Many people enjoy mobile games on their personal devices, but did you know that that fun Bingo, Keno, or Solitaire game could actually be illegal gambling? Many new games are coming out that meet the Montana legal definition of Gambling and we did a little research into what this means. The Montana Department of Justice, Gambling Control Division Administrator, Jason Johnson helped us take a hard look at online games and gambling.

Montana Code Annotated Article III Section 9 states that: “All Forms of Gambling, lotteries, and gift enterprises are prohibited unless authorized by acts of the legislature or by the people through initiative or referendum.” Basically, unless either the State legislature or the vote of the people allows a type of gambling, then it is in fact illegal.

So what is gambling? Johnson explains, “Gaming requires three elements for it to be gambling and a legal or not legal game in Montana. So one is consideration. So somebody’s paying money to play the game. The second thing is chance or for it to be random and then the third is that they win a prize.”
So using a particular game on my phone, that caught my eye that led to this story, which is a solitaire game (I love solitaire.) You can pay one dollar to play against other players, and potentially win a pot. Now, there is a little skill to the game, but there is some luck involved. In this game, you have to buy in to play or to improve your chances of winning (the first leg of three). There is an element of chance (the second leg). And there is the prize, in this case, a pot (the third leg). Now, other than non-profit organizations, which must have a proper permit, and only for raffles, no one else can operate gambling on the Internet or in an app on your phone, so, in this case, it would be illegal gambling.

Now, after conversing with Administrator Johnson, the division really isn’t focused on prosecuting the players. They are however very interested in persons operating these games. Some people are just making a mistake, mainly by not ensuring that they are not breaking the law. The department tries to work with these companies to remind them that they may not market to Montanans for their games. Sometimes the Division is required to take more direct measures.

So why is this even a big deal? Lots of people gamble, and a lot of people play these games. Above and beyond the legal requirements, the Gambling Control Division helps ensure that players are not cheated and that persons who run games of chance behave properly to help educate the public on safe gambling. These tasks all take money so gaming helps fund the department, much like the related Alcohol Beverage Control Division. Generally, if a company or person is willing to cheat the state, they will cheat you too.

As part of writing this story, we reached out to Google, as the play store is where I downloaded the “game”. They had not commented on the story, or about the process to have an app removed if it violates state law. We’ll update the online story if they comment after we go to publication.

So what can you do if you find a game app on your phone that is illegal gaming? You can report suspected violations of the state gambling laws by contacting the Gambling Control Division at (406) 896-4300 you may also email them at gcd@mt.gov and see their website at https://dojmt.gov/gaming and find all kinds of great information. Additionally, the division does presentations to groups, contact them for more information.

Author: Andy Anderson

Andy is publisher of Foxys Publishing Co, as well as pressman, ad sales, distribution and sometime janitor. He occasionally makes a wild attempt at writing but quite often is seen running around our offices trying to "Get 39 million things done today..."