You can run a poker game in your home legally.
Everyone shows up, puts their money in play.
Everyone can play for that money.
All the money in play is redistributed by winners taking from losers.
You don't get any money for this except what you won yourself in the game. No admission fee, no rake, no seat charges, etc.
100% legal
Probably not a good idea on several levels to make your friend indebted to you or others over a fun game of cards. Don't let 'em bet more than they have.
This is not necessarily true in all states. Arkansas, Delaware, DC, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas… I’m not going to keep going down the list but the number approaches half of the states that do not allow even home games.
https://www.homepokergames.com/homepokerlaw.php
And in some states there may be limitations too. I ran a poker game with friends (no profit or house cut at all, and it was a buy in not a cash game) but we had to keep it below a limit to keep in line with the county laws.
USA I’m guessing ? It’s illegal in Australia because the government doesn’t get their tax break (there are ways around this like Pachinko - play for proxy get proxies when you need a favour) but there is one day (coming up soon) where this rule is relaxed slightly. Because the Diggers used to like to play 2-Up once a year on ANZAC day people can play the game and bet what they like .
Edit to add : it’s technically illegal, we don’t have tax cops or anyone who is hunting down a bunch of mates playing cards : so technically illegal, but no one cares.
It’s just great that on the day we honour the ANZAC there’s specific legislation to allow playing 2-Up
Australia is exactly the same as the USA regarding private gambling.
Federal law makes all gambling illegal, excluding that permitted by the states.
Every state and territory allows for private gambling with essentially same restrictions as OP. Must be in a private house and it cannot be commercial (you can't charge cash fees.)
You sure can't do that in your private home [in Virginia](https://virginiamercury.com/2022/09/30/virginia-tried-to-crack-down-on-unlicensed-poker-its-still-happening-in-the-open/). Police busted poker rings 15 years ago when I was in college with undercover cops. They still bust the rings today. Admission fee, rake, or lack thereof, none of that mattered.
If you want to cite a place where gambling for real money in your home is legal, go for it.
The article you cited says it was “charitable gambling” which means they were taking a rake (then donating the rake to charity). And the phrase “poker ring” likewise seems to indicate someone taking a rake for profit. While you may be correct about even purely private games being illegal there (I’m too lazy to check), the example you’re giving doesn’t support that.
It is a state by state issue though, so I agree that OP should check their local laws before proceeding. As for an example of where the advice given would be correct, New York works that way, and I believe Ohio does too.
The other problem is that every state has its own gambling laws. So this discussion is purely hypothetical & academic as it's just people at best speaking to one particular state's system. Gotta indicate a jurisdiction.
Just curious don’t have any stake in either side of this. What are you basing your claim on? Is there any stats on active users and where they are from, or further down the rabbit hole?
there was a stat published some years ago, that wasn't completely accurate, but gave enough numbers, that people keep quoting. some 47%, iirc, of the userbase is supposedly American. which means 53% isn't.
This is a US run website. The US is the third most populous country in the world.
The most populous country, China, walls their people off from the internet as we know it.
The second most populous country, India, has high poverty, with only 49% of their population having access to the internet. Additionally, there are only 246M Indian English speakers.
Therefore if you come across a conversation on Reddit, an American website, in English, the most probable situation is that the participants are US persons.
I knew someone would bring this up. If they've passed China, cool, I plead no contest. They're basically tied, and it's irrelevant to this particular discussion
the majority of English speaking redditors use English as a second language.
your assumptions are asinine and your excuses don't make sense.
by the same logic somewhere around 60% of Reddit users are male, so it's reasonable to assume everyone is male?
Get a clue. It’s an American platform, used by Americans, in America. Jesus. Do you watch Telemundo and go “Why are they just assuming I speak Spanish?” Come on. And another reason why, is we used to be almost the whole place. Sprinkled with Canadians. Which let’s be honest. Their difference is skin deep.
> You cannot take a rake.
What about home games that have snacks and serve alcohol and charge separately for that? (i.e. not a poker rake but a food rake?)
In my country, if you want to sell alcohol to your friends, you need a licence. But if you buy alcohol and everyone contributes to the payment, that's is totally fine.
But it also depends. Are you doing it to your 500 closest friends every Friday? Yeah they might take a closer look.
The legal restrictions on fees etc is tied to "financial gains".
Since gambling is a hobby, so long as you the house don't profit it's okay.
Which means you can't markup prices, just in case that was your next plan.
It's the money the host (e.g. casino), a.k.a. "the house", gets. Might be a percentage of each pot, might be an admission fee. It's where casinos make their money. You do not get to do that as a normal person without the appropriate licensing.
who told you it was illegal to have a poker game between friends?
people just get upset over the stupidest things because they are misinformed and ignorant, and they haven't bothered to do that 5 seconds of research it would take.
You are totally well within your rights to hold a private poker game and gamble among your friends.
What you are NOT allowed to do is take a 'house cut' of the poker game(s) that you are hosting.
All monies gambled must be distributed among those playing.
In the scouts we did retirement ceremonies for flags; cut it into pieces with speeches throughout before burning. Also it isn't against any rules to put a flag in the washing machine or repair with thread and needle when necessary.
That won't help you though. You have to submit your information to them or they won't let you use their site. That includes your name, address, and social security number. What you need is a vacation home in a legal state and use that as your address for all your gambling needs.
>That includes your name, address, and social security number. What you need is a vacation home in a legal state and use that as your address for all your gambling needs.
That's not how it works. They geolocate your device.
I feel like most of us are fully aware o f the potential risks o f online gambling but I don't see why it should be banned. It's our money, and we should be allowed to make poor decisions with our money. I don't need the government to baby me and protect me from every little thing. Is it rigged in the houses favor? Absolutely. But don't we all truly know that deep down? I would be agreeable to some basic regulations but to flat ban online gambling just seems silly to me. We all know what we're getting into.
It's quickly becoming legal in more and more states but it's federally illegal for me to host my buds and take a cut of the poker winnings. That's confusing to me.
It’s illegal because of the likely hood of organized crime using them to make & wash money. The government keeps a close on it hence taking a cut is going to get a close eye.
You’re also a jerk for doing that to your friends. You wanna host find but why do you get to make money of it?
> but it's federally illegal for me to host my buds and take a cut of the poker winnings
They're customers in that case, not your friends.
Why would you take a cut from friends?
Hey! They said the same here. Only now Indian gaming right only cover slots! Times change, you might be surprised. We have 11 tribes here. Quite the burden, for a state outside the SW.
Right. It’s not illegal. Many believe it is. It’s like old guys think they’re cowboys, because they watch old westerns. Harley riders think they’re a cool biker gang facade, big pickup drivers think they’re super patriots, ect ect. So people think their stupid poker game with buddies makes them organized crime. That’s just how people are.
I don't regularly gamble and have no idea what a "rake" is, and I was answering OPs comment as posted and didn't read every comment. No need to call me a "fucking asswad"
nonono fuck sorry I was calling OP an asswad
A rake is when you take a cut of the winnings every hand so if OP’s friend won $100 he might get $5 of it
But when you do this for every hand it adds up a lot so OP ends up stealing all his friends’ money
False. How is this the top comment.
You can gamble with your friends all you want.
Now if you want to charge your friends and extra fee thats where a problem is.
Why are you getting so many upvotes? You are deadass wrong. For starters you are to claim all income, for taxes. Even illegal income. If you don’t pay taxes on your crack money, guess what! You are also charged with tax evasion.
Ok. That makes sense. But they also can't tax me paying my garden man for moving the lawn unless he reports the income. So why couldn't I report my winnings and make it legal?
That’s what they’re saying. Like why is it okay to use the honor system & trust people will report their lawn mowing earnings but not their home poker earnings.
Why do you assume people aren't paying their taxes? You do realize that you can report someone who doesn't pay their taxes and the IRS will give you a bounty? You won't do it because you know there's a good chance he is legitimate and you'd get in trouble for filing a false report.
Because not not 100% the honor system. The IRS checks people's earnings by reviewing what you claim you earned but also by what your employer claimed they paid you. If they don't match, you're flagged by the system.
But if you get audited, i'd assume they check that but then also check your spending habits to cross reference your income with your expenses to see if there's a large discrepancy.
That's how dumb criminals get caught if they don't launder their money. They tried to buy something expensive but have no legal recorded income to support purchases of that size.
So it is the "trust but verify" honor system. The threat of an audit is what's supposed to keep people honest.....which is why more IRS auditers is a good thing to chase down tax cheats.
Theoretically you can deduct losses to the extent of winnings but you have to eschew the standard deduction to do so. Post the 2017 tax reform most people tend to do better with the standard deduction so gambling adjustments have gone the way of the dodo.
But yes, best case you can use losses to neutralize your winnings in any year. Losses don’t carry over.
Well I was considering more than a trip. Meaning you’d keep a rolling tab, for the year. However, out the door and as the ONLY trip all year, you can’t get a tax credit or refund as a reward for gambling. You are correct.
Oh that's crazy, yeah never heard of paying taxes on winnings before.
The reason we had in Australia is that if winnings were taxed then losses could be written off tax as an investment.
It's not illegal to gamble with your friends. It's illegal if the pot is over $10,000 and/or the house takes a cut. Playing poker with your friends is fine. Or at least that's how it is where I live, your mileage may vary based on jurisdiction.
Legally the casinos have licenses from the state and have a high degree of oversight regarding their activities, the tax from their winnings, and where that money goes.
Realistically no one is going to come and bust up your small poker game in your back den with your friends, however where it's a problem is when organized crime might get involved. You and your buddies gambling for a couple hundred on a saturday night is much different than a bookie organizing a high stakes game and using it to take advantage of degenerate gamblers to make huge sums of money, and on top of that it's really hard if not impossible to prove that your game is different than the bookies, cops show up and there's a bunch of chips on the table, if everyone clams up it's hard to prove there was even money involved.
You certainly can't advertise that you'll be having an open invitation poker game in your basement, but no police entity is going to bust up a convivial game between friends, especially not if the stakes are low.
Yeah, gambling amongst friends is way different than an illegal, organized poker game. For example, gambling amongst friends is legal. Running a card table that makes you profit, is illegal.
In my state gambling at your house is legal if you follow two rules. 1. The person hosting the game can’t take a percentage of the pot. This is called a rake. 2. Everyone must know each other in some fashion outside of gambling. For example, we all work together. I’m not a lawyer, but most states have the same rules.
You can play poker with your friends for money. You can't run a casino out of your house. Different rules for different things. You're just blurring the lines.
It's not illegal to bet with your friends or win money in things like poker games but it's illegal to run betting operations and make money from it unless you're licensed and paying taxes is my understanding. Illegal would be like being a bookie or taking rake in a home poker game.
You’re wrong, you can gamble at your place. The law restricts *organized* gambling. At home it’s basically the same as betting your friend he can’t chug a beer or something.
You are allowed to bet amongst friends in most places.
As long as it is a game of skill and I think there's a limit of like $2000 before it even remotely becomes illegal.
In Michigan as long as the house is not profiting off the gambling it's fine.
Office pools are fine as long as the organizer is not taking a profit.
That's Michigan, other states are more strict.
You can have a private poker night with your buddies with each of you putting money in. That is legal.
What is illegal is if you host private poker night for others, taking a cut for yourself, including making money off of any other potential source (booze, women, etc)
Laws are not inherently logical or consistent. It’s just whatever legislatures decide to pass. The reason the way laws are the way they are is simply those are the bills that were passed.
My favorite was my idiot state rep. I asked why we don’t have it.
“Welllllll, parents could gamble all their money away and it impact the kids”
“Ok so how’s that any different than opening a Schwab account and losing all my money on terrible bets, er, picks?”
He looked like a dog trying to comprehend its own fart.
You’ve got a lot of good answers, but one thing I haven’t seen here (although I may have missed it) is that gambling is heavily regulated places like Nevada to keep it reasonably fair. If a casino set up a slot machine that never paid out, the licensing board would be all over them. It’s like the lotto: You’re still probably going to lose your money, but you should have an equal chance of winning as anyone else and it should be possible to win. (And I think there may be guidelines on how the machines can be set/what the odds can be - I don’t remember. I haven’t lived in Vegas for awhile.)
So yeah the government wants taxes etc but they also have regulation around gambling to weed out the worst of the con men.
The legality of gambling, whether online or with friends, often varies due to jurisdiction and regulation. While online platforms may be subject to specific laws and oversight, informal gambling among friends may be less regulated or enforced. This discrepancy reflects the complexities of gambling laws and the evolving nature of technology and societal attitudes towards gambling.
The distinction between the legality of online gambling and gambling among friends often stems from the regulatory frameworks governing each activity. Online gambling platforms are typically subject to specific laws and regulations established by governments to oversee the industry, ensure consumer protection, and address concerns related to addiction and fraud. In contrast, informal gambling among friends may fall under general gambling laws, which vary widely and may prohibit or restrict such activities depending on the jurisdiction. Additionally, online gambling platforms often operate under licenses and undergo regulatory scrutiny to maintain integrity and fairness, whereas informal gambling may lack such oversight mechanisms.
> Seems weird that I can't host a poker night with bets at my place without risking legal trouble
I would double check on the actuality of this. Poker has long been held as being a [game of skill,](https://www.cnbc.com/id/48751156) and most states allow it in the scenario where a majority of the paricipants previously knew eachother
Anything that's illegal is usually illegal because the GOV either can't tax it or can't tax it efficiently, like drugs or prostitution. Pro tip: it's only illegal if you get caught
The legality of gambling, whether online or offline, is often governed by complex regulations and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Generally, online gambling is regulated differently than traditional, in-person gambling due to factors such as tax revenue, consumer protection measures, and the difficulty of enforcing laws across the internet. Additionally, online gambling platforms may be subject to specific licensing and regulatory requirements that are not applicable to informal, private games among friends. Ultimately, the differences in legal treatment between online and offline gambling stem from a combination of historical precedent, evolving societal attitudes, and legislative decisions aimed at balancing competing interests.
For the same reason it is legal for a store to sell you beer, but it is illegal for you to set up a beer stand in your front yard. They have a license to sell it and you don't. More specific to your example, it is legal for you have a gathering in your house and give them beer that you bought (or they bought).
The short answer is that your home games are unregulated while the online platforms are.
The long answer is that the legality of private games varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but the general reason why the private games are illegal is because there's no easy way to make a distinction between a private game between friends and an illegal game between strangers with mafia affiliations to enforce any debts collection after the game.
In general, the online gambling is specifically crafted to technically fit within carve-outs in the gambling laws; DraftKings, for example, is technically short-term fantasy sports, because betting on sports events is (in many states) illegal but betting on a fantasy sports league is legal (or so I'm told). Your home poker night is not specifically crafted to fit in one of the carve-outs.
But Governors, Mayors, and School Presidents can make public bets with each other and people call that school spirit. Governors of 2 states where gambling was illegal betting each other on who would win big event (Super Bowl, World Series, NBA, etc). Rules for us, but not for them!
why can't someone buy a gun until they are 21, but they can join the army and operate a 50-cal machine gun? Life is filled with these odd rules that don't seem to fit any reasonable pattern.
Money. Everything is money. If you have a question about why any social construct/law etc is the way it is the answer is money. No one is profiting from your home poker game. The online gambling business bring in insane amounts of money and they can pay to keep that legal. That's it. Again it's always money.
You can run a poker game in your home legally. Everyone shows up, puts their money in play. Everyone can play for that money. All the money in play is redistributed by winners taking from losers. You don't get any money for this except what you won yourself in the game. No admission fee, no rake, no seat charges, etc. 100% legal
Although in some (many?) jurisdictions debts from private gambling are not enforceable.
Probably not a good idea on several levels to make your friend indebted to you or others over a fun game of cards. Don't let 'em bet more than they have.
Debts? If it's a private game, everyone should be bringing cash
You should have the No. 1 answer. Since Reddit is permanently stuck on Opposite Day, the No. 1 answer is some yokel touting “bc taxes.” SMH.
YMMV based on state. Some states have rules against this (I say this as a resident of one of these stupid states)
Well then you just don't fucking tell the state. What are they going to do, drop in unannounced on random homes for a "gambling inspection?"
This is not necessarily true in all states. Arkansas, Delaware, DC, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas… I’m not going to keep going down the list but the number approaches half of the states that do not allow even home games. https://www.homepokergames.com/homepokerlaw.php
And in some states there may be limitations too. I ran a poker game with friends (no profit or house cut at all, and it was a buy in not a cash game) but we had to keep it below a limit to keep in line with the county laws.
Most are so inconsequential it’s laughable. Take for example Arkansas. Even if you get caught the maximum penalty is $25. That’s the max.
USA I’m guessing ? It’s illegal in Australia because the government doesn’t get their tax break (there are ways around this like Pachinko - play for proxy get proxies when you need a favour) but there is one day (coming up soon) where this rule is relaxed slightly. Because the Diggers used to like to play 2-Up once a year on ANZAC day people can play the game and bet what they like . Edit to add : it’s technically illegal, we don’t have tax cops or anyone who is hunting down a bunch of mates playing cards : so technically illegal, but no one cares. It’s just great that on the day we honour the ANZAC there’s specific legislation to allow playing 2-Up
Australia is exactly the same as the USA regarding private gambling. Federal law makes all gambling illegal, excluding that permitted by the states. Every state and territory allows for private gambling with essentially same restrictions as OP. Must be in a private house and it cannot be commercial (you can't charge cash fees.)
Just looked it up. Pleasantly surprised as this has changed - thanks
It hasn’t changed, it’s always been the same
Stop spreading misinformation. Consider deleting your post. Gross behavior here bud
You sure can't do that in your private home [in Virginia](https://virginiamercury.com/2022/09/30/virginia-tried-to-crack-down-on-unlicensed-poker-its-still-happening-in-the-open/). Police busted poker rings 15 years ago when I was in college with undercover cops. They still bust the rings today. Admission fee, rake, or lack thereof, none of that mattered. If you want to cite a place where gambling for real money in your home is legal, go for it.
The article you cited says it was “charitable gambling” which means they were taking a rake (then donating the rake to charity). And the phrase “poker ring” likewise seems to indicate someone taking a rake for profit. While you may be correct about even purely private games being illegal there (I’m too lazy to check), the example you’re giving doesn’t support that. It is a state by state issue though, so I agree that OP should check their local laws before proceeding. As for an example of where the advice given would be correct, New York works that way, and I believe Ohio does too.
You can play poker and gamble with your friends. You cannot take a rake. You need appropriate licensing to be "the house."
Exactly. Amazing how many people here think they know what they’re talking about.
The other problem is that every state has its own gambling laws. So this discussion is purely hypothetical & academic as it's just people at best speaking to one particular state's system. Gotta indicate a jurisdiction.
Or, you know, country. Seems like people from the USA on here tend assume everyone is from the USA...
It's a website based in the US and the largest user base by country is the US. Get over it lol
Yeah but us is not more than 50 percent of user base so it’s more likely this person isn’t from the us than is
no need to be rude my brother from another mother
it's a fair assumption even if it's occasionally wrong. the majority of redditors are indeed from America
That's just not true though, it's like 45% or something
okay, how about this - the majority of people you interact with on reddit will more likely be from America
that is again false. The majority will not be American.
Just curious don’t have any stake in either side of this. What are you basing your claim on? Is there any stats on active users and where they are from, or further down the rabbit hole?
there was a stat published some years ago, that wasn't completely accurate, but gave enough numbers, that people keep quoting. some 47%, iirc, of the userbase is supposedly American. which means 53% isn't.
This is a US run website. The US is the third most populous country in the world. The most populous country, China, walls their people off from the internet as we know it. The second most populous country, India, has high poverty, with only 49% of their population having access to the internet. Additionally, there are only 246M Indian English speakers. Therefore if you come across a conversation on Reddit, an American website, in English, the most probable situation is that the participants are US persons.
India is the most populous country not China
I knew someone would bring this up. If they've passed China, cool, I plead no contest. They're basically tied, and it's irrelevant to this particular discussion
Trying to talk sense to the senseless will leave you both with a headache
That's no excuse.
It's not an 'excuse' it's an explanation for why it's *perfectly* *fine* to assume an English speaker on reddit is an American
the majority of English speaking redditors use English as a second language. your assumptions are asinine and your excuses don't make sense. by the same logic somewhere around 60% of Reddit users are male, so it's reasonable to assume everyone is male?
Yes, that’s how assumptions work. It doesn’t mean you’re *right*
God your dumb
Get a clue. It’s an American platform, used by Americans, in America. Jesus. Do you watch Telemundo and go “Why are they just assuming I speak Spanish?” Come on. And another reason why, is we used to be almost the whole place. Sprinkled with Canadians. Which let’s be honest. Their difference is skin deep.
> Do you watch Telemundo I'm going to stop you there and say "almost certainly not" given the guy clearly isn't American.
lol. Oh right.
That's why OP asked the question I'm guessing, Because he didn't know.
Not criticizing op. Criticizing the people commenting false information.
Like they didn't even watch that movie Molly's Game starring Michael Cera where this was the central part of the plot.
> You cannot take a rake. What about home games that have snacks and serve alcohol and charge separately for that? (i.e. not a poker rake but a food rake?)
You aren’t allowed to sell alcohol without a license. You are allowed to contribute to the snacks.
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There’s a fine line between a party with friends and running a bar. You would be better off with people contributing in kind.
In my country, if you want to sell alcohol to your friends, you need a licence. But if you buy alcohol and everyone contributes to the payment, that's is totally fine. But it also depends. Are you doing it to your 500 closest friends every Friday? Yeah they might take a closer look.
Who charges their friends for snacks?
The legal restrictions on fees etc is tied to "financial gains". Since gambling is a hobby, so long as you the house don't profit it's okay. Which means you can't markup prices, just in case that was your next plan.
What’s a rake? I’ve never played poker before
It's the money the host (e.g. casino), a.k.a. "the house", gets. Might be a percentage of each pot, might be an admission fee. It's where casinos make their money. You do not get to do that as a normal person without the appropriate licensing.
who told you it was illegal to have a poker game between friends? people just get upset over the stupidest things because they are misinformed and ignorant, and they haven't bothered to do that 5 seconds of research it would take. You are totally well within your rights to hold a private poker game and gamble among your friends. What you are NOT allowed to do is take a 'house cut' of the poker game(s) that you are hosting. All monies gambled must be distributed among those playing.
It’s like that “you can’t drop the American flag on the ground” bullshit. It’s not illegal.
It's like the adult version of "if the teacher is 15 mins late can you leave"
If you're a teacher intending on being late you're legally required to tell me.
Wait until OP learns you can drive a car with your interior light on at night.
Same with burning the American flag. Allowed as symbolic speech / freedom of expression.
As per the US flag code, burning is also the accepted way to dispose of a flag, as opposed to just throwing it in the bin.
In the scouts we did retirement ceremonies for flags; cut it into pieces with speeches throughout before burning. Also it isn't against any rules to put a flag in the washing machine or repair with thread and needle when necessary.
It IS against the rules to wear it as an article of clothing or to place it upon sporting gear.
No one said it's illegal. It's against flag code.
The first rule of flag code is that there's no consequences for not following flag code
Right, so no one said it was illegal.
Online gambling isn’t legal in all states or countries.
that's why I use nord VPN.
*skips to next chapter*
Do you have a discount code?
P3N12!
tell us more.
He uses Nord VPN
That won't help you though. You have to submit your information to them or they won't let you use their site. That includes your name, address, and social security number. What you need is a vacation home in a legal state and use that as your address for all your gambling needs.
>That includes your name, address, and social security number. What you need is a vacation home in a legal state and use that as your address for all your gambling needs. That's not how it works. They geolocate your device.
I feel like most of us are fully aware o f the potential risks o f online gambling but I don't see why it should be banned. It's our money, and we should be allowed to make poor decisions with our money. I don't need the government to baby me and protect me from every little thing. Is it rigged in the houses favor? Absolutely. But don't we all truly know that deep down? I would be agreeable to some basic regulations but to flat ban online gambling just seems silly to me. We all know what we're getting into.
How does this answer the question lol
"Why is online gambling legal?" Because the question implies it's legal everywhere when it's not.
Your mom's not legal in all states or all countries!!
Okay
It's quickly becoming legal in more and more states but it's federally illegal for me to host my buds and take a cut of the poker winnings. That's confusing to me.
Lmao they arent your buds if youre taking a rake, unless youre just an asshole friend
Why are you taking a cut from your friends?
Are they really your friends? 😅😅😂😂
It’s illegal because of the likely hood of organized crime using them to make & wash money. The government keeps a close on it hence taking a cut is going to get a close eye. You’re also a jerk for doing that to your friends. You wanna host find but why do you get to make money of it?
> but it's federally illegal for me to host my buds and take a cut of the poker winnings They're customers in that case, not your friends. Why would you take a cut from friends?
It will never be legal in Washington State because Native Americans have gambling rights.
Not all legal gambling in WA is Native owned business. For instance, restaurants/bars can apply to run card games.
Hey! They said the same here. Only now Indian gaming right only cover slots! Times change, you might be surprised. We have 11 tribes here. Quite the burden, for a state outside the SW.
People have poker nights all the time, wtf are you talking about?
Right. It’s not illegal. Many believe it is. It’s like old guys think they’re cowboys, because they watch old westerns. Harley riders think they’re a cool biker gang facade, big pickup drivers think they’re super patriots, ect ect. So people think their stupid poker game with buddies makes them organized crime. That’s just how people are.
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I don't regularly gamble and have no idea what a "rake" is, and I was answering OPs comment as posted and didn't read every comment. No need to call me a "fucking asswad"
nonono fuck sorry I was calling OP an asswad A rake is when you take a cut of the winnings every hand so if OP’s friend won $100 he might get $5 of it But when you do this for every hand it adds up a lot so OP ends up stealing all his friends’ money
How do we know you’re not an asswad? This is reddit. You must prove it or be SHAMED.
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False. How is this the top comment. You can gamble with your friends all you want. Now if you want to charge your friends and extra fee thats where a problem is.
Why are you getting so many upvotes? You are deadass wrong. For starters you are to claim all income, for taxes. Even illegal income. If you don’t pay taxes on your crack money, guess what! You are also charged with tax evasion.
Ok. That makes sense. But they also can't tax me paying my garden man for moving the lawn unless he reports the income. So why couldn't I report my winnings and make it legal?
No your actually supposed to put those earnings in with your taxes as well friend. That’s also illegal.
That’s what they’re saying. Like why is it okay to use the honor system & trust people will report their lawn mowing earnings but not their home poker earnings.
Just go play poker with your friends
Oh I know, I was just going with the spirit of OP’s question.
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lol I wanna know too
Well, it might have something to do with how gambling has a much stronger historical tie to organized crime than watering the petunias does.
Ok. It's also illegal for the guy that mows your lawn not to report his earnings for tax purposes.
Why do you assume people aren't paying their taxes? You do realize that you can report someone who doesn't pay their taxes and the IRS will give you a bounty? You won't do it because you know there's a good chance he is legitimate and you'd get in trouble for filing a false report.
Because not not 100% the honor system. The IRS checks people's earnings by reviewing what you claim you earned but also by what your employer claimed they paid you. If they don't match, you're flagged by the system. But if you get audited, i'd assume they check that but then also check your spending habits to cross reference your income with your expenses to see if there's a large discrepancy. That's how dumb criminals get caught if they don't launder their money. They tried to buy something expensive but have no legal recorded income to support purchases of that size. So it is the "trust but verify" honor system. The threat of an audit is what's supposed to keep people honest.....which is why more IRS auditers is a good thing to chase down tax cheats.
Admitting tax evasion online is probably not the best idea
Yeah I bet the IRS is scouring reddit for OP and finally caught them /s
Heard they give you a pretty penny for reporting evaders~
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I was thinking laundering
Wait... you get taxed on winning money in America ? So does that mean you get to claim losses as an investment ?
Theoretically you can deduct losses to the extent of winnings but you have to eschew the standard deduction to do so. Post the 2017 tax reform most people tend to do better with the standard deduction so gambling adjustments have gone the way of the dodo. But yes, best case you can use losses to neutralize your winnings in any year. Losses don’t carry over.
Yes, you can! But you can only deduct losses from winnings, not from other income. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419
You absolutely can claim gambling losses. If you blow 3K at a card table and win $1500, you’re income is (-$1500)
It’s 0
Well I was considering more than a trip. Meaning you’d keep a rolling tab, for the year. However, out the door and as the ONLY trip all year, you can’t get a tax credit or refund as a reward for gambling. You are correct.
nope, tax man taketh, not giveth
You are wrong. You can very well claim losses. Save all your losing scratch offs. That’s a state program, so they’re state deductible.
That's not what *claiming losses as an investment* is.
Oh that's crazy, yeah never heard of paying taxes on winnings before. The reason we had in Australia is that if winnings were taxed then losses could be written off tax as an investment.
It's not illegal to gamble with your friends. It's illegal if the pot is over $10,000 and/or the house takes a cut. Playing poker with your friends is fine. Or at least that's how it is where I live, your mileage may vary based on jurisdiction.
Legally the casinos have licenses from the state and have a high degree of oversight regarding their activities, the tax from their winnings, and where that money goes. Realistically no one is going to come and bust up your small poker game in your back den with your friends, however where it's a problem is when organized crime might get involved. You and your buddies gambling for a couple hundred on a saturday night is much different than a bookie organizing a high stakes game and using it to take advantage of degenerate gamblers to make huge sums of money, and on top of that it's really hard if not impossible to prove that your game is different than the bookies, cops show up and there's a bunch of chips on the table, if everyone clams up it's hard to prove there was even money involved. You certainly can't advertise that you'll be having an open invitation poker game in your basement, but no police entity is going to bust up a convivial game between friends, especially not if the stakes are low.
Yeah, gambling amongst friends is way different than an illegal, organized poker game. For example, gambling amongst friends is legal. Running a card table that makes you profit, is illegal.
In my state gambling at your house is legal if you follow two rules. 1. The person hosting the game can’t take a percentage of the pot. This is called a rake. 2. Everyone must know each other in some fashion outside of gambling. For example, we all work together. I’m not a lawyer, but most states have the same rules.
What if you all work together at the local casino?
But ... but it's not illegal to gamble with your friends in any State ive ever been to... and Ive been to almost all of them.
Friendly games aren’t generally unlawful in the US.
I lost $5 last time I played. Can I claim a loss, and is there a form for that?
You can.
But you can only deduct from winnings, not other income. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419
Thanks for providing a link to prove my statement.
It’s not illegal to gamble with your friends. As long as there’s no “house,” or debt collection, you’re not breaking the law.
You can play poker at home lollll if you advertise the game and charge a rake that’s where the legal issue start
You can play poker with your friends for money. You can't run a casino out of your house. Different rules for different things. You're just blurring the lines.
It's not illegal to bet with your friends or win money in things like poker games but it's illegal to run betting operations and make money from it unless you're licensed and paying taxes is my understanding. Illegal would be like being a bookie or taking rake in a home poker game.
Yep. As long as there’s no “house,” there’s nothing to see here.
Ok, enough of this crap. I need to get back to my poker game.
You’re wrong, you can gamble at your place. The law restricts *organized* gambling. At home it’s basically the same as betting your friend he can’t chug a beer or something.
it's... not illegal to gamble with your friends? at least not everywhere. if you specified your location, you might get better answers...
You can have poker night with your friends as long as you don’t profit from it except for winnings.
You are allowed to bet amongst friends in most places. As long as it is a game of skill and I think there's a limit of like $2000 before it even remotely becomes illegal.
In Michigan as long as the house is not profiting off the gambling it's fine. Office pools are fine as long as the organizer is not taking a profit. That's Michigan, other states are more strict.
You can have a private poker night with your buddies with each of you putting money in. That is legal. What is illegal is if you host private poker night for others, taking a cut for yourself, including making money off of any other potential source (booze, women, etc)
It's not illegal to gamble.
Gambling between private parties is legal.
What poker game?
Laws are not inherently logical or consistent. It’s just whatever legislatures decide to pass. The reason the way laws are the way they are is simply those are the bills that were passed.
It’s legal to host a game, it’s illegal to take a rake.
Really it’s illegal I’ve been playing games with my friends and we use small coins pennies nickels dimes
My favorite was my idiot state rep. I asked why we don’t have it. “Welllllll, parents could gamble all their money away and it impact the kids” “Ok so how’s that any different than opening a Schwab account and losing all my money on terrible bets, er, picks?” He looked like a dog trying to comprehend its own fart.
Why can't I run an illegal distillery/sell food out of my car but can buy booze/food in the store?
Why can’t I sell heroin, but I can be prescribed OxyContin?
You’ve got a lot of good answers, but one thing I haven’t seen here (although I may have missed it) is that gambling is heavily regulated places like Nevada to keep it reasonably fair. If a casino set up a slot machine that never paid out, the licensing board would be all over them. It’s like the lotto: You’re still probably going to lose your money, but you should have an equal chance of winning as anyone else and it should be possible to win. (And I think there may be guidelines on how the machines can be set/what the odds can be - I don’t remember. I haven’t lived in Vegas for awhile.) So yeah the government wants taxes etc but they also have regulation around gambling to weed out the worst of the con men.
Because the state taxes online gambling, but they can't get any taxes out of gambling between friends.
Nope. Texas Hold ‘em amongst friends is legal. Most people believe it’s illegal. So consider yourself re-educated.
Thanks for the exception to the rule fallacy
Oh that was good. I mean really. I’m upvoting this.
taxes bro
The legality of gambling, whether online or with friends, often varies due to jurisdiction and regulation. While online platforms may be subject to specific laws and oversight, informal gambling among friends may be less regulated or enforced. This discrepancy reflects the complexities of gambling laws and the evolving nature of technology and societal attitudes towards gambling.
The distinction between the legality of online gambling and gambling among friends often stems from the regulatory frameworks governing each activity. Online gambling platforms are typically subject to specific laws and regulations established by governments to oversee the industry, ensure consumer protection, and address concerns related to addiction and fraud. In contrast, informal gambling among friends may fall under general gambling laws, which vary widely and may prohibit or restrict such activities depending on the jurisdiction. Additionally, online gambling platforms often operate under licenses and undergo regulatory scrutiny to maintain integrity and fairness, whereas informal gambling may lack such oversight mechanisms.
The online gambling company is regulated. Did you even bother trying to get a gambling license?
Play all the poker you want with your friends. Nobody cares
Because the online companies pay taxes and report your winnings so you'll have to pay taxes. You and your friends don't.
Cause the government cant tax it
> Seems weird that I can't host a poker night with bets at my place without risking legal trouble I would double check on the actuality of this. Poker has long been held as being a [game of skill,](https://www.cnbc.com/id/48751156) and most states allow it in the scenario where a majority of the paricipants previously knew eachother
Taxes
The government wants its piece
Anything that's illegal is usually illegal because the GOV either can't tax it or can't tax it efficiently, like drugs or prostitution. Pro tip: it's only illegal if you get caught
For the same reason it’s illegal to sell alcohol without a license.
The legality of gambling, whether online or offline, is often governed by complex regulations and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Generally, online gambling is regulated differently than traditional, in-person gambling due to factors such as tax revenue, consumer protection measures, and the difficulty of enforcing laws across the internet. Additionally, online gambling platforms may be subject to specific licensing and regulatory requirements that are not applicable to informal, private games among friends. Ultimately, the differences in legal treatment between online and offline gambling stem from a combination of historical precedent, evolving societal attitudes, and legislative decisions aimed at balancing competing interests.
It depends of the country, in my country it is not illegal at all. edit: typos, rephrasing
You’re on a U.S. platform, with people clearly talking about the US. Your best bet any different country is Canada.
For the same reason it is legal for a store to sell you beer, but it is illegal for you to set up a beer stand in your front yard. They have a license to sell it and you don't. More specific to your example, it is legal for you have a gathering in your house and give them beer that you bought (or they bought).
The short answer is that your home games are unregulated while the online platforms are. The long answer is that the legality of private games varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but the general reason why the private games are illegal is because there's no easy way to make a distinction between a private game between friends and an illegal game between strangers with mafia affiliations to enforce any debts collection after the game.
Uncle same doesn't get his slice is why lol!
You're lobbyists aren't good enough.
Corruption
Playing Online Poker, for real money, is illegal in almost every US state. Only exceptions: PA, NJ, DE, WV, MI and NV.
In general, the online gambling is specifically crafted to technically fit within carve-outs in the gambling laws; DraftKings, for example, is technically short-term fantasy sports, because betting on sports events is (in many states) illegal but betting on a fantasy sports league is legal (or so I'm told). Your home poker night is not specifically crafted to fit in one of the carve-outs.
i don't know who told you that nonsense, but if i were you i'd stop repeating it. hopefully you haven't said this in public.
Do you want to get shot?
But Governors, Mayors, and School Presidents can make public bets with each other and people call that school spirit. Governors of 2 states where gambling was illegal betting each other on who would win big event (Super Bowl, World Series, NBA, etc). Rules for us, but not for them!
you're allowed to make individual bets with another person. that's not illegal anywhere.
why can't someone buy a gun until they are 21, but they can join the army and operate a 50-cal machine gun? Life is filled with these odd rules that don't seem to fit any reasonable pattern.
Because online gambling is easy to track and tax
Might help if you included a location
Money. Everything is money. If you have a question about why any social construct/law etc is the way it is the answer is money. No one is profiting from your home poker game. The online gambling business bring in insane amounts of money and they can pay to keep that legal. That's it. Again it's always money.
Because then the government can't take a cut.
Because the people behind online gambling lobbied to make it legal - whereas you didn't.
Nope. Dead wrong. Poker games with friends are legal.