§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 64 people were sentenced under §2E3.1, and 55 (86%) received a prison term. This was a higher prison share than the 57% for all years. The median prison term was 12 months, and all 64 people pleaded guilty.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 64 people were sentenced under §2E3.1, and 55 (86%) received a prison term. This was a higher prison share than the 57% for all years. The median prison term was 12 months, and all 64 people pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 64 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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.
A High Share Sent to Prison
Of the 64 people sentenced under §2E3.1 in fiscal year 2023, 55 (86%) received a prison term, and 6 (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 57% were sent to prison.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted these 64 people under the guideline that the Guidelines Manual titles "Gambling Offenses; Animal Fighting Offenses." All 64 cases were in the Commercialized Vice offense type.
The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
Length of the Prison Terms
The median prison term was 12 months, the same as the median for all years. A quarter received 20 months or more, and a quarter received 1.5 months or less.
Fiscal year 2022 had a median of 18 months, and fiscal year 2024 also had 18 months. Both were higher than the 2023 median. The yearly table shows every year.
After prison, 52 people (81%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months.
The median covers only the 55 people who received a prison term. The 6 people who received probation only are not part of it. Because the quartile figures are so far apart, from 1.5 months to 20 months, the median alone does not describe the spread of sentences.
| 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% |
No Trial Convictions
All 64 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas.
The records have no trial prison term for this year.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Below the range without a government request were 34% (22) of the 64 people. Below the range at the government's request were 30% (19). Within the range were 27% (17), and above the range were 9% (6).
The within-range share was 38% in fiscal year 2022 and 56% in fiscal year 2024. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 64 people with that information recorded.
The records separate below-range sentences into separate groups, depending on whether the government asked for the lower sentence. They do not show the reasons behind either group.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 16 people (25%). Restitution was ordered for 0.
In criminal history, 78% were in the lowest category (Category I) and 8% 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 2023 totaled 64,124 people. Their median prison term was 30 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 42% were 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. One year is not a trend.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2E3.1 (64), 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 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (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.