45-2-302. When accountability exists.

A person is legally accountable for the conduct of another when:
(1) having a mental state described by the statute defining the offense, he causes another to perform the conduct, regardless of the legal capacity or mental state of the other person;
(2) the statute defining the offense makes him so accountable; or
(3) either before or during the commission of an offense with the purpose to promote or facilitate such commission, he solicits, aids, abets, agrees, or attempts to aid such other person in the planning or commission of the offense. However, a person is not so accountable if:
(a) he is a victim of the offense committed, unless the statute defining the offense provides otherwise; or
(b) before the commission of the offense, he terminates his effort to promote or facilitate such commission and does one of the following:
(i) wholly deprives his prior efforts of effectiveness in such commission;
(ii) gives timely warning to the proper law enforcement authorities; or
(iii) otherwise makes proper effort to prevent the commission of the offense.

23-5-110. Public policy of state concerning gambling.

(1) The legislature finds that for the purpose of ensuring the proper gambling environment in this state it is necessary and desirable to adopt a public policy regarding public gambling activities in Montana. The legislature therefore declares it is necessary to:
(a) create and maintain a uniform regulatory climate that assures players, owners, tourists, citizens, and others that the gambling industry in this state is fair and is not influenced by corrupt persons, organizations, or practices;
(b) protect legal public gambling activities from unscrupulous players and vendors and detrimental influences;
(c) protect the public from unscrupulous proprietors and operators of gambling establishments, games, and devices;
(d) protect the state and local governments from those who would conduct illegal gambling activities that deprive those governments of their tax revenues;
(e) protect the health, safety, and welfare of all citizens of this state, including those who do not gamble, by regulating gambling activities; and
(f) promote programs necessary to provide assistance to those who are adversely affected by legalized gambling, including compulsive gamblers and their families.

23-5-111. Construction and application.

In view of Article III, section 9, of the Montana constitution, parts 1 through 8 of this chapter must be strictly construed by the department and the courts to allow only those types of gambling and gambling activity that are specifically and clearly allowed by those parts

23-5-112 Definitions

. (6) "Card game table" or "table" means a live card game table:
(a) authorized by permit and made available to the public on the premises of a licensed gambling operator; or
(b) operated by a senior citizen center.
(7) "Card game tournament" means a gambling activity for which a permit has been issued involving participants who pay valuable consideration for the opportunity to compete against each other in a series of live card games conducted over a designated period of time.
….
(11) "Gambling" or "gambling activity" means risking money, credit, deposit, check, property, or any other thing of value for a gain that is contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, or the operation of a gambling device or gambling enterprise. The term does not mean conducting or participating in a promotional game of chance and does not include amusement games regulated by Title 23, chapter 6, part 1.
(12) "Gambling device" means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device, machine, slot machine, instrument, apparatus, contrivance, scheme, or system used or intended for use in any gambling activity.
(13) "Gambling enterprise" means an activity, scheme, or agreement or an attempted activity, scheme, or agreement to provide gambling or a gambling device to the public.
….
(16) "Illegal gambling device" means a gambling device not specifically authorized by statute or by the rules of the department. The term includes:
(a) a ticket or card, by whatever name known, containing concealed numbers or symbols that may match numbers or symbols designated in advance as prize winners, including a pull tab, punchboard, push card, tip board, pickle ticket, break-open, or jar game, except for one used under chapter 7 of this title or under part 5 of this chapter or in a promotional game of chance approved by the department; and
(b) an apparatus, implement, or device, by whatever name known, specifically designed to be used in conducting an illegal gambling enterprise, including a faro box, faro layout, roulette wheel, roulette table, or craps table or a slot machine except as provided in 23-5-153.
(17) "Illegal gambling enterprise" means a gambling enterprise that violates or is not specifically authorized by a statute or a rule of the department. The term includes:
(a) a card game, by whatever name known, involving any bank or fund from which a participant may win money or other consideration and that receives money or other consideration lost by the participant and includes the card games of blackjack, twenty-one, jacks or better, baccarat, or chemin de fer;
(b) a dice game, by whatever name known, in which a participant wagers on the outcome of the roll of one or more dice, including craps, hazard, or chuck-a-luck, but not including activities authorized by 23-5-160;
(c) sports betting, by whatever name known, in which a person places a wager on the outcome of an athletic event, including bookmaking, parlay bets, or sultan sports cards, but not including those activities authorized in chapter 4 of this title and parts 2, 5, and 8 of this chapter; and
(d) credit gambling.
(18) "Keno" means a game of chance in which prizes are awarded using a card with 8 horizontal rows and 10 columns on which a player may pick up to 10 numbers. A keno caller, using authorized equipment, shall select at random at least 20 numbers out of numbers between 1 and 80, inclusive.
....
(20) "License" means a license for an operator, dealer, card room contractor, manufacturer of devices not legal in Montana, sports tab game seller, manufacturer of electronic live bingo or keno equipment, other manufacturer, distributor, or route operator that is issued to a person by the department.
(21) "Licensee" means a person who has received a license from the department.
(22) "Live card game" or "card game" means a card game that is played in public between persons on the premises of a licensed gambling operator or in a senior citizen center.
(23) "Lottery" means a scheme, by whatever name known, for the disposal or distribution of property among persons who have paid or promised to pay valuable consideration for the chance of obtaining the property or a portion of it or for a share or interest in the property upon an agreement, understanding, or expectation that it is to be distributed or disposed of by lot or chance. The term does not mean lotteries authorized under chapter 7 of this title.
....
(26) "Operator" means a person who purchases, receives, or acquires, by lease or otherwise, and operates or controls for use in public, a gambling device or gambling enterprise authorized under parts 1 through 8 of this chapter.
....
(28) "Person" or "persons" means both natural and artificial persons and all partnerships, corporations, associations, clubs, fraternal orders, and societies, including religious and charitable organizations.
(29) "Premises" means the physical building or property within or upon which a licensed gambling activity occurs, as stated on an operator's license application and approved by the department.
(30) "Promotional game of chance" means a scheme, by whatever name known, for the disposal or distribution of property among persons who have not paid or are not expected to pay any valuable consideration or who have not purchased or are not expected to purchase any goods or services for a chance to obtain the property, a portion of it, or a share in it. The property is disposed of or distributed by simulating a gambling enterprise authorized by parts 1 through 8 of this chapter or by operating a device or enterprise approved by the department that was manufactured or intended for use for purposes other than gambling.
(31) "Public gambling" means gambling conducted in:
(a) a place, building, or conveyance to which the public has access or may be permitted to have access;
(b) a place of public resort, including but not limited to a facility owned, managed, or operated by a partnership, corporation, association, club, fraternal order, or society, including a religious or charitable organization; or
(c) a place, building, or conveyance to which the public does not have access if players are publicly solicited or the gambling activity is conducted in a predominantly commercial manner.
(32) "Raffle" means a form of lottery in which each participant pays valuable consideration for a ticket to become eligible to win a prize. Winners must be determined by a random selection process approved by department rule.
....
(35) "Slot machine" means a mechanical, electrical, electronic, or other gambling device, contrivance, or machine that, upon insertion of a coin, currency, token, credit card, or similar object or upon payment of any valuable consideration, is available to play or operate, the play or operation of which, whether by reason of the skill of the operator or application of the element of chance, or both, may deliver or entitle the person playing or operating the gambling device to receive cash, premiums, merchandise, tokens, or anything of value, whether the payoff is made automatically from the machine or in any other manner. This definition does not apply to video gambling machines authorized under part 6 of this chapter.
(36) "Video gambling machine" is a gambling device specifically authorized by part 6 of this chapter and the rules of the department.

23-5-113. Department as criminal justice agency -- seized property....

23-5-119. Appropriate alcoholic beverage license for certain gambling activities....

23-5-123. Disposal of money confiscated by reason of violation of gambling laws....
23-5-131. Losses at illegal gambling may be recovered in civil action

A person, or his dependent or guardian, who, by playing or betting at an illegal gambling device or illegal gambling enterprise, loses money, property, or any other thing of value and pays and delivers it to another person connected with the operation or conduct of the illegal gambling device or illegal gambling enterprise, within 1 year following his loss, may:
(1) bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover the loss;
(2) recover the costs of the civil action and exemplary damages of no less than $500 and no more than $5,000; and
(3) join as a defendant any person having an interest in the illegal gambling device or illegal gambling enterprise.

23-5-151. Gambling prohibited. Except as specifically authorized by statute, all forms of public gambling, lotteries, and gift enterprises are prohibited.

23-5-152. Possession of illegal gambling device or conducting illegal gambling enterprise prohibited -- exceptions.

(1) Except as provided in 23-5-153 and subsections (2) through (5) of this section, it is a misdemeanor punishable under 23-5-161 for a person to purposely or knowingly:
(a) have in the person's possession or under the person's control or permit to be placed, maintained, or kept in any room, space, enclosure, or building owned, leased, or occupied by or under the person's management or control an illegal gambling device; or
(b) operate an illegal gambling enterprise.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a public officer or to a person coming into possession of an illegal gambling device in or by reason of the performance of an official duty and holding it to be disposed of according to law.
(3) (a) The department may adopt rules to license persons to manufacture gambling devices that are not legal for public play in the state.
(b) A person may not manufacture an illegal gambling device without having obtained a license from the department. The department may charge an administrative fee for the license that is commensurate with the cost of issuing the license.
(4) (a) A person licensed under subsection (3) may conduct only those activities authorized under this subsection (4).
(b) A licensee may bring an illegal gambling device, including an illegal video gambling machine, into the state if:
(i) the illegal gambling device contains a component that will be used by the licensee to manufacture an illegal gambling device for export from the state; or
(ii) the illegal gambling device will be reconditioned, refurbished, repaired, or otherwise substantially modified in preparation for export from the state; and
(iii) the illegal gambling device will be exported from the state; and
(iv) the licensee has notified the department and received authorization from the department to bring the illegal gambling device into the state. The licensee is subject to reporting requirements provided for in rules adopted under subsection (3)(a).
(c) A licensee may also bring an illegal video gambling machine into the state if:
(i) the illegal video gambling machine will be reconditioned, refurbished, repaired, or otherwise substantially modified for conversion to an authorized video gambling machine; and
(ii) the licensee has notified the department and has received authorization from the department to bring the illegal video gambling machine into the state. The licensee is subject to reporting requirements provided for in rules adopted under subsection (3)(a).
(5) An illegal gambling device may be possessed or located for display purposes only and not for operation:
(a) in a public or private museum; or
(b) in any other public place if the device has been made permanently inoperable for purposes of conducting a gambling activity.

23-5-153. Possession and sale of antique slot machines.

(1) For the purposes of this section, an antique slot machine is a mechanically or electronically operated slot machine that at any present time is more than 25 years old.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), an antique slot machine may be possessed, located, and operated only in a private residential dwelling.
(3) (a) An antique slot machine may be possessed or located for purposes of display only and not for operation in any public museum owned and operated by the state, a county, or a city.
(b) A licensed manufacturer-distributor or a person licensed under subsection (4) may possess antique slot machines for purposes of commercially selling or otherwise supplying the machines.
(4) A person other than a licensed manufacturer-distributor may not sell more than three antique slot machines in a 12-month period without first obtaining from the department an annual license for selling the machines. The fee for the license is $50 a year. The fee must be retained by the department for administrative purposes. The department may not issue a license under this subsection to a licensed operator.
(5) A person or entity legally possessing a slot machine under subsection (2) or (3) may sell or otherwise supply a machine to another person or entity who may legally possess a slot machine.
(6) An antique slot machine may not be operated for any commercial or charitable purpose.

23-5-154. Soliciting participation in illegal gambling activity prohibited.

A person who purposely or knowingly advertises for or solicits another person to participate in an illegal gambling enterprise or use an illegal gambling device is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable under 23-5-161.

23-5-155. Counterfeiting or defacing documents -- penalty....

23-5-156. Offering or obtaining anything of value by fraud or operation of illegal gambling device or enterprise....

23-5-157. Gambling on cash basis -- penalties.

(1) (a) In every gambling activity, except raffles as authorized in 23-5-413 and card games authorized in part 3 of this chapter and normally scored using points, the consideration paid for the chance to play must be made in cash. A check or credit card may be used to obtain cash to participate in a gambling activity. A participant shall present the cash needed to play the game as the game is being played. If a check or credit card is used to obtain cash on the premises of a licensee then it must be delivered and accepted unconditionally. A licensee or employee of a licensee may not hold a check or other evidence of indebtedness for redemption pending the outcome of a gambling activity.
(b) Credit gambling is prohibited. Credit gambling is offering or accepting as part of the price of participation in a gambling activity or as payment of a debt incurred in a gambling activity:
(i) a check or credit card held pending the outcome of a gambling activity;
(ii) a loan of any kind at any time from or on behalf of a licensee;
(iii) any form of deferred payment, including a note, IOU, post-dated check, hold check, or other evidence of indebtedness; or
(iv) a check issued or delivered that is accepted by the licensee with the knowledge that it will not be paid by the depository.
(2) A person who violates this section is guilty of a criminal offense under 23-5-156 and must be punished in accordance with 23-5-161 or 23-5-162.

23-5-158. Minors not to participate -- penalty -- exception....

23-5-159. Illegal sale, assignment, lease, or transfer of license -- penalty...

23-5-160. Shaking dice for a drink or music or in a shake-a-day game.

(1) It is legal for a customer in an establishment licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages to be consumed on the premises to:
(a) shake or choose one or more dice, alone or with an owner or employee of the establishment, to determine whether the customer or the establishment shall pay for the customer's drink or to determine whether the customer or the establishment shall immediately pay a predetermined amount of money, not to exceed $2, for music from a jukebox in the establishment; or
(b) play the dice game commonly known as shake-a-day, in which a customer may once each day pay an amount of money predetermined by the establishment, but not more than 50 cents, and shake a number of dice predetermined by the establishment in an attempt to roll certain combinations simulating poker hands predetermined by the establishment. If one of the combinations is rolled, the customer may win merchandise or a portion or all of the money paid to play the game since the last winning combination was rolled. The establishment may, before a game begins, limit the amount that will be won and use the remaining money played on that game to start the pot for the next game, thus enhancing the incentive to play the next game in the early stages of the next game. All money paid to play games must be paid out as winnings. An establishment may offer to the public more than one shake-a-day game at any given time.
(2) Nothing in this section authorizes the dice game of craps or any other dice game not specifically described in this section.

23-5-161. Criminal liabilities -- misdemeanor.

A person who purposely or knowingly violates a provision of parts 1 through 8 of this chapter, the punishment of which is for a misdemeanor, shall upon conviction of a first offense be fined not more than $500. Upon a second conviction within 5 years of a first conviction, a person shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or both. Upon a third conviction within 5 years of a second conviction, a person shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than 1 year, or both. Upon a fourth conviction within 5 years of a third conviction, a person shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than 1 year, or both, and the department shall revoke all licenses and permits the person holds under parts 1 through 8 of this chapter and the person is forever barred from receipt of any license or permit under this chapter. When 5 years have passed following a conviction, the record of that conviction may be made available only to criminal justice agencies or upon court order.

23-5-162. Criminal liabilities -- felony.

(1) A person who purposely or knowingly violates a provision of parts 1 through 8 of this chapter, the punishment for which is a felony, may upon conviction be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, for each violation.
(2) In addition to any penalty imposed under subsection (1), the department shall revoke all licenses or permits issued to the person under parts 1 through 8 of this chapter and may not issue the person another license or permit under parts 1 through 8 of this chapter.

23-5-164. Payroll checks -- promotional activities prohibited....

23-5-165. Fishing derbies and wagering on natural occurrences....

23-5-171. Authority of local governments to regulate gambling.

(1) A local government may not license or regulate a form of gambling authorized by parts 1 through 8 of this chapter or assess or charge any fees or taxes unless specifically authorized by statute.
(2) An incorporated city or town may enact an ordinance or resolution zoning certain areas within its incorporated limits in which gambling is prohibited.
(3) A county may enact a resolution zoning certain areas in the county, not within an incorporated city or town, in which gambling is prohibited.
(4) A county or incorporated city or town may not restrict the number of licenses that the department may issue.

23-5-172. Prosecution....

23-5-176. Qualifications for licensure....

23-5-177. Operator of gambling establishment -- license -- fee.

(1) It is a misdemeanor for a person who is not licensed by the department as an operator to make available to the public for play a gambling device or gambling enterprise for which a permit must be obtained from the department.
(2) To obtain an operator's license, a person shall submit to the department:
(a) a completed operator's license application on a form prescribed and furnished by the department;
(b) any other relevant information requested by the department; and
(c) a license application processing fee, as required in subsection (8).

23-5-221. Definition.

As used in this part, "Calcutta pool" means a form of auction pool conducted by an organization authorized by the department. The Calcutta pool must be an auction pool in which:
(1) a person's wager is equal to his bid;
(2) the proceeds from the pool, minus administrative costs and prizes paid, are contributed to a charitable or nonprofit corporation, association, or cause;
(3) the rules of the pool are publicly posted;
(4) no more than one wager for each competitor is allowed;
(5) at least 50% of the total pool is paid out in prizes;
(6) persons may not bid or wager money on any elementary school or high school sports event; and
(7) the underlying event has more than two entrants.

23-5-222. Calcutta pools authorized.

It is hereby lawful to conduct or participate in a Calcutta pool as defined in 23-5-221.

23-5-223. Penalty.

A person who violates a provision of this part is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable pursuant to 23-5-161.

The following activities are regulated by Montana Statutes

Part 3. Card Games Act
Part 4. Bingo and Raffles
Part 5. Sports Pools
Part 6. Video Gaming Machine Control Law
Part 7. Casino Nights

23-5-801. Fantasy sports leagues defined.

As used in this part, a "fantasy sports league" means a gambling activity conducted in the following manner:
(1) A fantasy sports league consists of a limited number of persons or groups of persons who pay an entrance fee for membership in the league. The entrance fee may include an administrative fee.
(2) Each league member creates a fictitious team composed of athletes from a given professional sport, such as baseball, basketball, or football. Player selection is conducted through random drawings or a bidding process.
(3) After the initial teams are selected, interim replacement of players may occur by trade or purchase. A specific fee, which may not exceed the total entrance fee, is charged for each transaction.
(4) A method, as defined by league rules, is devised to permit each team to compete against other teams in the league. Points are awarded to a team according to the performance of individual players or teams or both during a designated time period.
(5) A member may be eligible to receive a payout based on the number of points accumulated. Payouts, which may be in the form of cash or prizes, are awarded according to league rules.
(6) Rules governing the conduct of the fantasy sports league must be provided in writing to each member.

23-5-802. Fantasy sports leagues authorized.

It is lawful to conduct or participate in a fantasy sports league.

23-5-805. Payouts -- administrative fees charged by commercial establishments.

(1) The total value of payouts to all league members must equal the amount collected for entrance, administrative, and transactions fees, minus payment for administrative expenses.
(2) If a commercial establishment charges an administrative fee for conducting a fantasy sports league, the fee for each participant may not be more than 15% of the amount charged as a participant's entrance fee.

23-5-806. Sports betting prohibited -- applicability.

Sections 23-5-801, 23-5-802, and 23-5-805 do not:
(1) authorize betting or wagering on the outcome of an individual sports event; or
(2) apply to gambling activities governed under chapter 4 or chapter 5, part 2 or 5, of this title.