[slamdunkpro]

I suspect that both “operator” and “commonly used” are left intentionally vague so as to give the state some latitude when it comes to prosecuting individuals. In the Virginia case, event if no rake was being taken (and I never saw one) I’m sure that the homeowner will be prosecuted as an “operator” since there were multiple tables involved.

To go a step further there is a strong similarity to the 20 questions that the IRS gives you to ask to determine whether an individual is a contractor or an employee; the 20 questions that AA asks; or the 20 questions that GA asks. Since it’s in the IRS’s best interest for everyone to be an employee and it’s in AA’s and GA’s best interest to gain new members; everyone who takes the test is an employee, a drunk or a hopeless gambler.

8.2-325’s definition of an “operator” is in the same vein. Based on the broad wording of the definition anyone who hosts a home game could be declared an “operator”