult for the DA. The prosecutor is unwilling to take a case they are not guaranteed to win at trial. So, if, after evidence evaluation, your attorney discovers that the evidence against you is insufficient, they can negotiate a favorable plea deal or compel the court to dismiss the case.
Related Offenses
The crimes charged alongside or in place of bookmaking are:
California Gaming or Gambling
Under California PEN 330, gaming or gambling is defined as dealing, playing, carrying on, opening, or running a prohibited game like banking or percentage, for hire or not. Banking means a house gathering money from bet losers and using the funds to pay winners. A game of percentage is where the house takes an estimated percentage or portion of the total winnings or wagers. Games prohibited under PEN 330 include, but are not limited to:
- Monte
- Roulette
- Rondo
- Fan-tan
- Hokey pokey
- Faro
- Twenty-one
PEN 330 relates to bookmaking because gaming statutes impose harsh penalties for engaging in or conducting gambling activities popular among individuals.
Gambling is a misdemeanor offense whose guilty verdict attracts at most half a year of jail confinement and court fines ranging from $100 to $1,000.
Gambling Fraud
PEN 332 makes it a theft offense to fraudulently acquire another party’s money or real property through card gaming. Particular card tricks or scams are designed to scam people by placing bets guaranteed to win and ending up losing funds. Games that are considered gambling fraud include:
- Card monte
- Sure-thing games
- Fortune telling
If you obtain money fraudulently through gaming, you risk charges for a PEN 332 violation. During prosecution, the DA must demonstrate that:
- You utilized cards, pretentious fortune-telling, or tools to trick an individual
- By doing so, you fraudulently obtained money from the person
PEN 332 does not criminalize gambling. It prohibits the use of tricks or schemes to acquire funds. The offense is a wobbler, meaning you could face felony or misdemeanor charges depending on the amount defrauded. You will face misdemeanor charges if the victim loses less than $950. The offense is a wobbler if the fraud amount is over $950.
A guilty verdict for a misdemeanor upon conviction attracts summary probation, at most a half-year in jail if the money you defrauded the victim is at most $950, and up to twelve months when the money in question is at least $950.
When charged with a felony, a conviction will attract at most thirty-six months of prison confinement.
Besides, whether convicted for a felony or misdemeanor, you must reimburse the victim for the funds obtained fraudulently.
Gang Enhancement
PEN 186.22 is a gang enhancement statute that imposes additional and consecutive penalties for any felony or attempted felony crime committed to promote, at the orders of, or in affiliation with a gang. Therefore, when your PEN 337 violation offense is charged as a felony, and the prosecutor demonstrates that the crime was committed to advance or promote gang activity, you will face gang enhancement penalties on top of your PEN 337 violation.
Money Laundering
PC 186.10 prescribes money laundering as acquiring money from unlawful activity and funneling it into businesses, banks, or financial accounts, making it impossible for authorities to trace the funds.
Money laundering as a misdemeanor is punishable by at most twelve months in county jail or $1,000 in court fines. A felony guilty verdict attracts 16, 24, or 36 months of jail confinement or fines twice the laundered amount.
Find a Competent Criminal Attorney Near Me
While many assume running office pools, placing wagers with bookmakers, and pool selling are minor violations, a guilty verdict can lead to lengthy prison confinement. A PEN 337 violation charge or related offense attracts severe penalties. When you have been arrested for a crime in San Diego County, speak to an experienced attorney to avoid the harsh penalties. At the Law Offices of Anna R. Yum, we have the skills and knowledge you require to contest the charges effectively. Call us at 619-493-3461 for more information on bookmaking.