play with house money

verb

To be in a situation where little or no personal risk can be incurred.

Opposite
have skin in the game
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Meanings

verbplay with house money (third-person singular simple present plays with house money, present participle playing with house money, simple past and past participle played with house money)

present singular third person plays with house money · participle present playing with house money · participle past played with house money · past played with house money

  1. idiomaticinformalTo be in a situation where little or no personal risk can be incurred.

    Antonyms: have skin in the game

  2. idiomaticinformalTo act as though little or no risk can be incurred.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo be in a situation where little or no personal risk can be incurred.

Opposite
have skin in the game

Origin

Referring to a casino, where gambling one's winnings from the casino ("the house") may feel less risky than gambling the money that one brought from outside.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

play with house money. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20with%20house%20money

MLA

“play with house money.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20with%20house%20money. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “play with house money,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20with%20house%20money.

Source: play with house money on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.