friendly cash game question

trigs

i'm sure i've read about this before, but i just want some clarification.

so any poker game where real money is involved is illegal in ontario if it's outside of a casino. is this correct?

or is it only illegal if if there is a rake taken?

what if i got a few friends together and we all went down to the pool hall down the street and sat in the back playing cards at the tables? all our money, our chips, etc.

legal? illegal?

compuease

Well this is really hard to define in Ontario because it seems like no one (in authority) will give you a concrete answer. Generally if ANYONE is making a profit, it's illegal, ie charging for the use of the space, taking a rake for running the event or charging for food or drink served at the event. YMMV....
In practicality if you keep it small, hold it on a non regular basis and keep liquor out of the picture you likely would be ok...

Wetts1012

trigs wrote: »

so any poker game where real money is involved is illegal in ontario if it's outside of a casino. is this correct?

No.

Home, non raked cash games are completely legal.

The scenario you described, is not legal. Technically the bar is profiting (I assume you have to order a drink and not just loiter).

JimmyHo

I think technically it is illegal as the pool hall is profiting indirectly. Even if no one buy's a drink, they could probably argue that drinks were available. If you play a cash game at a person's house with no rake, you are fine.

trigs

so it has to be at someone's house?

i was just wondering because there is a pool hall down the street that has tables in the back and i know they have held poker tournaments there before. since there's a few people from the hammer looking for a game but none of us seem to have space for one, i thought i'd inquire about having a game at the pool hall. the guy who owns it is desperate for business, so i don't think he'd mind. no rake, but he'd probably want us to buy a drink (which i'm assuming people would do any way). guess it's out of the question though.

wildbill7145

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe the wording is "directly or indirectly profiting", thus any money outside of the wagering being made off the games presence would be considered a violation of some sort.

I think Screenman has a meetup group about this specific issue doesn't he? I think I'm a member! I'd actually love to see the actual legislation that surrounds this issue. Like Compuease says, nobody will give you an exact answer but obviously decisions about the matter have been made so some form of history of the law being implemented. I can't even remember if it's considered a federal offense or a provincial one. I seem to remember him wanting to have many games running on the lawn of the legislature, so it's gotta be provincial.

GTA Poker

It's all legal if you don't get caught

Wetts1012

GTA Poker wrote: »

It's all legal if you don't get caught

/Thread.

Unknown

what about if you host a poker game, and the dealer receives "tips" from the players participating. since its technically them giving you money and not forcing them to pay, im wondering if this is still considered illeagel or would just be a gray area.