Mahjong and poker can be played — no rake, no banker role, no organizing paid games, no online gambling

Small-stakes card games among relatives and friends are not the law’s concern. Providing conditions for a gambling session in order to make money, or taking part with relatively large stakes, brings detention for under 5 days or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. Gathering people to gamble for profit or living off gambling brings up to 3 years; running a casino brings up to 5 years. What counts as “relatively large stakes” is set locally; there is no single national figure.

Cost

No expense at all. Small‑stakes games among friends are perfectly fine. There’s no rake, no banker duty, and no money collected for organizing the game. The hard part is resisting the urge to step in when someone else tries to run the game.

Benefit

Providing facilities or services for gambling in order to make money, or taking part in gambling with relatively large stakes, can lead to up to 5 days in detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan. In more serious cases the penalty rises to 10–15 days in detention and a fine of 1,000–5,000 yuan. Organizing gambling sessions for profit or relying on gambling as a livelihood can result in up to 3 years in prison and a fine. Casino operators face up to 5 years in prison and a fine; repeat offenders may be sentenced to 5–10 years (nationwide).

Notes

Because there is no uniform national definition of “relatively large stakes” — each region sets its own limit — this recommendation is rated B only. Taking a cut of the pot or acting as an intermediary for online gambling platforms is often treated as running a casino under the law. The original judicial interpretations cited here have not been independently verified, and no official case examples could be found.

Sources · 3

1. 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第八十二条）. spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml
2. 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第三百零三条）. jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925…
3. 全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第三十六条，开设赌场刑期提高到五年以下、五年以上十年以下）. spp.gov.cn/zdgz/202012/t20201227_503682.shtml