Mass. General Law 137 and internet poker

[catlover]

Does anyone know whether Mass. General Law 137 applies to internet poker?

Definition of "gaming" for purposes of Mass. law:

"Gaming'', "illegal gaming'' or "unlawful gaming'' shall include every act punishable under any law relative to lotteries, policy lotteries or policy, the buying and selling of pools or registering of bets.

Mass. General Law 137-1:

CHAPTER 137. GAMING


Chapter 137: Section 1. Recovery of money or goods lost at gaming; limitation period


Section 1. Whoever, by playing at cards, dice or other game, or by betting on the sides or hands of those gaming, loses to a person so playing or betting money or goods, and pays or delivers the same or any part thereof to the winner, or whoever pays or delivers money or other thing of value to another person for or in consideration of a lottery, policy or pool ticket, certificate, check or slip, or for or in consideration of a chance of drawing or obtaining any money, prize or other thing of value in a lottery or policy game, pool or combination, or other bet, may recover such money or the value of such goods in contract; and if he does not within three months after such loss, payment or delivery, without covin or collusion, prosecute such action with effect, any other person may sue for and recover in tort treble the value thereof.

[Skallagrim]

IMHO, MA criminal gambling laws DO NOT apply to online poker. There are a lot of reasons for this, the defintion you cite being one of them, the fact that all the MA crimnal statutes refer to "places of gambling" is another.

Section 137 is not a criminal law, it is a "contract" law. It means if you beat somone at a poker game in MA that person, or another person on his behalf, could sue you for return of his losses. "In MA" is important language here. It is an open but probably losing argument to say that this language applies to the internet: the statute was written long before the internet, and the internet is interstate commerce, which only the Feds can regulate.

Hope that helps.

Skallagrim