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Is using a computer illegal?
| Author: |
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StanKoG <stankog@aol.com> |
| Date: |
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1996/02/11 |
| Forum: |
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rec.gambling.other-games
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In response to my post wherein I consider using computers to beat
Caribbean Stud illegal, someone (sorry, I lost your post) asked whether
it's illegal to use a "device" in casinos in jurisdictions other than
Nevada. I'm not a gaming attorney but a New Jersey gaming attorney, Thomas
B. Duffy, shed some light on the laws of several states on the topic of
playing blackjack with the assistance of a computer ("Blackjack computers"
Part I and Part II, Blackjack Forum, March and June 1994). The following
is a summary:
<1> Nevada and Mississippi: The statute (hereinafter "Nevada-type"
statute) says:
"It is unlawful for any person at a licensed gaming establishment
to use, or possess with the intent to use, any device to assist:
(a) In projecting the outcome of the game;
(b) In keeping track of the cards played;
(c) In analyzing the probability of the occurrence of an event
relating to the game; or
(d) In analyzing the strategy for playing or betting to be used in
the game, except as permitted by the commission."
<2> New Jersey: The statute says:
"A person commits a disorderly persons offense if, in playing a
game in a licensed casino or simulcasting facility, the person uses, or
assists another in the use of, any electronic, electrical or mechanical
device which is designed, constructed, or programmed specifically for use
in obtaining an advantage at playing any game in a licensed casino or
simulcasting facility. A device used by any person in violation of this
section shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant ro the provisions of
N.J.S. 2C:64-1 et seq."
<3> Colorado: Nevada-type statute.
<4> Illinois and Indiana: Nevada-type but substitute the word "a" for
"any" before "device."
<5> Iowa: The statute begins, "Uses a device to assist in any of the
following ..." and then lists the identical four sections of the
Nevada-type.
<6> Lousiana and other foreign places:
Louisiana doesn't have an explicit statutory provision prohibiting
the use of devices but the cheating statute prohibits the use of a
"fraudulent device" to win or attempt to win money.
In foreign countries there is a risk of being arrested under a
general cheating or fraud statute.
<7> The Indian reservations:
Neither anti-cheating statues nor anti-device statutes have been
passed in most of these states. The state would probably charge the device
user with theft by deception or some other fraud analog.
According to Mr. Duffy, the Nevada-type statute's use of the word "device"
is vague and overbroad such that it may be constitutionally infirm.
Arnold Snyder ((510)465-6452) carries these 2 back issues of his Blackjack
Forum if your are interested. However, as the information is more than a
year and a half old, some of these states, especially those wherein there
are Indian reservations, may have updated their statutes. Do we have a
gaming attorney in this newsgroup who can shed some light on it? Thanks.
Stanley Ko "Payback isn't everything."
StanKoG@aol.com
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