§ 2151. Bookmaking; pool selling; off-track wagers

(a) A person shall not:

(1) engage in bookmaking or pool selling, except deer pools or other pools in which all of the monies paid by the participants, as an entry fee or otherwise, are paid out to either the winning participants based on the result of the pool or to a nonprofit organization or event as described in 31 V.S.A. § 1201(5) where the funds are to be used as described in that subdivision, or both;

(2) keep or occupy, for any period of time, any place or enclosure of any kind, with any material for recording any wager, or any purported wager, or selling pools, except as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection, upon the result of any contest, lot, chance, unknown or contingent event, whether actual or purported;

(3) receive, hold, or forward, or purport or pretend to receive, hold, or forward, in any manner, any money, thing, or consideration of value, or the equivalent or memorandum thereof, wagered, or to be wagered, or offered for the purpose of being wagered, upon such result;

(4) record or register, at any time or place, any wager upon such result;

(5) permit any place or enclosure that the person owns, leases, or occupies to be used or occupied for any purpose or in any manner prohibited by subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section; or

(6) with the exception of pools as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection, lay, make, offer, or accept any wager, upon such result or contest of skill, speed, or power of endurance of human or beast, or between humans, beasts, or mechanical apparatus.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a public retail establishment, including a holder of a second-class license issued under Title 7, may sell raffle tickets on the retail premises for a nonprofit organization that has organized the raffle, provided the raffle is conducted in accordance with section 2143 of this title and that no person is compensated for expenses, as outlined in subdivision 2143(e)(1)(B) of this title. (Added 1961, No. 185, § 1; amended 1983, No. 43, § 2; 1999, No. 33, § 1; 2019, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 16.)