Va. Code » Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally » Chapter 8. Crimes Involving Morals and Decency » Article 1. Gambling
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-326 (2026)

Penalty for illegal gambling

✓ current as of May 2026
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Except as otherwise provided in this article, any person who illegally gambles or engages in interstate gambling as defined in § 18.2-325 shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. If an association or pool of persons illegally gamble, each person therein shall be guilty of illegal gambling.

However, if any person makes, places, or receives any bet or wager of money or other thing of value on a horse race in the Commonwealth, whether the race is inside or outside the limits of the Commonwealth at any place or through any means other than (i) at a racetrack licensed by the Virginia Racing Commission pursuant to Chapter 29 (§ 59.1-364 et seq.) of Title 59.1 or (ii) at a satellite facility or through advance deposit account wagering, as those terms are defined in § 59.1-365, licensed by the Virginia Racing Commission pursuant to Chapter 29 (§ 59.1-364 et seq.) of Title 59.1, such person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. For the purposes of this paragraph, venue shall be in any county or city in which any act was performed in furtherance of any course of conduct constituting illegal gambling.

Code 1950, § 18.1-316; 1960, c. 358; 1973, c. 463; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1992, c. 423; 2011, c. 732.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1983–1996 · leading case: Turner v. Commonwealth, 309 S.E.2d 337 (Va. 1983).
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Turner v. Commonwealth, 309 S.E.2d 337 (Va. 1983). · cites it 8× “Code § 18.2-326. Violation of that provision is a Class 3 misdemeanor.”
Frank Eddie Dingus v. Commonwealth, 477 S.E.2d 303 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 3× “Count 8 alleged that appellant unlawfully gambled, a misdemeanor violation of Code -2- § 18.2-326. At a pretrial hearing on appellant's motion to quash, appellant argued that the Commonwealth improperly charged him with separate offenses in Counts 2-7, in violation of the…”
Resorts Int'l Hotel, Inc. v. Agresta, 569 F. Supp. 24 (E.D. Va. 1983). “Code § 18.2-326 (1982). Persons who operate an illegal gambling enterprise are guilty of a Class 6 felony.”
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