VICTORIAN POKER LAWS

VICTORIAN POKER LAWS

by Bob Ciaffone

In a previous discussion, I have lamented the fa= ct that many state laws on gambling (which are the laws that affect poker-play= ing) stem from a bygone era that has no relation to the modern world. A lot of t= hem are from the time Victoria was the Queen of England––and gave her name to the English word “Victorian,” meaning prudish values on sex, drinking, gambling,= and other activities that were written into law––and honored mainly= in the breach. In this article, I will give you a smattering of state laws that are so out of touch that some will give you a good laugh, and others may ma= ke you want to cry.

I am acquainted w= ith state laws on poker and gambling, and have done a serious academic work on = the subject in 1990 for an international gaming conference titled, “A Comparative Study of State Laws on Social Gambling.” You can find a c= opy this study on my website. I am not a lawyer, but I do know how to do legal research.

You may think tha= t all the players who break the law in the same manner should be treated alike. N= ot so, in my home state of Michi= gan. It is a bigger crime to win at poker than lose at poker in my state! If you win, you can be jailed for a year, but if you lose, you can only get fined.= Here are the two relevant Michigan laws:

750.314 Winning at gambling.

Any person who by playing at cards, dice, or= any other game, or by betting or putting up money on cards, or by any other mea= ns or device in the nature of betting on cards, or betting of any kind, wins o= r obtains any sum of money or any goods, or any article of value whatever, is guilty = of a misdemeanor if the money, goods, or articles so won or obtained are of the value of not more than $50.00. If the money, goods, or articles so won or obtained are of the value of more than $50.00, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $1,000.00.

750.315 Losing at gambling.

Losing at gambling—Any person who shall lose any sum of money, or any goods, article or thing of value, by playing = or betting on cards, dice or by any other device in the nature of such playing= or betting, and shall pay or deliver the same or any part thereof to the winne= r, and shall not, within 3 months after such loss, without covin or collusion, prosecute with effect for such money or goods, the winner to whom such mone= y or goods shall have been so paid or delivered, shall be guilty of a misdemeano= r, punishable by a fine not exceeding 3 times the value of such money or goods. Such loser may sue for and recover such money in an action for money had and received to the use of the plaintiff; and such goods, article or valuable t= hing in an action of replevin, or the value thereof in an action on the case.

Do you think you = are fairly knowledgable about gambling games? Take a look at this Mississippi law and see how many of the prohibited games you have ever heard of.

97-33-9. Gambling; keeping, exhibiting, etc. games or gaming tables; exceptions.= =

If any person shall be guilty of keeping or exhibiting any game or gaming table commonly called A.B.C. or E.O. roulette= or rowley-powley, or rouge et noir, roredo, keno, monte, or any faro-bank, or other game, gaming table, or bank of the same or like kind or any other kin= d or description under any other name whatever...

The toughest stat= e in the nation on gamblers (according to the way the state law reads) is Oklahoma, where = you can in theory go to jail for ten years for dealing in an illegal poker game. He= re is this Draconian law:

21- 941 - Gambling-Conducting-Penalty-Felony

Except as provided in the Oklahoma Charity G= ames Act, every person who opens, or causes to be opened, or who conducts, wheth= er for hire or not, or carries on either poker, roulette, craps or any banking= or percentage, or any gambling game played with dice, cards or any device, for money, checks, credits, or any representatives of value, or who either as o= wner or employee, whether for hire or not, deals for those engaged in any such g= ame, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished= by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), nor more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), and by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary= for a term of not less than one (1) year nor more than ten (10) years.

I know a lot of p= oker players from Oklahoma, and a lot of places to play the game in that state that are probably not allowed according to the law. My opinion is having an excessively harsh pen= alty for getting caught makes law enforcement more reluctant to enforce the law,= so the law does the opposite of what it was intended to do.<= /p>

Some laws are lau= ghable because the sums of money involved with fines, possibly a fairly large amou= nt according to the days when the law was written (at least a couple of centur= ies ago), are extremely low now. Here is a Vermont law that I know existed 15 years ago when I did my study (I am not sure if = it is still on the books).

2132= — "Gambling. A person= who plays at cards, dice, tables, billiards or other game for money or other valuable thing shall be fined not more than $5.00."<= /p>

Here is a Mississippi law.=

97-33-49. Raffles.=

Except as otherwise provided in Section 97-33-51, if any person, in order to raise money for himself or another, sh= all publicly or privately put up or in any way offer any prize or thing to be raffled or played for, he shall, on conviction, be fined not more than Twen= ty Dollars ($20.00)

Some of the terms= used in these gambling laws are archaic, no longer having the same meaning nowad= ays. For example, here is a state that uses the term “outhouse” when prohibiting gambling activity.

61-10-8 — "Gaming at Ou= thouse Of Hotel:

Penalty. If the keeper of a hotel or tavern let or hire to another person any outhou= se or other place, . . .with intent that unlawful gaming be permitted thereat,= he shall suffer the same punishment and incur the same forfeiture as if such unlawful gaming were permitted at his own principal house."=

Note that I have not mentioned the name = of the state that specifically says you cannot gamble in an outhouse. I though= t I would let you guess.

Most of you guess= ed right; the state is West Virg= inia.

If you guessed Mississippi, take partial credit, as there is a Mississippi law = that starts out as follows:

97-33-15. Gambling; hotel, tavern and boarding-house keepers to inform on gamblers.=

If any guest or other person shall play at a= ny game, bank, or table contrary to law, in a tavern, hotel, or boarding-house= , or any outhouse...

= I have done a lot of gambling in my lifetime, but have never done so in an outhouse.

= Naturally, I am hoping that my article has entertained you, but I admit to having an ulterior motive––dramatizing the fact that many of our state la= ws on gambling are extremely old, and inappropriate for today’s America. Nowadays, nearly every state has a state-run lottery, nearly every city has illegal poker games, and nearly every household has access to internet gamb= ling if they wish to indulge. It is time to change some of our gambling laws.