Kansas Legal Poker Laws

In the Sunflower State of Kansas, the gambling statutes make it very clear that almost all forms of gambling are illegal, including poker games, even private or social contests between friends. Read Section 21-4303 of the Kansas statutes and you’ll read that “Gambling is: Making a bet or entering or remaining in a gambling place with intent to make a bet, to participate in a lottery, or to play a gambling device.” A strict interpretation of that law holds that simple presence in a home or business where gambling is going on is punishable by arrest, jail times, and fines. According to Kansas law, any kind of illegal gambling is a class B misdemeanor, not as serious as a felony but still costly.

That single line of the Kansas penal code is the basis for all of the state’s gambling law. But as in most states in the USA, there are exceptions built into the law that make some gambling legal within state lines, and other exceptions that specify certain contests as being explicitly illegal.

Are Online Poker Sites Legal in Kansas?

Kansas poker law is a bit confusing, since home poker games are out of the question but casinos are given freedom to offer just about any game they want. Online poker players in Kansas are also protected, though in this case it is because of a lack of existing laws about Internet gambling in the state’s penal code.
Since the state law in Kansas doesn’t even mention the Internet in relation to gambling, online poker, or any other form of electronic gambling, comes with no consequence as of this writing. Current gaming laws in the state simply don’t apply to gaming on the Internet, so only USA law covers the online gaming industry in Kansas. Consult a legal professional familiar with Kansas law if you want to make sure that your online gaming is legal in the state’s eyes.

Is Poker Legal in a Kansas Casino?

The state of Kansas is far from poker-friendly, but the state allows plenty of poker gaming in the state, as long as it takes place in licensed Kansas casinos. As is the case for many states, Native American tribes are allowed to operate their own casino properties, offering games that are illegal anywhere outside that casino.
Kansas casino law is downright liberal: casinos in Kansas are allowed to operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. As for game variety, casinos in Kansas have everything you’d find in Vegas except sports betting: slot and video gaming, table games like craps, and full-fledged poker rooms. Poker variants currently available at Kansas casinos include all the classics, from Texas holdem to Stud and everything in between.

Are Home Poker Games Legal in Kansas?

There are no exceptions in the Kansas penal code that allow you to play a private game of poker. No matter how private or controlled your poker game, Kansas law makes it illegal. In other states, private games are illegal when the game’s host or operator turns a profit or charges entry fees; but in Kansas, even games where the host doesn’t profit are illegal. The only legal home poker games in the state are those where no betting takes place, which pretty much ruins the game of poker.

Breaking this law could earn you a felony charge for operating a gambling house, a very serious crime that people in Kansas have been convicted of in the past. Do not host or attend a home poker game in Kansas if you want to stay on the side of the law.

More information on legal poker games in Kansas is available here [http://kansasstatutes.lesterama.org/Chapter_21/Article_43/21-4302.html]