Gambling in bars in CO

[bjl913]

Is it legal for 3 or 4 guys to sit at a bar and play some hands of poker for cash with each other or roll dice on the bar for cash bets? I have seen this a few times recently, sometimes with 5 or 6 guys huddled around the people playing and placing cash bets with each other as well! And I am talking VERY openly, like a few hundred bucks cash on the bar top or table at any given moment!

I'm pretty good with law stuff, and as far as I have been able to tell from my research this is perfectly legal in CO as long as the business is not profiting in any way from the gambling, and the people involved are associated by some other means other than the act of gambling. As far as I know, this is a group of good friends, the bar is not taking any sort of cut, and the bar is not setting up these games or "sponsoring" them in any way.(although the bartender will try his luck with his buddies every now and then while on duty...)

Is there anything in the liquor code dealing with their licenses that would be affected by this? This just seems a little off to me... Am I missing a big part of the puzzle, or am I just overreacting to something that you just don't usually see anymore?

(Side note, this is NOT something I'm interested in getting involved with. My only experience gambling is penny slots at the Ute Mountain Casino a few years ago! Plus I already have bad enough luck and barely any money! lol)

[TS12000]

I worked at a chain restaurant and they were stout about not letting people gamble but not sure if it was a legal thing or a corporate policy thing. It happened nevertheless, and quite a bit too. Like you said it was all out in the open, handful of guys just throwing dice at the bartop with a bunch of cash laying around.

[theGinsue]

I've never seen this type of thing but now you've got me interested in the legalities of it too.


I already have bad enough luck and barely any money! lol)

You sound just like me. I refuse to gamble because its a guaranteed loss for me.

[OgenRwot]

I'm no lawyer but as far as I know so long as the house doesn't take a cut it's fine. We used to roll dice at a bar up in Greeley all the time and this is what we were told by a few cops from up there.

[Circuits]

Gambling is not illegal in colorado - running a casino without a license is.

But, most bars will restrict or forbid gambling on their premises, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, which might cost them their liquor license.

[ChadAmberg]

Wasn't there a big deal in Palmer Lake several years back where they were doing this in a bar, and they called in the SWAT team or something?

Yeah.. here we go: http://www.strike-the-root.com/51/langr/langr2.html

Palmer Lake, Colorado, April 26, 2005--Local law enforcement agents burst into Guadala Jarra restaurant in Palmer Lake, training their already-drawn guns onto the heads of the sea of criminals seated at the tables. Laser sighting allowed them to train red dots on the points at which their bullets would penetrate the skulls of the dangerous occupants of the restaurant. Police officials barked out orders to the restaurant, and managed to keep the crowd at bay by threatening to splatter brains all over the poker cards and chips on the tables.
Yeah, I know that's a bit dramatic, but the story is there.

[Mtn.man]

Little old ladies gamble and drink at community centers every weekend.

[bjl913]

Wasn't there a big deal in Palmer Lake several years back where they were doing this in a bar, and they called in the SWAT team or something?


Yeah.. here we go: http://www.strike-the-root.com/51/langr/langr2.html

Wow! Crazy stuff! It looks like the reason they ended up doing something about it was the fact that the owner seemed to be "sponsering" it. Although he wasnt taking a cut from the games, he was using cash gambling as his gimmick to get people in his bar, and make the bar more money.

Looks like I have found out the info I needed from everybody here. Thanks again guys. I just needed the confirmation that my research was accurate!

~Ben

[Circuits]

The other interesting tidbit about the palmer lake raid is that all charges were eventually dropped. Some folks copped a plea, early, but anyone who said "screw you" to the state and held out got null-prosecuted in the end.

A bar allowing legal gambling on its premises may lose its liquor license for violating community standards or some such crap, but no crime has occurred if the gamblers know each other socially, outside of the gambling activity.

When/if the house starts taking a cut, or using the (money) gambling as a draw, then it becomes illegal for the house.

[bjl913]

The other interesting tidbit about the palmer lake raid is that all charges were eventually dropped. Some folks copped a plea, early, but anyone who said "screw you" to the state and held out got null-prosecuted in the end.

A bar allowing legal gambling on its premises may lose its liquor license for violating community standards or some such crap, but no crime has occurred if the gamblers know each other socially, outside of the gambling activity.

When/if the house starts taking a cut, or using the (money) gambling as a draw, then it becomes illegal for the house.

Thats kinda how I saw it. My take on the whole palmer lake thing is the local PD did some shitty investigative work, and didnt do their research on the problem before involving another jursidiction to make the raid. They saw that the owner was possibly promoting it, or getting the word out that his buddies play poker there, and instead of waiting until the case built so they could prove disprove any reasonable doubt in court, they jumped the gun and made a bust before anybody really did anything wrong! Now if they had waited 6 weeks or 6 months, who knows? The owner may have been passing out flyers and buying new poker tables to have these events, then the PD would have built alot better case when it went to court once they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was using the gambling to increase profits for his business.

[Irving]

When/if the house starts taking a cut, or using the (money) gambling as a draw, then it becomes illegal for the house.

I don't think this is necessarily true. Well, the part about the house taking a cut is true. But using the gambling as a draw can't be true or there wouldn't be hundreds of different free role games at any given bar in the state every single night.