(a) A person commits an offense who knowingly makes or aids in the making of any lottery. For the purposes of this section, “makes or aids in the making of any lottery” does not include:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C misdemeanorup to 30 daysup to $50
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-17-506

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Lottery: means the selling of anything of value for chances on a prize or stake. See Tennessee Code 39-17-501
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Ownership or possession in this state of a lottery ticket originating from another state in which a lottery is lawful, if the ticket is not owned or possessed for the purpose of resale; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision (a)(1) shall be construed as preventing the sale of lottery tickets or shares under the authority of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation; or the sale of tickets, shares, chances or similar records for an annual event pursuant to title 3, chapter 17, and part 6 of this chapter;
(2) The Tennessee Education Lottery operated pursuant to title 4, chapter 51, part 1; or
(3) An annual event operated pursuant to title 3, chapter 17, and part 6 of this chapter.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “makes or aids in the making of any lottery” includes the organization of, membership in, or solicitation of persons for membership in any chain letter club, pyramid club, or other group organized under any plan whereby anything of value to be given by a member of the club or group is to be given to any other member of the club or group, which plan includes any provision for the increase in membership through a chain process of new members securing other new members and thereby advancing themselves in the group to a position where the members in turn receive things of value from other members.
(c) An offense under this section is:

(1) A Class C misdemeanor if the aggregate amount of money involved in the lottery, chain letter, or pyramid club is fifty dollars ($50.00) or less;
(2) A Class B misdemeanor if the aggregate amount of money involved in the lottery, chain letter, or pyramid club is more than fifty dollars ($50.00) but less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250);
(3) A Class A misdemeanor if the aggregate amount of money involved in the lottery, chain letter, or pyramid club is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or more but less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000); or
(4) A Class E felony if the amount of money involved in the lottery, chain letter, or pyramid club is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more.
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