Playing poker for charity is another recent trend that is catching on. In many states gambling is illegal, but charity poker tournaments are not. As a result, charities are cashing in, and poker lovers are reaping the rewards. They get to enjoy a great game and if they lose it’s not a big loss because their money goes to a good cause.

The money can be donated to any sort of charitable venture such as churches, diseases, people with illnesses, high schools, or charitable organizations. One of the more recent causes for which charitable poker games are being organized is the tsunami relief efforts. The events are also done on all sorts of scales. There are small town church fund raisers where a group of people play for one evening of charity and there are huge-scale highly organized celebrity/professional functions that generate huge sums for donation.

There aren’t laws that regulate charity poker games, so some offer higher payouts or cash prizes to winners than others. Some take a percentage of buy-ins right away and donate it to charity. From there the game operates like a typical tournament. Others solicit players to pledge a certain percentage of their potential winnings to the charity. In others players get pledges just like they would for a walkathon. They then get the amount in chips that they got pledged to play with.

Charity poker is catching on quickly. An article from the Boston Herald on October 24, 2004 says, “Poker might well be the new bingo among the young fundraising set,” (Thea Singer). While poker for charity is most often played in person, there are even online poker sites that allow winners to donate their winnings to charity.

Businesses are popping up with the purpose of organizing poker tournaments for charity. Celebrity poker tournaments are also extremely popular because celebrities don’t need to win money for themselves.

Charity poker is also extremely popular among college students. Sororities and fraternities nationwide organize special “casino nights” where students can play to benefit the chosen charity of the group. These nights are very popular and generate a lot of money for donation.