Card counting is not a crime in Las Vegas. However, casinos who suspect you are counting cards can lawfully order you to leave.1
If you refuse to leave – or you return to the casino after being asked to leave – you face misdemeanor trespass charges carrying up to six months in jail and/or $1,000.2
Why counting cards is not a crime
Card counting does not meet Nevada’s definition of cheating at gambling, which requires you to actually:
alter the elements of chance, method of selection or criteria which determine:
(a) The result of a game;
(b) The amount or frequency of payment in a game;
(c) The value of a wagering instrument; or
(d) The value of a wagering credit.
Counting cards is merely when you mentally keep track of the cards that are dealt, which is not cheating since you are not changing anything.
Examples of cheating at gambling include:
- using fake chips
- crimping cards
- using loaded dice3
Why casinos can ban card counters
Casinos are private businesses that profit from the “house winning” the vast majority of the time. Therefore casinos are not obligated to do business with anyone who hurts their business model.
How long card counters get banned for
The length of casino bans depends on the individual casino and their company policies. I have seen casinos “trespass” card counters for anywhere from six months to life!
I have been successful in getting some trespassed players off blacklists through strategic negotiations with casino managers. Everything is done case-by-case.
If you are falsely accused of cheating for counting cards
Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, I have represented literally thousands of people wrongfully accused of casino crimes such as cheating at gambling. In my experience, the following three defenses are very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries:
- No cheating occurred. Even if the prosecutors can prove you counted cards, that does not qualify as cheating.
- You had no fraudulent intent. Accidents and honest mistakes are not criminal. Unless the D.A. can prove you intended to defraud, the charge should be dropped.
- The police committed misconduct. If the police violated your constitutional rights – such as by conducting an unlawful search or coercing a confession – we can ask the judge to suppress that illegally-obtained evidence. Prosecutors may be left with too weak a case to prosecute.
Common evidence in these cases includes video surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts.
The penalties for cheating at gambling
|
Cheating at gambling |
Nevada penalties |
| First offense | Category C felony: 1 – 5 years in prison, restitution, and up to $10,000 |
| Subsequent offense | Category B felony: 1 – 6 years in prison, restitution, and up to $10,000 |
| Attempting or conspiring to cheat | Category C felony: 1 – 5 year sin prison, restitution, and up to $10,0004 |
Related articles
- Can I get arrested for counting cards in Nevada?
- Can “card counting” get you trespassed from a Vegas casino?
- Can I be banned from a Las Vegas casino?
Additional reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Preferential Shuffling: A Card Counting Countermeasure That Could Cost Players A Fair Game Of Blackjack – Gaming Law Review.
- Exclusions and Countermeasures: Do Card Counters Have a Right to Play? – Gaming Law Review.
- Cheating at Blackjack: The Case of the Barthelme Brothers – Gaming Law Review.
- Crime Problems Related to Gambling: an Overview – Crime, Addiction and the Regulation of Gambling.
- A Comparative Overview of Esports against Traditional Sports Focused in the Legal Realm of Monetary Exploitation, Cheating, and Gambling – Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal.
Legal References
- NRS 465.083. Sheriff of Washoe County v. Martin (Nev. 1983) 662 P.2d 634; Skipper v. State (Nev. 1994) 879 P.2d 732.
- NRS 207.200.
- See note 1.
- Same.
