The Baltimore police last weekend busted 80 poker players in the city who were participating in a charity tournament. Turns out that the laws in Maryland are so vague in this regard that the police and the prosecutors can't even agree on whether they broke the law or not:
Illustrating the confusion over gambling laws, police and prosecutors bickered last night over whether and how to proceed with charges against 80 people who were caught up in the raid at the Owl's Nest on Wednesday.
Baltimore police rarely pursue charges involving illegal poker, and the city state's attorney's office questioned whether police had followed proper procedures in issuing citations to players rather than making arrests.
At one point last night, Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for city State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy, said she expected the charges against all 80 players to be dropped. About an hour later, after police challenged that interpretation, she said prosecutors would spend more time reviewing the law next week.
Radley Balko notes that the city of Baltimore had 271 murders last year and that the Maryland Lottery is advertising the fact that the Mega Millions jackpot is up to $225 million. He also notes the multiple poker-based scratch tickets that the state of Maryland is selling statewide these days. And in a bit of understatement he writes, "it's good to know the police of Baltimore are using their guns, authority, and power to prevent grown-ups from voluntarily wagering their money on games of chance." I feel safer, don't you?
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That's not nearly as hypocritical as gambling law used to be in this country. Until recently, it was illegal even to be able to see in to betting shops, as if children would be irretrievably corrupted by the sight of old, smoking men staring sullenly at televisions and tearing up betting slips. Meanwhile the government sponsored lottery (odds: 16m to 1) has outlets in almost every newsagent in the country and is allowed to advertise on TV, in newspapers and on billboards.
Here in Southern California a local (legal) poker casino is advertising that folks can buy a table for their own poker nights to make it legal.
While it is stupid for the government to care about home poker games, this is an interesting compromise.
As Ginger Yellow points out, things have changed and are changing. Montana now is expanding its QuikStop Casino licenses. You can stop for gas, some fast food, a few drinks, and some hands of poker on your way home from work, or after a mid-day hike.