Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) a popular form of street gambling that involves predicting a combination of the winning numbers at a racetrack; thus policy runner n., one who acts as a go-between between bettors and the policy ‘banker’; policy king n., one who controlled a network of policy shops.

1830		Baltimore Amer. 26 Aug. 3/2: To Adventurers and the Public, Policy Certificates, in the greatest variety, Whole And Shares, Constantly For Sale [DA].
1840		Morning Courier and N.-Y. Enquirer 12 May 2/4: Mrs. Fonnell it appeared made a hit of $100 on her policy, which Scriber as is customary with the likes of him, refused to ‘fork over.’.
1842		Flash (NY) 3 July n.p.: This individual, we believe, is the most notorious of the [illeg.] of swindlers called Policy Dealers, that prey on the poor and ignorant of the community .
1846		Brooklyn Eagle 20 Nov. n.p.: An old broken down gambler, formerly of Cincinnati, known as Zeolus Graves, once in the policy business, but more recently as a receiver of stolen goods.
1857		Dundee, Perth & Cupar Advertiser 23 June 2/1: [from N.Y. Tribune] Thousands of lottery dealers, policy backers, pickpockets, hall thieves, burglars, wharf-rats, area sneaks, pimps and vampyres, practice their knaveries openly.
1858		‘Q.K. Philander Doesticks’ Witches of N.Y. 54: The propinquity of the ‘lottery agency’ and the ‘policy-shop,’ just round the corner.
1862		J.F. Poole Double-Quick Comic Songster 38: He used to play in the policy, and often made a hit, For he got the lucky numbers from a moke in Thomas Street [DA].
1867		‘Johnny Cross’ ‘The Charcoal Man’ in Orig. Pontoon Songster 53: But he upset Mary Jane, wagon and all, bang into a policy shop.
1870		C. White Magic Penny in Darkey Drama 5 Act I: I’ve lost every cent I had in the policy.
1881		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 5 Nov. 7/3: Many regard policy as the negroes’ game exclusively, but that is a mistake.
1887		J.J. Flinn Hist. Chicago Police 392: He was detailed to break up the policy shops which had been running wide open for a number of years.
1890		Century Dict. 4593/2: Policy slip [...] the ticket given on a stake of money at a policy-shop.
1891		J.A. Riis How the Other Half Lives 155: The game of policy is a kind of unlawful penny lottery specially adapted to his [i.e. a Black man] means, but patronized extensively by poor white players as well. [...] Between the fortune-teller and the policy shop, closely allied frauds always, the wages of many a hard day’s work are wasted.
1903		A.H. Lewis Boss 326: The policy shops stretch forth their sordid palms for the pennies of the very poor.
1905		F. Hutchison Philosophy of Johnny the Gent 73: [T]here ain’t no crap-shootin’, policy-playin’, pigeon-brained, pipe-fiend smoke in the bad lands that’s got a thing in the world on that guy when it comes to bein’ superstitious!
1919		O.R. Cohen ‘Pool and Genuwine’ in Polished Ebony 49: Jackson Ramsay, the portly white man who ran the policy game.
1920		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 12 Oct. [synd. col.] Al Adams, the policy king, had the reputation of never double-crossing a friend.
1927		H. Asbury Gangs of N.Y. 88: A great number of the policy and raffling houses, were reputed to be owned or backed by Reuben Parsons, unquestionably the gambling monarch of his time.
1933		C. Himes ‘Her Whole Existence’ in Coll. Stories (1990) 92: He is the ‘king of the policy rackets’.
1936		D. Burley in Chicago Defender 31 Oct. 26: He just glimpsed the eastern scribe darting out the door with the wife of a well known policy baron.
1938		H. Asbury Sucker’s Progress 98: It was [in New York] that the most powerful of the so-called Policy kings arose who dominated the game [...] and drew tribute from a wide area. [...] Frink [...] owned or controlled from 300 to 350 policy shops.
1944		C. Himes ‘All God’s Chillun Got Pride’ in Coll. Stories (1990) 26: He even tried writing policy, but the players didn’t like him.
a.1948		(con. early 1930s) C. McKay Harlem Glory (1990) 9: Millinda was the consort of Ned Rose, the late Policy King.
1949		I. Shulman Cry Tough! 103: Fixers, policy operators, important pimps and procureres [...] they too had to obey.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 161/2: Policy bank. The central office of a syndicate operating a policy-numbers lottery. [...] Policy game, the. The policy-numbers lottery, usually based on pari-mutuel aggregate race track wagers for the day.
1952		Lait & Mortimer USA Confidential 110: South Main Street, where you can buy marijuana or policy slips without trouble.
1953		F. Paley Rumble on the Docks (1955) 174: A small-time gambler and policy runner.
1961		J. Scarne Complete Guide to Gambling 688: Policy King – a boss or big shot in the policy game.
1962		T. Berger Reinhart in Love (1963) 123: Big Ruthie [...] had a nice policy trade but the bulls closed her up.
1967		in S. Harris Hellhole 126: Fences and thieves and small-time policy runners.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 63: Did you know that peckerwood of Pepper’s is the bankroll behind the biggest policy wheel in town?
1970		E. Tidyman Shaft 46: He took control of the policy racket. [Ibid.]190: I need an army, not a bunch of policy runners.
1981		H. Gould Fort Apache, The Bronx 134: So we let a policy guy slide to get a murderer, is that a bad deal?
1986		C. Stroud Close Pursuit (1988) 150: Integrity officer sees you even talking to a policy runner or a bookie [...] you’re bagged for ‘seen-in-corruption-prone-location-with-known-perpetrators.’.
2010		Codella and Bennett Alphaville (2011) 359: Running numbers and taking bets (what the old-timers called ‘policy’).