Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 271
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 271, § 1 (2026)

Gaming or betting; forfeiture

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 1. Whoever, on a prosecution commenced within eighteen months after the commission of the crime, is convicted of winning at one time or sitting, by gaming or betting on the sides or hands of those gaming, except as permitted under chapters 23K and 23N, money or goods to the value of five dollars or more, and of receiving the same or security therefor, shall forfeit double the value of such money or goods.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1930–2004 · leading case: Kittredge v. Kittredge, 803 N.E.2d 306 (Mass. 2004).
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Kittredge v. Kittredge, 803 N.E.2d 306 (Mass. 2004). “In large measure, her argument rests on the theory that any “illegal” expenditure is, by definition, a form of financial misconduct that qualifies as dissipation, and that her husband’s involvement with an unlawful form of gambling (see G. L. c. 271, §§ 1, 5, 17, 17A, 23)…”
Commonwealth v. Novak, 172 N.E. 84 (Mass. 1930). · cites it 2× “The defendant was prosecuted on a complaint under G. L. c. 271, § 1, which provides that “Whoever, on a prosecution commenced within eighteen months after the commission of the crime, is convicted of winning at one time or sitting, by gaming or betting on the sides or hands of…”
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