Private, Social Bets
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish the difference between a "private,
social bet" and illegal gambling. The best way to make the distinction is to
look at the intention of the law.
Minnesota law makes any "bet" illegal. A "bet" is defined as "a bargain
whereby the parties mutually agree to a gain or loss by one to the other of
specified money, property or benefit dependent upon chance, although the chance
is accompanied by some element of skill." According to this definition, any card
game where the participants pay to play, and have a chance to win money, would
constitute a "bet" and, therefore, be illegal gambling.
However, the criminal gambling statute creates an exception for "a private,
social bet." The important thing to remember about a private social bet is that
it cannot be part of "organized, commercialized or systematic gambling." The
owner of the location of the social bet cannot derive any profit from the bet,
organize regular occasions for such bets, or advertise their occurrence.
Potentially, any gambling that occurs in a business establishment could
constitute illegal gambling because the owner of the establishment derives the
indirect benefit of increased patronage.
It appears that the law was intended to exclude from prosecution such
events as penny-ante card games among friends in one's home, small spontaneous
wagers between friends, and other spur-of-the-moment private transactions. Once
those wagers occur on a regular basis at a business establishment, it is
difficult to characterize them as "social bets," and the location of the event
runs a substantial risk of violating the law.
So what actually are the options for the group. The first obvious one is to move all the games to a casino. I am certain that any number of poker rooms would be interested in hosting their events. The next option would be to continue playing but move events around and remove all the social media outlets, but they could risk a raid if the state decided it was worth their effort. I doubt the state would waste much time and on money on their group, but then again looked what happened at Granite Bowl. There is also the membership option such as the CMPPA. Create a legitimate business and take in membership and host events. The big problem is keeping to the states $200 max payout which doesn't seem to fit their structure.
I wish them the best of luck on whatever they decide.
