It’s still illegal to buy into a college basketball bracket contest, even though the governor signed off on changing the state’s gambling law last week.

Betting with money on the upcoming NCAA Basketball Tournament — even just an office pool — technically amounts to a misdemeanor under the state’s gambling law.

But playing into a bracket contest probably won’t land you in an Idaho jail.

Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs and Twin Falls City Prosecutor Fritz Wonderlich are unable to point to a single prosecution for basketball wagering. Loebs said the only gambling case he’s prosecuted involved illegal slot machines from 2007, and Wonderlich said he’s not aware of any gambling cases in recent years.

The governor signed off March 4 on legislation repealing a section of the state’s gambling law. The new measure gives police and prosecutors more discretion in enforcing it.

Effective July 1, law enforcement won’t be held criminally liable for failing to enforce gambling violations, though risking money or something of value on chance is still gambling and against the law, according to Loebs.

The law change “really won’t make any difference to us,” according to Wonderlich.

People are gambling and breaking the law across Idaho, though few get even a warning.

For example, in February, former Gov. Cecil Andrus proposed a bet to Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter whowas quoted as acceptinga $100 wager concerningeconomic forecasts.

“I don’t know how serious that is,” said Otter’s spokesman Jon Hanian, on Thursday about the gubernatorial bet.

What happens with the economy is an event, but prosecuting for a $100 wager on it would be “ridiculous,” according to Loebs.

Recently, Twin Falls police issued a warning to the Twin Falls Senior Center because of a complaint about poker playing going on there with money. No one was charged, authorities have said, and the seniors claimed to have stopped their illegal games at the center. Even so, some of them continue to play poker with money out of their homes.

The law change signed last week only makes it so police and prosecutors can’t get charged with misdemeanors for failing to inform against, and diligently prosecute people who they have reasonable cause to believe are gambling.

“This change doesn’t affect whether it’s legal to have a (NCAA tournament) pool,” said Loebs. “But it’s no longer a crime for police to know you have a (tournament) pool and not prosecute.”

Under Idaho law, illegal gambling means “risking any money, credit, deposit or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device or the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, the operation of casino gambling including, but not limited to, blackjack, craps, roulette, poker, bacarrat [baccarat] or keno.”

Andrea Jackson may be reached at ajackson@magicvalley.com