A "lottery" is any scheme or promotion, regardless of state legality, where a prize is offered based on lot or chance and requires payment for participation. "Lottery matter" refers to any check, draft, bill, money, Postal note, or money order sent through the mail for the purchase of any ticket or share in a lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme, or for paying prepaid taxes or fees purportedly required to collect lottery winnings.
Lottery tickets and related items are statutorily defined as nonmailable under 39 U.S.C. § 3001, Nonmailable Matter. Specifically, 39 U.S.C. § 3001(a) defines as nonmailable any matter deposited in the mail which is punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1302, Mailing Lottery Tickets or Related Matter, which prohibits mailing lottery tickets or related items and imposes criminal penalties. "Related matter" includes funds remitted through the mail as noted in 456.1 and DMM 601.9.3.
Excluding fishing contests, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and certain lotteries, as defined in DMM 601.9.3.3, the following factors may be considered when determining whether a mailing constitutes nonmailable lottery-related matter:
- Sender or Recipient Statements: Assertions that the mailing contains lottery-related material.
- Return Address Profile: The mailing matches a pre-established profile of lottery-related mailings based on the sender‘s return address
- Recipient Address: Evidence that the recipient address is used to receive lottery-related mailings.
