Bookmarking and Wagering
The jury instruction (CALCRIM 2990) for this says that every person who lays, makes, offers, or accepts any bet or wager upon the result or purported result or purported result of any contest or purported contest of skill, speed or power of endurance of a human being or a beast or between humans or beasts or mechanical apparatus is guilty of a violation of Penal Code Section 337A crime.
Our California criminal defense attorneys have provided an overview below to help readers better understand bookmarking, pool-selling, and wagering laws.
Effort to Curtail Illegal Betting
They cover a lot in that jury instruction. What they're trying to account for are situations like cock fighting where people are fighting roosters, for example, or even dog fighting, and of course, they can get you for animal cruelty under that Section as well.
But they're trying to curtail betting, especially in Los Angeles. You can place legal bets in some places — a licensed location that the authorities monitor. But they don't want people betting. They think morality-wise that that does not breed or lead to a good society.
I've seen them knocking over — when I say knocking over, I mean raiding locations that are poker institutes where people are playing poker for money. Usually, they don't mess around with home games unless they find out about it, and there are high stakes.
Another thing that I've seen lately is that a lot of these home games are being robbed. People are finding out about it, coming in with guns, and taking all the money, jewelry, and any other valuables.
They probably think the people won't call the police because they will have to explain to the police that they're involved in a poker game. Usually, the police don't care that much about stopping home poker games.
High-Stakes Gambling and Illegal Activity
But again, if there are high stakes, a lot of money, or a lot of other stuff going on — for example, sometimes some of these games have prostitution activities and other illegal activities — then the police will get involved.
And of course, sometimes people will carry these betting operations too far, have slot machines in there, poker games, roulette wheels, and then all the other stuff that goes along with gambling — prostitution, alcohol — now the police are going to get involved.
Other related offenses include Gaming under California Penal Code 330, Gambling fraud under Penal Code 332, and California's gang enhancement under Penal Code 186.22.
They'll find out about these places, raid them, and arrest everybody in there. They can get them for the illegal betting. They can get them for prostitution and whatever other crimes they believe are being committed there.
So, if you're charged with betting under Penal Code Section 337, you want to get an attorney. It's not a usual crime. In other words, I don't see it filed a lot. Usually, the authorities don't get involved, especially if it's small-stakes betting. They don't want to waste their time with that.
Negotiation with Prosecutor to Avoid Conviction
So, if they've arrested you or charged you with this particular Penal Code Section, you want to get an attorney. Maybe something can be done to avoid a conviction if the situation is not such that it makes sense to saddle somebody with a sentence, punish them, and put them through the court system.
Maybe just a warning is necessary. Again, you have to look at the situation. You must look at the person's criminal history, why the person was arrested, and the surrounding circumstances. Was it part of some big gambling scheme, or was it just some small thing, and the person just got unlucky that the police happened upon it? So again, it depends on the circumstances.
Your best bet is to pick up the phone and make the call. We'll sit down and go over everything and get our strategy together so when we go to court, we're ready. I'm prepared to deal with the prosecutors and your case very effectively.
