Law question

[kid4rilla]

Are all pay-for-play contests illegal?

As I understand the law, if there is consideration, prize, and chance present, it is an illegal gambling game.

But Churchill Downs Road to the Roses had a pay for play option. Consideration was the entry, Prize was the payout, and chance was the chance that your horses scored the most points. It appears illegal, but was it?

I thought that a home poker game was considered legal if the house kept no cut, and all proceeds were paid back to the players. Is this true, and why the RTTR game was considered legal?

Looking forward to the discussion.

k4

[kid4rilla]

Nothing?

[startngate]

Short answer. No ... and despite your "understanding" of the law, you actually closed your argument with the thing that makes contests like this OK.

Contests such as this are normally governed at the State level, but in most cases they are legal at a minimum if all of the entry fees are returned to the participants (as you surmised). They are also deemed to be 'contests of skill' and therefore there is not a 'chance' component as you claim.

Many States that have pari-mutuel wagering also have some rules regarding handicapping contests set by either the Legislature or the State Racing/Gaming Commissions. Same holds true for poker tournaments in States where they are allowed.

Since CD's rules for the contest were quite comprehensive about eligibilty at the State level, my guess is they did a fair amount of research to make sure they were operating a legal contest.

[BUD]

I didnt understand the question @ hand?

You sound like you answered it better than I could..Even if I understood the Question.

[PaceAdvantage]

They are a publicly traded company...I doubt they are going to run afoul of federal lottery laws just to run a handicapping contest.

[kid4rilla]

This isn't an argument, just a scenario question.

Who deems it a contest of skill not chance? I assume that if they had any action taken against them then the argument of skill/chance would have to be taken up by the parties at hand at that time.

I doubt they would run afoul of the law also, but it seems to effect far reaching jurisdictions being a national contest. Just thought I'd ask, but such a subject may be a bit taboo to discuss.