North Dakota Lawmakers Will Review Poker Fee Appeal at Monday Meeting
The agenda also covers a vacancy fill, rule revisions and special-session prep.
North Dakota Legislative Management is set to meet Monday, Aug. 17, at the State Capitol’s Roughrider Room. The 10 a.m. meeting includes a 10:10 a.m. look at a Gaming Commission appeal over a proposed rule on poker tournament fees.
The committee also plans to approve minutes from Jan. 14, Jan. 20, Jan. 27 and June 11, 2026. It will also choose a replacement for the vacancy created by former Sen. Josh Boschee’s resignation.
Later in the day, Legislative Council staff are scheduled to present proposed rules amendments and agendas for the House, Senate and Joint Rules for the upcoming special session at 2:45 p.m. The meeting is set to adjourn at 3:15 p.m. after miscellaneous administrative matters.
The appeal lands with a committee whose stated duties include determining whether an administrative rule is void under North Dakota Century Code Section 28-32-18 and receiving notice of an appeal of an administrative agency’s rulemaking action under Section 28-32-42. That makes it the body that can review the Gaming Commission’s challenge to the Administrative Rules Committee’s decision.
Under the current administrative code, a licensed organization may conduct poker on two occasions per fiscal year, from July 1 through June 30, and each occasion is limited to 72 hours. A restricted event permit holder may conduct poker one event per year.
For tournaments, the rule says each player must pay an entry fee and total fees per player cannot exceed $300, including the buy-in or entry fee plus rebuys, add-ons and bounties. Those fees are treated as gross proceeds, and qualifying satellite tournaments can also charge up to $300 per player. Total prizes for one poker tournament, including satellites, cannot exceed 90% of gross proceeds.
The same rule also keeps the bookkeeping tight. Recordkeeping may not be combined for multiple tournaments during the 72-hour poker occasion, a non-tournament occasion and side game are each limited to 24 hours, and non-tournament play is capped at $2 per half hour of playing time, collected in advance. The maximum single bet is $1, with no more than three $1 raises in a betting round.
