Are Poker Home Games Legal in Your Country?

Next time you log onto Facebook to ask your friends over for a home game of poker make sure you check the legislation in your country first - the police is on Facebook, too :)

A Tasmanian was recently put on trial after the police found out he had organized a private poker tournament in his home using Facebook. The man had invited 25 friends to play with a $150 buy-in. The court ruling was announced this week. He escaped conviction but "must be of good behaviour for two years" (and has returned the contributions to the prize pool made by his guests).

Australia is tricky as legislation differs from one state to another and private home games are tolerated in some of the states as long as there is no rake or entry/registration fee. The good news is that gambling wins are not taxed provided they are not the main source of income.

The UK has the most liberal and poker-friendly legislation in most respects, including private games. (In the UK gambling winnings are not subject to taxation and UK professional players do not pay taxes on their poker earnings.) 

As usual, in the U.S., the laws vary from state to state, but in most places friendly home games are ok as long as there is no rake (then again, in Richmond, Virginia it is apparently even illegal to flip a coin to decide who pays for pizza!..) 

Spiderman @Tobey Maguire  was famously sued (and settled the lawsuit iin 2011) over secret, high-stakes, celebrity-packed home games in Hollywood.

In Germany, too, regulations may vary among the 16 provinces but it is generally illegal to host any cash games or tournaments outside a state casino.

In January 2014 the German Federal Administrative Court ruled that tournaments with very low buy-ins (around €15) do not constitute illegal gambling on condition that the buy-ins go towards covering the cost of the event itself and there is no prize pool distributed among the players.

In France only licensed gaming establishments can host cash games or tournaments open to the public. Home games for money are tolerated as long as they are truly private and with restricted access (cannot be held in a public place).

In sum, wherever you are, to be on the safe side:

• Don't advertise your weekly #HomeGame and use private messages on FB rather than wall posts;
• Make sure you don't disturb the neighbors with loud music or noise as you don't want a visit by the local police during your game;
• Keep the number of players limited and the buy-ins low;
  
• Make sure you're well-stocked on beer and good mood :)