New Michigan Bill Would Create Legal Carveout For Social Relationship Gambling

Super Bowl squares. Most NFL fans have put money in and picked a square for the big game. March Madness brackets. Every fan has probably filled one of these out, too.

Why not, after all? It's just harmless fun, a way to add some playful competition between family, friends, or co-workers while the game is on.

What most people don't know it that technically all of it is illegal gambling. Now while it's unlikely that the police are going to break down the door and raid a Super Bowl party at home, if there is anyone playing Super Bowl squares, the law states that it's a violation of the Michigan Penal Code.

Michigan State Senator Veronica Klinefelt wants to change that. She has introduced Senate Bill 511. If passed into law, this bill would amend the Michigan Penal Code to allow for wagers that are “incidental to a bona fide social relationship and meet other conditions.” In essence, the bill would be creating a legal carveout for contests like Super Bowl squares and NCAA Tournament bracket pools that are being contested among friends and co-workers.

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What are Super Bowl squares?

Leading up to the big game, someone will create a Super Bowl squares board. Generally, this is a 10x10 grid, making 100 squares. Numbers between zero and nine are randomly assigned to each square. One team in the game is assigned to the rows, while the other is slotted into the columns. A price is assigned as the cost to purchase each square.

Let's suppose the Kansas City Chiefs are playing the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFL title. If you were to purchase the square with Philadelphia 7 in it and the first quarter ends with the Eagles leading 7-3, you win the prize for that quarter. There are prizes awarded at the end of each quarter and at the conclusion of the game.

What is a March Madness bracket?

When the NCAA men's basketball tournament is upon us, brackets pop up everywhere. In the office. At the gym. Among your buddies at the sports bar.

Everyone is into these pools. It doesn't matter if you don't know Gonzaga from gorgonzola; you still fill out a bracket.

The opening round of the tournament is presented on a grid. You pay an entry fee to participate. Your task is to pick the winners of each game. But wait, you're not done. You must carry on and select the winner of every game in March Madness, right through the championship game. The person who gets the most games right wins the grand prize.

Michigan bill SB 511 is still in its infancy

Senator Klinefelt, a Democrat, introduced SB 511 on September 3. A hearing about the bill was held by the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee late last week. However, no vote was taken on the bill.

“Its sole purpose is to legalize what we do every day, what everybody does all the time, bets their best friend $5 on a football game," Klinefelt sai during the hearing. "People do March Madness and Super Bowl squares with their friends.

"Nobody is making any money.”

Apart from the condition that the contest or wager is “incidental to a bona fide social relationship,” there are other stipulations in SB 511. For instance, there must be no more than 100 participants, with the maximum wager being $25. The entire amount collected must be paid out in the prize pool. The organizer of the contest must also be a participant, and the only benefit they can gain from the contest is by winning one of the prizes offered. The competition cannot take place inside a casino, restaurant, bar, or entertainment venue. And it cannot be promoted by a business.

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