Home Poker and the Law in AmericaCard Player and Poker Players Alliance Take on Project |
|
All across America, people are playing poker in their homes, fire halls, and even community centers that also house local police headquarters. Those playing include politicians, attorneys, law enforcement agents, and citizens from all walks of life. In many states, thanks to antiquated and often confusing gambling laws, these citizens are breaking the law and don’t even know it.
It is both Card Player and the Poker Players Alliance’s desire to give the poker players of America a definite answer to the basic question players should have about poker and the law where they life: Can people play poker in their homes in my state without breaking the law?
Card Player and the PPA are working together to create a series that will answer this question about every state, as well as several other questions concerning home and community poker, charity poker, how people can be punished for playing or hosting a poker game, and other related topics. With the help of lawyers from each state who committed to the PPA’s new litigation network, we will answer these legal questions, and more.
Patrick Fleming, a New Hampshire attorney, poker rights advocate, state director of the PPA, and the frontman and lead organizer for the PPA’s litigation network, is the man who will help us decipher the confusing legal codes that poker falls under, which varies from state to state. The network, which was launched in late March, has received interest from enough attorneys to fill about half of the states.
Fleming said the litigation network has three main goals: educating people around the country about specific laws where they are and laws regarding the Internet, bringing together lawyers who know about poker and can be used to answer questions about poker that PPA members might have, and establishing a team of poker experts who would be able to show up at court and defend poker voraciously.
This project will help the PPA accomplish the second goal of the litigation network. Fleming has a great passion when it comes to poker and state law and will be an enthusiastic partner in helping Card Player complete this project.
The first state up for clarification is Fleming’s home state of New Hampshire, which acts as an example of how state laws concerning gambling can vary so drastically. New Hampshire has a unique way of defining exactly what gambling is, and, like most states, poker is stuffed under the umbrella of gambling there.
So, without further ado ...
New Hampshire
Patrick Fleming: New Hampshire was the first state to legalize the lottery and also houses four racetracks, so gambling isn’t as taboo there as, say, Utah. But full-fledged casinos probably won’t be opening there anytime soon. Thanks to a recent law change, the tracks are now able to hold poker tournaments for charity (and they do so seven days a week), and public cash games can take place where the charity events are held, although law severely restricts betting limits (no-limit games are prohibited, and nothing more than $1-$2 limit can be spread).
Card Player: Can people legally play poker in their homes in New Hampshire?
PF: The answer to that question is, of course, ‘It depends.’ New Hampshire has a provision that makes it a misdemeanor offense for people to gamble, and New Hampshire does not have a provision, unlike some other states, that exempts people from that law if they are playing in a private residence. The reason it depends is because New Hampshire gambling law does not mention the word poker anywhere.
New Hampshire defines gambling as follows: Gambling means to risk something of value upon a future contingent event not under one’s control or influence. So, if that’s the definition of gambling, then the question becomes: Is the future contingent event that you’re wagering on under your control or influence?
My opinion — because there is no court case saying one way or another — as an attorney in New Hampshire is that when people play poker, they are engaged in a competition among each other, and, because in poker what you do influences the outcome of the game, I believe when people sit down and play a live game of poker, they are not gambling under New Hampshire law.
CP: Has anyone in N.H. been charged with playing home poker?
PF: Not to my knowledge.
CP: What can players be charged with if state officials decide to bust a poker game under N.H.’s gambling law?
PF: A misdemeanor offense, which carries a maximum of $2,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
CP: What about the people who host the game?
PF: They can be charged up to a Class B felony (depending on how much money was made off of the game and how long it went on). The maximum sentence for a Class B felony is 3.5-7 years in prison and a fine up to $4,000.
CP: Has New Hampshire tackled the issue of whether poker is a skill game or not?
PF: No.
CP: What about charity poker tourneys?
PF: In New Hampshire, charity gaming is allowed. Within the past three years, an amendment to the law allowed companies and the four racetracks there to hold charity tournaments with up to a $500 buy-in seven days a week.
Local organizations, such as a softball team, hire one of the companies that run charity poker tournament games there to spread them.
Charity game operators have to apply for a license that requires a $300,000 bond, a clean criminal record, and fingerprinting.
CP: Does the state tax the prize pool?
PF: No, but some lawmakers want to see charity gambling events, including poker, being taxed.
CP: Are there any laws currently being proposed by state legislators that would make home or charity poker 100 precent legal?
PF: No.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
