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Federal Reserve Act

Official titleSection 1. Short title and definitionsSection 2. Federal Reserve DistrictsSection 2A. Monetary policy objectivesSection 2B. Appearances Before and Reports to the CongressSection 3. Branch OfficesSection 4. Federal Reserve BanksSection 5. Stock Issues; Increase and Decrease of CapitalSection 6. Insolvency of member banksSection 7. Division of EarningsSection 8. Conversion of state banks into national banksSection 9. State Banks as MembersSection 9A. Participation in lotteries prohibitedSection 9B. Resolution of Clearing BanksSection 10. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SystemSection 10A. Emergency advances to groups of member banks*Section 10B. Advances to Individual Member Banks*Section 11. Powers of Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SystemSection 11A. Pricing of ServicesSection 11B. Annual Independent Audits of Federal Reserve Banks and BoardSection 11C. Master Account and Services DatabaseSection 12. Federal Advisory CouncilSection 12A. Federal Open Market CommitteeSection 13. Powers of Federal Reserve BanksSection 13A.* Discount of agricultural paperSection 14. Open-Market OperationsSection 15. Government DepositsSection 16. Note IssuesSection 17. Deposit of bonds by national banksSection 18. Refunding BondsSection 19. Bank ReservesSection 20. National bank notes redemption fund as reserveSection 21. Bank ExaminationsSection 22. Offenses of examiners, member banks, officers, and directorsSection 23. Interbank Liabilities*Section 23A. Relations with affiliatesSection 23B. Restrictions on Transactions with AffiliatesSection 24. Real Estate LoansSection 24A. Investment in Bank Premises or Stock of Corporation Holding PremisesSection 25. Foreign BranchesSection 25A. Banking Corporations Authorized to Do Foreign Banking Business*Section 25B. Jurisdiction of suits*Section 25C. Potential Liability on Foreign AccountsSection 26. [Repealed]Section 27. Tax on national bank notesSection 28. Reduction of capital of national banksSection 29. Civil Money PenaltySection 30. Saving clauseSection 31. Reservation of right to amend

Section 9A. Participation in lotteries prohibited

(a) A State member bank may not--

  1. deal in lottery tickets;
  2. deal in bets used as a means or substitute for participation in a lottery;
  3. announce, advertise, or publicize the existence of any lottery;
  4. announce, advertise, or publicize the existence or identity of any participant or winner, as such, in a lottery.

(b) A State member bank may not permit--

  1. the use of any part of any of its banking offices by any person for any purpose forbidden to the bank under subsection (a), or
  2. direct access by the public from any of its banking offices to any premises used by any person for any purpose forbidden to the bank under subsection (a).

(c) As used in this section--

  1. The term "deal in" includes making, taking, buying, selling, redeeming, or collecting.
  2. The term "lottery" includes any arrangement, other than a savings promotion raffle, whereby three or more persons (the "participants") advance money or credit to another in exchange for the possibility or expectation that one or more but not all of the participants (the "winners") will receive by reason of their advances more than the amounts they have advanced, the identity of the winners being determined by any means which includes--
    1. a random selection;
    2. a game, race, or contest; or
    3. any record or tabulation of the result of one or more events in which any participant has no interest except for its bearing upon the possibility that he may become a winner.
  3. The term "lottery ticket" includes any right, privilege, or possibility (and any ticket, receipt, record, or other evidence of any such right, privilege, or possibility) of becoming a winner in a lottery.
  4. The term "savings promotion raffle" means a contest in which the sole consideration required for a chance of winning designated prizes is obtained by the deposit of a specified amount of money in a savings account or other savings program, where each ticket or entry has an equal chance of being drawn, such contest being subject to regulations that may from time to time be promulgated by the appropriate prudential regulator (as defined in section 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481)).

(d) Nothing contained in this section prohibits a State member bank from accepting deposits or cashing or otherwise handling checks or other negotiable instruments, or performing other lawful banking services for a State operating a lottery, or for an officer or employee of that State who is charged with the administration of the lottery.

(e) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to the strict enforcement of this section and the prevention of evasions thereof.

[12 USC 339. As added by act of Dec. 15, 1967 (81 Stat. 609) effective April 1, 1968. As amended by act of Dec. 18, 2014 (128 Stat. 2889). Corresponding prohibitions are contained in section 5136B of the Revised Statutes, section 20 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and section 4 of the Home Owners' Loan Act with respect to national banks, nonmember insured banks, and savings associations insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.]

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Last Update: February 13, 2017