District of Columbia Code
Subchapter I - General Provisions
§ 22–1701. Lotteries; promotion; sale or possession of tickets

If any person shall within the District keep, set up, or promote, or be concerned as owner, agent, or clerk, or in any other manner, in managing, carrying on, promoting, or advertising, directly or indirectly, any policy lottery, policy shop, or any lottery, or shall sell or transfer any chance, right, or interest, tangible or intangible, in any policy lottery, or any lottery or shall sell or transfer any ticket, certificate, bill, token, or other device, purporting or intended to guarantee or assure to any person or entitle him or her to a chance of drawing or obtaining a prize to be drawn in any lottery, or in a game or device commonly known as policy lottery or policy or shall sell or transfer, or have in his or her possession for the purpose of sale or transfer, a chance or ticket in or share of a ticket in any lottery or any such bill, certificate, token, or other device, he or she shall be fined upon conviction of each said offense not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or be imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both. The possession of any copy or record of any such chance, right, or interest, or of any such ticket, certificate, bill, token, or other device shall be prima facie evidence that the possessor of such copy or record did, at the time and place of such possession, keep, set up, or promote, or was at such time and place concerned as owner, agent, or clerk, or otherwise in managing, carrying on, promoting, or advertising a policy lottery, policy shop, or lottery.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1330, ch. 854, § 863; June 30, 1902, 32 Stat. 535, ch. 1329; Apr. 5, 1938, 52 Stat. 198, ch. 72, § 1; May 21, 1994, D.C. Law 10-119, § 2(i), 41 DCR 1639; June 11, 2013, D.C. Law 19-317, § 201(n), 60 DCR 2064.)
1981 Ed., § 22-1501.
1973 Ed., § 22-1501.
This section is referenced in § 22-1702, § 22-1705, § 22-1718, and § 23-546.
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-317 substituted “not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01” for “not more than $1,000”.
Alcoholic beverages, licenses transfer or suspension, violation of laws, see §§ 25-316 and 25-823.
Other gambling criminal penalties, see § 16-1704.
Search warrants, see § 23-521 et seq.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 201(n) of the Criminal Fine Proportionality Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-45, April 1, 2013, 60 DCR 5400, 20 DCSTAT 1300).
Advertisement of Maryland State Lottery Games: Section 2(a) of D.C. Law 11-272 provided that nothing in this section shall prohibit advertising a lottery by the Maryland State Lottery so long as Maryland does not prohibit advertising or otherwise publishing an account of a lottery by the District of Columbia. D.C. Law 11-272 became effective on June 3, 1997.
Applicability of D.C. Law 19-317: Section 401 of D.C. Law 19-317 provided that the act shall apply only to offenses committed on or after June 11, 2013.

Structure District of Columbia Code