North Dakota Social Gambling Wager Limit Law

North Dakota's gambling code, N.D.C.C. ch. 12.1-28, does not carve out a blanket exemption for 'social' or 'private' gambling, it sets a dollar threshold instead. Section 12.1-28-02 opens 'Except as permitted by law,' then grades private-premises wagering by amount. Gambling on private premises where no individual player wagers more than $25 on a single hand, game, or event isn't listed among the chapter's offenses, which is the statutory basis for North Dakota's tolerance of home poker nights, cribbage for cash, and card-club wagering. The moment any one player's stake on a single hand exceeds $25, subsection 1 makes the act an infraction, North Dakota's lowest criminal tier. Push the per-hand wager past $500 and subsection 2(c) reclassifies the same conduct as a class A misdemeanor. The cap applies per individual hand, game, or event, not to the total money that changes hands over an evening, so a long session of $25-and-under bets stays lawful even if the aggregate pot is large.

The private-game allowance covers players wagering against each other, not a house. Subsection 3 makes it a class C felony to 'engage or participate in the business of gambling,' defined to include conducting a wagering pool or lottery, receiving wagers on behalf of another person, or owning, managing, or financing a gambling business, so a host who books bets, takes a cut, or runs the game for profit loses the private-premises protection regardless of stake size. A related definition in section 12.1-28-01(3) provides that finding cards, dice, or other games in a private residence does not by itself trigger the presumption that the location is a 'gambling house,' reinforcing that an ordinary home game is the scenario the statute is built to exempt.

Wagering more than $25 on a single hand, game, or event on private premises is an infraction under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-28-02(1), capped at a $1,000 fine with no jail time for a first offense. Exceeding $500 per hand is a class A misdemeanor: up to 360 days in jail and a $3,000 fine. Running the game as a business, by booking wagers, taking a cut, or financing the operation, is a class C felony carrying up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.