A bill was recently cleared by the House of Delegates in Maryland that could improve conditions somewhat for poker players who want to play games at home. Currently, while you can host or play in poker home games in the state, the strict letter of the law dictates that these are technically illegal.
Step in House Bill 127, a bill sponsored by Delegate Kirill Reznik which would remove many of the criminal penalties linked to current legislation pertaining to poker home games. Reznik seeks to remove wording which states that players could essentially face imprisonment for up to a year and/or be fined a grand for playing poker at home, whether or not rake fees are involved and no matter what the size of the stakes.
It is obvious that members of the House of Delegates are clear on one thing – they want to see playing poker at home is legal in Maryland. As such, they voted a unanimous 139 – 0 to get rid of the criminal penalties.
House Bill 127 is not without restrictions, however. For example, players who partake in poker home games will need to be 21 years of age or over. In addition, the game may not be held more than once a week at the individual’s home. Players will need to “share a preexisting social relationship”, as the terms of the bill go. Nobody is allowed to benefit financially from these home games except in the case of players winning the poker, and in that case the total prize sum, whether in tokens, cash or other items of value, may not exceed $500 in a 24 hour period.
According to Reznik, he aims to do one thing only – to make the “act of playing poker at home” legal.
This was not the original version of Reznik’s law. He initially wanted to pass the bill with a $2,000 prize limit but he found that he was not getting the support he needed from other lawmakers. As such, he compromised by dropping the amount to $500.
“Something is better than nothing,” he said this week.
The bill will prevent the absurd situation of police busting residential communities where elderly players were rapped for enjoying friendly poker home games with micro stakes. Under the new bill, card games which take place in common areas of these communities would be made legal.
