§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020
Fiscal year 2020 had the smallest count for §2E3.1 in the yearly table: 22 people. Of these, 14 (64%) received a prison term, with a median of 10 months, and 11 (50%) were ordered to pay a fine. Only 1 person was convicted after a trial.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses › §2E3.1: FY2020
In brief: Fiscal year 2020 had the smallest count for §2E3.1 in the yearly table: 22 people. Of these, 14 (64%) received a prison term, with a median of 10 months, and 11 (50%) were ordered to pay a fine. Only 1 person was convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 22 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020. 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
The Smallest Yearly Count
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 22 people in fiscal year 2020 whose primary guideline was §2E3.1. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Gambling Offenses; Animal Fighting Offenses." Fiscal year 2019 had 29 people, and fiscal year 2021 had 59.
With 22 people, percentages here move a great deal with a few cases. The year should not be read as a trend.
All 22 cases were in the Commercialized Vice offense type. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020.
Prison, Probation, and Fines
A prison term went to 14 of the 22 people (64%), and probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 7 (32%). The median prison term was 10 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
A fine was ordered for 11 people (50%). Restitution was ordered for 0. Supervised release followed prison for 13 people (59%), with a median term of 36 months.
One Person Went to Trial
A total of 21 of the 22 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. Of those who pleaded guilty, 100% had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 8 months. The one trial case had a prison term of 18 months. A single case cannot represent trials in general.
Range Placement
The largest group was below the range without a government request: 41% (9). Below the range at the government's request were 23% (5). Within the range were 27% (6), and above the range were 9% (2).
The within-range share was 34% in fiscal year 2019 and 42% in fiscal year 2021. For all years under this guideline it was 38%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 22 people with that information recorded.
| 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% |
Criminal History and Federal Totals
In criminal history, 82% were in the lowest category (Category I) and 0% in the highest (Category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 544 people were sentenced under this guideline, 57% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 12 months. The 2020 median of 10 months was lower than that.
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 totaled 64,565 people, with a median prison term of 18 months, 98% guilty pleas, and 50% within the range.
What This Does Not Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are those imposed rather than time served.
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 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2E3.1 (22), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.