§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022
In fiscal year 2022, 39 people were sentenced under §2E3.1, and all 39 pleaded guilty. A fine was ordered for 23 of them (59%). The median prison term was 18 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses › §2E3.1: FY2022
In brief: In fiscal year 2022, 39 people were sentenced under §2E3.1, and all 39 pleaded guilty. A fine was ordered for 23 of them (59%). The median prison term was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 39 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022. 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.
Fines Were Ordered for Most of the Group
A fine was ordered for 23 of the 39 people (59%). Restitution was ordered for 0 people. The Guidelines Manual titles §2E3.1 "Gambling Offenses; Animal Fighting Offenses," and the U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 39 people with that primary guideline in fiscal year 2022.
All 39 cases were in the Commercialized Vice offense type. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.
Prison Terms
A prison term went to 25 of the 39 people (64%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 12 (31%).
The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less. In fiscal year 2021 the median was 12 months, and in fiscal year 2023 it was also 12 months. Both were lower than the 2022 median.
After prison, 25 people (64%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months.
The 25 people who went to prison are the group the median describes. The 12 people with probation only are not part of that median, so it cannot be read as the typical outcome for everyone sentenced under this guideline.
| 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% |
Every Person Pleaded Guilty
A total of 39 of 39 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The records therefore have no trial prison term for this year.
Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Range
Within the guideline range were 38% (15). Below the range without a government request were 31% (12), and below it at the government's request were 21% (8). Above the range were 10% (4).
The within-range share was 42% in fiscal year 2021 and 27% in fiscal year 2023. For all years under this guideline it was 38%, the same as in 2022.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 39 people with that information recorded.
These categories are the ones the Commission uses. A sentence below the range can be requested by the government or ordered without that request, and these are counted separately. The figures describe how many people fell in each group, not the reasons a court gave.
Criminal History and Federal Totals
In criminal history, 62% were in the lowest category (Category I) and 8% in the highest (Category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022 totaled 64,142 people, with a median prison term of 30 months, 97% guilty pleas, and 42% within the range. Under §2E3.1 for all years, 544 people were sentenced, 57% went to prison, and the median prison term was 12 months.
Limits of One Year
A group of 39 is small, and one year is not a trend. The records cannot show why the median was higher than in the neighboring years.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so this post reports federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2E3.1 (39), 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 2021 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (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.