Massachusetts Statewide Rule

Massachusetts Private Card Game Gambling Law (c.271 §2)

Few RestrictionsApplies statewide across Massachusetts (2026)

Key Facts

Governing law: G.L. c. 271, § 2
Public-place gaming penalty: up to $50 fine or 3 months jail
Permitting a public game: $50–$100 fine or 3–12 months
Arrest power: warrantless, only if caught in the act
Private, non-trespass home games: fall outside § 2's text
Common gaming house (§ 5): up to $50 fine or 3 months jail
Private social gambling: no permit or stakes cap exists

Last verified: August 21, 2026

Summary

Massachusetts bans gaming for money only in a public conveyance or public place, or in a private place where the player is trespassing. G.L. c. 271, § 2 does not reach cards, dice, or other money games played in a private home among people who are lawfully there. No statute creates a separate 'social gambling' permit or stakes cap; the general prohibition simply stops at the front door of a private, non-trespass game.

Whoever, in a public conveyance or public place, or in a private place upon which he is trespassing, plays at cards, dice or any other game for money or other property, or bets on the sides or hands of those playing, except as permitted under chapters 23K and 23N, shall forfeit not more than fifty dollars or be imprisoned for not more than three months; and whoever sets up or permits such a game shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than twelve months. If discovered in the act, he may be arrested without a warrant by a sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable or any officer qualified to serve criminal process, and held in custody, in jail or otherwise, for not more than twenty-four hours, Sunday and legal holidays excepted, until complaint may be made against him for such offence.

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Full Breakdown

c. ' A private home game among people who are lawfully present, a friend's living room, a family kitchen table, is neither a public place nor a trespass, so § 2's text does not reach it. The penalty structure applies only once those location conditions are met: a player forfeits up to $50 or faces up to three months in jail, while anyone who 'sets up or permits' the public or trespass game faces a fine of $50 to $100 or three to twelve months' imprisonment.

An officer can arrest a violator without a warrant if 'discovered in the act,' holding that person up to 24 hours, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, until a formal complaint is filed. A separate offense, § 5, punishes whoever 'keeps or assists in keeping a common gaming house' or a place 'kept for the purposes described in section twenty-three', lottery sales, policy games, or registering bets, with a fine up to $50 or up to three months in jail; that section targets someone who operates or maintains a gambling venue, not participants in a casual private game.

Both sections carve out activity 'permitted under chapters 23K and 23N,' the state's licensed casino-gaming and sports-wagering statutes, which have no bearing on home games. Massachusetts has no separate permit, registration, or stakes cap for private social gambling, the general gaming statute's own location requirement is what keeps a lawful home game outside its penalties.

Violations & Penalties

Violating § 2 in a public place or while trespassing costs a player up to $50 or three months in jail; the host who 'sets up or permits' that game faces $50 to $100 or three to twelve months. Police can arrest without a warrant if the game is caught in progress. Operating a common gaming house under § 5 carries a separate fine up to $50 or three months in jail. None of these penalties attach to a private, non-trespass home game.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a private poker game with friends illegal in Massachusetts?

G.L. c. 271, § 2 only punishes gaming for money 'in a public conveyance or public place, or in a private place upon which he is trespassing.' A poker game in a friend's home, where every player has permission to be there, meets neither condition, so the statute's text does not criminalize it. No state permit or stakes limit exists for that kind of private game.

What turns a home card game into a 'common gaming house' under § 5?

Section 5 punishes whoever 'keeps or assists in keeping' a place used for gaming for money, or occupied for the lottery and pool-betting purposes listed in § 23: language aimed at someone who maintains a venue for gambling, such as a running game that takes a cut or is open to outside bettors, not a private social game among friends.

Can police arrest someone at a private home card game?

The warrantless-arrest power in § 2 attaches only to a § 2 violation, gaming discovered in a public place or during a trespass, and allows custody for up to 24 hours, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, until a complaint is filed. It doesn't reach a private, non-trespass home game, because that conduct isn't a § 2 offense in the first place.

Does the exception for chapters 23K and 23N affect home games?

No. Those chapters cover the state's licensed casino-gaming (23K) and sports-wagering (23N) systems: they carve licensed operators out of §§ 2 and 5, but they don't create or remove any rule for private social gambling, which sits outside both statutes' public-place and gaming-house prohibitions to begin with.

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