Two Up Gambling Illegal
After a moving dawn service soldiers from the first Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force enjoy a traditional Anzac Day game of two up in Afghanistan on April 25, 2009.
Two Up Gambling Illegal Gambling
Federal government has largely left gambling regulations up to each state, which means that gambling may be illegal where you live, or it may be advertised on every street corner, as it is in places like Las Vegas, Nevada. The result is a patchwork of awareness campaigns and treatment programs that vary widely in their responsiveness. The definition of legal gambling usually requires a specific state’s reference. In Nevada, most forms of gambling are legal where all other states may consider the activity illegal. Most legal gambling throughout the entire United States occurs through state lotteries, scratch off stickers, bingo and similar forms of monetary exchanges. How to Identify Illegal Gambling. Gambling is a popular activity in the United States but it is often conducted illegally. The line between legal and illegal gambling can be incredibly difficult to find as it varies from state to state.
Across the country on Anzac Day, shouts of “come in spinner” will roar across the top of packed RSLs and bars. But you’ll only hear those cries once a year.
Over the last 30 years every Australian state and territory has re-written gambling laws to legalise two-up on Anzac Day, albeit with a few conditions.
Every other day of the year it’s illegal (with a few exceptions) because it’s an unregulated form of gambling and that's not something our various governments are particularly keen on.
Luckily, because of Australia's strong commitment to a fair go, mateship and having a punt, we’re let off the leash once a year.
How to play
You will need: two pennies, a bit of wood to flick them off (the kip), someone to flick the bit of wood (spinner), someone to call the result (a ringie), a bunch of mates standing around in a big circle to bet on the result (your mates).
Find someone across the ring willing to take a bet on whether both coins are going to land heads or tails and you win the $$$ if you call it right. There’s a few more rules around odds and what the spinner gets to keep, but this will get you started.
Our diggers and two-up
The game of two-up goes back quite a way in Australia, clocking in around the mid-1800s.
Back then you could find it being played by gold miners on the fields of places like Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie. They likely picked it up from the UK.
This background meant it was familiar ground for Australian soldiers who went off to fight in the First World War and as Michael Annett, the secretary of the Victorian Branch of the RSL puts it: “Australians, as we all know, would bet on two flies crawling up a wall.”
“Diggers wanted to have a game, wanted to have a bet,' Michael told Hack.
'I think the origins of two-up is that it didn’t require a lot of equipment, you needed to two coins, someone to toss and someone to call the outcome and inevitably it became an easily accessible game.'
Australian soldiers playing two-up in Ypres, Belgium, in 1917
If no-one had a deck of cards you could usually salvage a couple of pennies and something to flip them to get a game of two-up going. Soldiers in Indonesia during the Second World War, for example, would often use bits of crashed planes as the kip.
It became associated with soldiers on some time off, getting around in a communal setting and having a wager on the toss of the coin.
“When men came back from the war, particularly after the First World War, it found its way into the RSL clubs and sub-branches that were established and [two-up] became a game very much associated with old mates getting together on Anzac Day,” Michael says.
An old grey area
Those games of two-up in RSLs and pubs, at least until reasonably recently, were still illegal though. You could only get away with a game on Anzac Day because police and authorities were usually nice enough to turn a blind eye.
However things have changed over the last couple of decades, with state and territory governments rewriting laws to permit two-up on April 25th although usually with a few conditions.
For example, in Victoria the RSL has to give permission to run a two-up ring and does so on the condition any profits go straight to Anzac Appeal. In New South Wales two-up is permitted not just on Anzac Day but also Victory in the Pacific Day and Remembrance Day (after 12pm).
There are ways to play on other days of the year but they usually involve you heading to race meets in the Western Australian or Northern Territory bush, or a casino in Perth, Melbourne or Darwin.
A game of two-up following the Marble Bar Races in north-west WA.
Legal isn’t always better
While you can now gamble with impunity around the ring on Anzac Day, Sydney artist and writer Ollie Watts reckons we should have kept two-up illegal.
“The idea of two-up being illegal actually only highlighted and marked Anzac Day as a special day and and sacred day when mateship and memory overrode the everyday constraints of law,” Ollie told Hack.
It was an unwritten rule that you were allowed to play two-up on Anzac Day and it’s the unwritten rules that tie a society together perhaps more so than the written ones.
He does understand the law changes make it much easier for pubs and clubs to run these events without fear of police running through, but he’s not sure that’s the best way to go about it.
'Now they can commercialise it with this sort of Edwardian font saying ‘Two-up played here today’ but I really think you lose a lot by doing that.'
Australian soldiers playing two-up in the middle east.
A way to remember
It’s worth keeping in mind that Anzac Day is a day of remembrance first and foremost.
Michael Annett, the secretary of the Victorian branch of the RSL, says two-up does have a place in the day, although it usually comes a little bit later.
Two Up Gambling Illegal Laws
“I think it’s always conducted in a way that is not directly connected to the commemorative ceremony, with the march, it’s always something that’s conducted in a slightly more lighthearted fashion as part of the social activities in the latter part of Anzac Day,” he told Hack.
In decades past, gambling used to be a crime almost everywhere other than Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Today, more and more states have legalized various types of gambling, ranging from Indian casinos to poker rooms and horse racing tracks. While some states have legalized certain types of gambling, other types of gambling are still illegal. All states have laws that prohibit at least some type of gambling.
Gambling is sometimes referred to as “gaming.” Depending on the language of state laws, gambling and gaming can mean different things or the two terms can be used synonymously. “Gaming” typically refers to playing games for wagers, such as craps, card games, slot machines, and roulette. “Gambling” may refer to these same types of games, but it also includes other types of activity such as sports wagers.
Gambling is defined in numerous ways, but requires betting or wagering on an outcome that is at least partially based on chance, and done so in order to win something. Illegal gambling is any type of gambling that is specifically prohibited by state law.
Gambling Involves a Bet
While most instances of gambling occur when someone bets money, courts have ruled that gambling can occur whenever a bet is made using anything of value. The item of value is sometimes known as “consideration,” and can encompass anything that has any worth. The amount of the bet doesn't matter, and as long as the property that's at stake in the game is worth some value, the game is gambling.
'Games of Chance'
State gambling laws outlaw games, bets, or wagers that are at least partially dependent on some element of chance. If a game or competition that gives prizes to winners is based on skill, such as a car race or a shooting competition, it is not considered gambling. (However, other laws or restrictions may apply in order to make such competitions legal.)
What differentiates a game of skill from a game of chance is usually determined by which of the two elements has the greatest impact on the outcome. If chance is the biggest factor, the game is one of chance, and making bets or wagers on such games is gambling. Courts have ruled that in games that involve both skill and chance, and where a small group of skilled experts routinely win, this does not necessarily make the game one of skill. In determining what defines a game of skill or chance, courts often judge the game on the average player. If the average player's chances are dominated by chance, the law considers it a game of chance.
A Chance of Winning
If you don't have any chance of winning something of value, you're not gambling. Gambling requires that there is a chance you might win something for your bet, whether it's money, property, or even more chances to play. Further, courts have ruled that you personally don't need to have placed any wager to be convicted of gambling. As long as a group of people have a chance to win something and at least some of them have made a wager, you can be convicted of gambling if you are part of the group and stand a chance at winning.
Prohibition Against Making a Profit
Those who win at gambling have obviously made some money. But aside from the players, what about the businesses who run or operate the gambling game or establishment?
Some state laws specifically allow for 'social gambling' while prohibiting gambling as a business. Business gambling occurs when a person or organization operates a gambling hall that collects fees or takes a portion of the amount the players bet. For example, a person who holds a 'casino night' party and charges an entry fee is engaged in an illegal activity in a state that prohibits business gambling or gambling for profit. So-called “social gambling,” where the players are all equals an no one is collecting fees or making a profit apart from the outcome of the game -- such as in a home poker game -- is often not considered illegal. However, even social gaming is illegal in some states.
Penalties
While all states criminalize gambling to some extent, they also have vastly different penalties associated with gambling crimes. The type of penalty someone faces after being convicted of illegal gambling largely depends upon the state and the circumstances of case, though sentences typically involve many of the same types of penalties. Gambling can be classified as either a misdemeanor offense or a felony, depending on the situation and state law.
Jail or Prison
Anyone convicted of misdemeanor gambling faces up to a year in a county or local jail, though state laws differ widely. Some states impose small maximum jail sentences for misdemeanor gambling, such as 20 days in jail. Felony convictions, on the other hand, can bring a year or more in prison, and sometimes as much as 10 years, especially where organized, professional gambling is present.
Fines
Misdemeanor fines for gambling are quite common, and range from a few hundred dollars up to $1,000 or more. Felony gambling fines can be significant, sometimes as much as $20,000 or more. Fines can be separate from, or in addition to, jail or prison sentences.
Probation
Instead of, or in addition to jail time and fines, courts can impose probation sentences for gambling convictions. These probation periods usually last 12 months or more. When a court orders probation it tells you to do (or not do) certain things. For example, the court may order you to stop gambling or to participate in a gambling addiction treatment program. You'll also probably have to report to a probation officer and stay out of trouble with the law. If you don't live up to the probation conditions, the court can revoke your probation and send you to serve the original jail or prison sentence.
Speak to a Lawyer
Illegal gambling charges can impose significant penalties and can have a serious impact on your life, even if you aren't convicted. Anyone charged with a gambling crime needs to speak to a local criminal defense lawyer at the first opportunity. A good defense attorney will know the gambling laws in your state and have experience with the local prosecutors, judges, and court system. It's always in your best interests to speak to a local criminal defense attorney anytime you are charged with a gambling crime.