All students must comply with all laws regulating gaming and gambling activity in Tennessee. Under Tennessee law, illegal gambling is defined as “risking anything of value for a profit whose return is to any degree contingent on chance, or any games of chance associated with casinos, including, but not limited to, slot machines, roulette wheels and the like.” Tennessee law exempts certain state-run lotteries, fantasy sports contests, individuals age 21 or older who wager on sports in accordance with the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, and low-level sports entertainment pools with a total entry fee or buy-in of no more than $25 per participant and a total pool of no more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), so long as the pool is managed by an individual and not by any type of business entity. Separately, Vanderbilt University prohibits:
- Possessing on one’s person or premises any card, book, or other device for registering bets for illegal gambling;
- Knowingly permitting use of premises, telephone, or other electronic communications devices for illegal gambling;
- Knowingly receiving or delivering a letter, package, or parcel related to illegal gambling; and
- Offering or accepting a bribe to influence the outcome of an athletic event.
Students may participate in “casino nights” or similar events in which individuals play roulette, blackjack, poker, baccarat, or other card games, dice games, board games, or video games so long as play is solely for entertainment purposes and nothing of value is paid, exchanged, or risked by any participant in exchange for any award, prize, or stake.
Students may host or participate in raffles so long as nothing of value is paid, exchanged, or risked for the opportunity to win a prize or stake. A “suggested” donation may be stated for a raffle ticket, but it must also be stated with any “suggested” donation that there is no charge or fee required for participation in a raffle. Accordingly, any interested individual must be allowed to participate in the raffle without any entry fee or ticket charge. In addition, any payment, or lack thereof, to participate in a raffle cannot affect the odds or chances to win any prize, stake, or award.
Under no circumstances may “casino nights” or similar, raffles, or pools be used by a student to sell or lease goods, property, or services to others or to solicit the sale or lease of the same.