> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e3-1-gambling-offenses-fy2019/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:27:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:27:44.000Z - Description: Fiscal year 2019 had 29 people sentenced under §2E3.1, a small group. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years), higher than in the years on either side, and 7 people were convicted after a trial. Their median prison term was also 24 months. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e3-1-gambling-offenses/) › §2E3.1: FY2019 **In brief:** Fiscal year 2019 had 29 people sentenced under §2E3.1, a small group. The median prison term was 24 months (2 years), higher than in the years on either side, and 7 people were convicted after a trial. Their median prison term was also 24 months. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 29 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## A Higher Median Prison Term in a Small Year The median prison term among those sent to prison was 24 months (2 years) in fiscal year 2019\. The previous year, fiscal year 2018, had a median of 7 months, and the next year, fiscal year 2020, had 10 months. The median for all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 12 months. A quarter of the people sent to prison received 27.8 months or more, and a quarter received 17.5 months or less. Only 29 people were sentenced under this guideline in this year, compared with 79 in fiscal year 2018\. With a group this small, one year does not make a trend, and the records cannot show why the median was higher. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 80 | 5.1 months | 93% | | 2017 | 65 | 5.5 months | 100% | | 2018 | 79 | 7 months | 100% | | 2019 | 29 | 24 months | 76% | | 2020 | 22 | 10 months | 95% | | 2021 | 59 | 12 months | 98% | | 2022 | 39 | 18 months | 100% | | 2023 | 64 | 12 months | 100% | | 2024 | 41 | 18 months | 95% | | 2025 | 66 | 9 months | 98% | ## Who Was Counted The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 29 people whose primary guideline was §2E3.1\. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Gambling Offenses; Animal Fighting Offenses." All 29 cases were in the Commercialized Vice offense type. A prison term went to 20 people (69%), and probation only went to 7 (24%). The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019. Supervised release was ordered for 20 people (69%), with a median term of 36 months. ## Pleas and Trials Gave the Same Median A total of 22 of the 29 people (76%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. The guilty plea share was lower than the 97% for all years under this guideline. The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 24 months after a trial. Among those who pleaded guilty, 100% had a written plea agreement. ## Range Placement Within the guideline range were 34% (10). Below the range at the government's request were 14% (4), and below it without a government request were 24% (7). Above the range were 28% (8). The within-range share was 28% in fiscal year 2018 and 27% in fiscal year 2020\. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 29 people with that information recorded (0%). ## Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History A fine was ordered for 9 people (31%), and restitution for 2 (7%). In criminal history, 69% were in the lowest category (Category I) and 0% in the highest (Category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Federal Totals and Limits Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 totaled 76,538 people. Their median prison term was 21 months, 98% pleaded guilty, and 51% were within the range. Across all years, §2E3.1 covered 544 people, with 57% sent to prison and 38% within the range. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2E3.1 (29), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e3-1-gambling-offenses/) (overview) - [§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e3-1-gambling-offenses-fy2018/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e3-1-gambling-offenses-fy2020/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.