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IS MAH JONGG A GAMBLING GAME? (Article 124)

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Gambling consists of three elements:

  • Consideration: Participants pay for a ticket to participate or they play with their own money
  • Prize: Participants perform to earn a reward for winning
  • Chance: The occurrence and development of events in the absence of any obvious design or effort

Participants are technically not gambling when one or more elements are removed.

Mah jongg is a four-player pick-and-discard, tile melding game. The outcome is not determined by throwing dice, flipping a card, or pulling on a lever; there is no betting. A player may get a strong starting hand and may or may not pick the tiles they need from the wall; they must use critical thinking, situational awareness, and social acuity skills to play the game and optimize their winning potential. Mah jongg has been classified as a mind sport, defined as any game of skill based on intellectual ability (International Mind Sports Association 2014/2002 https://imsa.sport/).

If you play mah jongg for money and your state adheres to the “any chance” test, it will be considered illegal gambling. The “any chance” test dictates that participants would be gambling if chance influences the outcome of a game in any way. Learn more in Games of Skill v. Games of Chance – The Legal Analysis. You can learn about the gambling laws in your state at US Gambling Laws Guide and OnlineGambling.com.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice.

 

IS MAH JONGG A GAMBLING GAME? (Article 124)