Washington Social Gambling Exemption for Private Card Games

RCW 9.46.0265 defines a "player" as a natural person who gambles "on equal terms with the other participants, and solely as a contestant or bettor," in an activity where "no person may receive or become entitled to receive any profit therefrom other than personal gambling winnings." The statute goes further for informal games: a person "who gambles at a social game of chance on equal terms with the other participants shall not be considered as rendering material assistance to the establishment, conduct or operation of the social game merely by performing, without fee or remuneration, acts directed toward the arrangement or facilitation of the game, such as inviting persons to play, permitting the use of premises for the game, or supplying cards or other equipment." In plain terms, a homeowner who deals cards, sets up a table, and invites neighbors to a Friday-night poker game is not operating an illegal gambling business, provided nobody skims a cut and every dollar won comes only from the other players' losses.

That protection disappears the moment money changes hands beyond the wagers themselves. Charging admission, taking a rake off each pot, or running the game as a business converts the host into a "professional gambler." Under RCW 9.46.220, doing so with five or more co-conspirators, wagers exceeding $5,000 in a 30-day span, or a fee-charging premises is professional gambling in the first degree, a class B felony. Smaller operations, under five people, wagers over $2,000 in 30 days, or a maintained "gambling premises" or gambling records, fall under RCW 9.46.221, professional gambling in the second degree, a class C felony. Both sections expressly exempt activity that qualifies under the licensed exemptions in RCW 9.46.0305 through 9.46.0361, which is where the Washington State Gambling Commission's card-room and charitable-gaming licenses live.

Taking a rake, charging a buy-in fee beyond the pot itself, or running games for outside players turns a home game into professional gambling. First-degree professional gambling, five or more people acting in concert, or wagers over $5,000 in a 30-day period, is a class B felony under RCW 9.46.220. Smaller-scale but still fee-based or record-kept operations fall under RCW 9.46.221, a class C felony. The Washington State Gambling Commission and local police both investigate; a licensed card room is the lawful route for fee-based play.