I was asked: "Do you know if it really is illegal for me and my friends to play Texas holdem in the privacy of our own homes? We usually have about 15 players, a $ 30 buy in and we pay 1st,2nd, and 3rd gets their buy in back. I almost interviewed with our local newspaper at one of our games when my boss told me he thought it was illegal in Coeur d' Alene, ID. I work for the State of Idaho and so I have to be careful at what I promote and do for obvious reasons. Thank you for offering your input. I was so happy when I read your post as I am VERY frustrated about all of this."
Wendy Nutting
Idaho State Director
I had to reply:
Welcome to the forum cnwstuck/Wendy!
I am afraid you have some work cut out for you in Idaho, my friend.
I am away from my link list as I respond to you, but luckily I breifly revewed Idaho law when I was last at my office and saw your post in the state directors thread. I am going to reply based on my memory (this is a disclaimer Wink ), and will be able to update you with links/quotes of the actual laws when I am back again at the office (... I am working on getting a better link between the 2 for weekend replies) on Monday.
Near as I can tell, playing poker for money under any circunstances (excpet possibly charity games, I didnt research that yet) is a Misdemeanor under Idaho law. This law may not apply to online play for a variety of reasons discussed elsewhere, but thats not your issue here anyway, so I wont repeat them.
The worst thing about Idaho law is that it specifically criminalizes poker, including it in the list of illegal "casino games." That makes it impossible to raise the "skill v. chance" argument in Idaho, although theoretically one could still mount a probably useless argument (given the legislature's classification of poker) that a tournament fits the "bone fide contest of skill" exception.
And whereas many states (like Texas and California) have an explicit statutory exception for games in which there is no-one taking a rake or otherwise profiting from running the game, there is, IIRC, no such exception in Idaho.
Idaho, to its credit, has had some small history, IIRC, of interpreting the state consitutuion as more protective of privacy than the Federal constitution, but it's a long shot to believe they would apply that principle to poker playing in private.
But I have some knowledge of Idaho (distant relatives) - although there are a lot of social conservatives in Idaho, there is also a healthy streak of "keep the government out of our private lives." And simply letting friends legally play poker in their own homes is far different from California style card rooms in downtown Boise.
Since I have seen no reports of an Idahoan arrested for playing a home game of poker, although the possibility is there, I think most Idahoans would support a change in that law, dont you?
Good luck, and I promise to give the links/cites and quotes on Monday.
Skallagrim
And then:
And because, upon reflection, you really deserved a defintive answer right away, I got the link, You can find a copy of the Idaho gambling laws here:
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Laws/Idaho/
I double checked and, unfortunately, this time my memory was correct.
If we look for the silver lining, this issue of simple good folks who want to play friendly poker in their kitchens without worrying about arrest might be just the right cause for Idaho poker players to get started with. If there is anyway I can help, dont hesitate to ask. I am sure the PPA leadership will also do what they can to help if asked.
Again, good luck; we are all in this together.
Skallagrim