Is It Illegal to Sell Football Squares in the State of Michigan?
It's that time of year when your coworkers, friends, and family members try to pressure you into buying Super Bowl squares for the big game this weekend.
Michiganders have been buying and selling football squares for years without giving any thought to whether or not it's actually legal.
Before we get to the answer, let's get to the basics first for those that have been living under a rock and have no clue what football squares are.
Let's just break this down into a simple explanation without getting into every aspect of football squares because there are many different variations.
What Are Football Squares?
In most Super Bowl squares, a winner will be determined at the end of the first quarter, second quarter, and third quarter, plus the final game score. The winner is decided by looking at the last number in each team's score and then matching those digits on the 10 by 10 grid to see where the squares intersect. Hopefully, that makes sense to you.
Now, let's get to the big question.
Is It Illegal to Sell Football Squares in the State of Michigan?
Finding a simple yes or no answer to this question wasn't easy.
According to Forbes, it is still illegal in most states for an individual, without a license, to operate a Super Bowl squares pool. However, I also read that Super Bowl squares fall under the category of social gambling, and it's legal in most of the country.
It's my understanding that social gaming is not legal in Michigan and if enforced, you could be charged with a misdemeanor. It's very unlikely that something like that would ever happen. I'm sure police departments have their own pools happening as well, so, you're probably pretty safe.
Again, it was really tough to find a solid answer.
As long as you're not selling squares for thousands or millions of dollars, you'll be just fine.