Interesting: https://www.gamblingsites.com/blog/gambling-law-concepts-6106/
The bottom part is the most interesting part
Per the article:
2. Social Gambling
In some states, social gambling is legal. Most authorities define a social gambling event as one in which everyone has an equal opportunity to win.
Here’s an example:
Butch is running a shuffleboard tournament at his bar. He has 20 entrants, each of whom pays $10 to play in the tournament. But he’s decided that he needs to make more of a profit for hosting the tournament than just selling drinks. So he keeps 10% of the pot for himself, and the winner of the tournament only gets $180 in prize money.
All of the shuffleboard players have an equal chance of winning (assuming they’re equally skilled). But Butch makes a profit regardless of who wins. That’s the opposite of social gambling. That’s gambling being run as a business.
Here’s another example:
Sammy decides that since his roulette table idea didn’t work out, he’s going to host poker games. Most cardrooms keep a percentage of each pot, but Sammy’s not interested in that. He figures he’ll just make extra money from selling more drinks.
In this case, the poker players—assuming they’re equally skilled—all have the same chances of winning or losing. Sammy’s providing them with a location where they can engage in social gambling. In states which allow social gambling, he’s not violating the law.
Not all states make a distinction for social gambling. Exceptions include Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In those states, gambling is regulated regardless of whether or not it can be considered “social gambling”.