Delaware's Gambling Law Has No Social-Game Exemption

Delaware never enacted a 'social gambling' exemption. Some states exclude private games where no one profits beyond their own winnings; Delaware's Title 11, Chapter 5, Subchapter VII, Part D ('Offenses Involving Gambling,' §§ 1401-1432) has no such carve-out and never even defines the word 'gambling' by itself, § 1432 defines only 'gambling device,' 'gambling offense' (any offense under §§ 1401-1431), and related terms like 'slot machine' and 'private wire.'

The core offenses target operators, not players. Advancing gambling in the second degree (§ 1401) covers selling or running lottery-style promise schemes. Advancing gambling in the first degree (§ 1403) covers bookmaking: 'keep[ing], exhibit[ing] or us[ing] ... any book, device, apparatus or paraphernalia for the purpose of receiving, recording or registering bets or wagers' on races or contests, with an exception only for licensed pari-mutuel wagering at a track under the Delaware Racing Commission. Providing premises for gambling (§ 1404) and possessing or being concerned in a gambling device (§§ 1405-1406) likewise reach whoever runs or hosts the game.

Section 1407 breaks that pattern. It makes it a stand-alone violation to 'take part in or [be] knowingly present at' a crap game 'in which money or other valuable things are played for by means of dice', no house-cut requirement, no dollar floor, and no exception for a private living room. The only carve-outs anywhere in Part D are for merchandise-promotion sweepstakes (§ 1408), bank savings-promotion raffles conforming to 5 Del. C. § 933 (§ 1408A), on-duty law enforcement (§ 1409), and the state's own video lottery (§ 1413), none of them reach a friendly card or dice game played for cash.

Advancing gambling, possessing a gambling device, and unlawfully disseminating gambling information are each a class A misdemeanor: up to 1 year at Level V and a fine up to $2,300 under 11 Del. C. § 4206(a). Providing premises for gambling starts as an unclassified misdemeanor, rising to class A on a repeat offense within 5 years. Engaging in a crap game is only a violation, capped at $345 for a first offense, $690 for a second, and $1,150 for a third within 5 years, under § 4207(a).