• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    a couple friends can make friendly wagers

    This was already legal.

    The prohibition on gambling is predicated on a share of the winnings going to a House. Specifically, “bookmaking”, where a broker arranged odds and returns on multiple parties. Regulated gambling is all predicated on state enforcement of fair betting procedures and machines with set odds.

    Nobody was getting arrested for doing handshake bets on the Nicks playoff outcome. At the same time, no court was going to honor a lost bet as a debt owed to the winning party.