CALCRIM No. 2995. Permitting Place to Be Used for Betting Activities (Pen. Code, § 337a(a)(5))
Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2023 edition)
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2995.Permitting Place to Be Used for Betting Activities (Pen.
Code, § 337a(a)(5))
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with permitting a place to
be used for betting activities [in violation of Penal Code section
337a(a)(5)].
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must
prove that:
1. The defendant owned, rented, or occupied a place;
2. The defendant allowed the place to be used for (bookmaking[,]/
[or] pool selling[,]/ [or] recording [or registering] bets[,]/ [or]
receiving, holding, or forwarding bets);
AND
3. The defendant knew that the place was being used for that
purpose.
As used here, a place means the whole or part of any (room[,]/ [or]
building[,]/ [or] stand[,]/ [or] shed[,]/ [or] tenement[,]/ [or] tent[,]/ [or]
booth[,]/ [or] float[,]/ [or] vessel[,]/ [or] vehicle[,]/ [or] enclosure) of any
kind.
[Bookmaking includes the taking of bets, either orally or recorded in
writing. The defendant does not need to be involved in betting as a
business or occupation. The taking of one bet is sufficient.]
[Pool selling means selling or distributing shares or chances in a betting
pool. The defendant does not need to be involved in selling or
distributing shares or chances as a business or occupation. A single act
that violates the statute is sufficient. [It is not necessary that the event
that is the subject of a betting pool actually take place.]]
Abet is a wager or agreement between two or more people that if an
uncertain future event happens, the loser will (pay money to the winner/
[or] give the winner something of value). [A bet includes a wager made
on the outcome of any actual or purported event, including but not
limited to any kind of sporting contest [or <insert
description of event from Pen. Code, § 337a>.] [It is not necessary that the
event that was bet on actually take place.]
[Recording [or registering] a bet means making a notation on paper, or
using any other material or device, to allow winnings on the bet to be
distributed in the future. [Recording [or registering] a bet does not
require the type of registering or recording that occurs in a legitimate
business establishment.]]
796
New January 2006
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court has a sua sponte duty to give this instruction defining the elements of the
crime.
AUTHORITY
• Elements. Pen. Code, § 337a(a)(5).
• Knowledge Required. See People v. Coppla (1950) 100 Cal.App.2d 766, 768
[224 P.2d 828].
• “Place” Applies to Vehicle. People v. Roche (1945) 68 Cal.App.2d 665, 669-670
[157 P.2d 440].
• Bookmaking Defined. People v. Thompson (1962) 206 Cal.App.2d 734, 739 [24
Cal.Rptr. 101]; People v. Fontes (1970) 7 Cal.App.3d 650, 653-654 [86
Cal.Rptr. 790]; People v. Bradford (1949) 95 Cal.App.2d 372, 377-378 [213 P.2d
37].
• Pool Selling Defined. Finster v. Keller (1971) 18 Cal.App.3d 836, 846 [96
Cal.Rptr. 241]; People v. Coppla (1950) 100 Cal.App.2d 766, 768 [224 P.2d
828].
• Bet Defined. People v. Oreck (1946) 74 Cal.App.2d 215, 220 [168 P.2d 186].
• Writing Not Required. Pen. Code, § 337a(a)(1); People v. Burch (1953) 118
Cal.App.2d 122, 124 [257 P.2d 44].
• One Bet Sufficient. People v. Buckman (1960) 186 Cal.App.2d 38, 50 [8
Cal.Rptr. 765].
• Event Need Not Occur. People v. Ghio (1927) 82 Cal.App. 28, 32-33 [255 P.
205].
SECONDARY SOURCES
2 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against Public
Peace and Welfare, § 353.
VANDALISM, LOITERING, AND TRESPASS CALCRIM No. 2995
797
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