CCG Tournaments

[techvoodoo]

I'm just curious if anyone knows, why are collectable card game tournaments that have a prize and require an entry fee not illegal? I was never a big Magic the Gathering, Dreamblade, ect. player but I have several friends that go to tournaments with cash prizes based on placement and entry fees that are in the $50 range.

[Niediam]

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I'm just curious if anyone knows, why are collectable card game tournaments that have a prize and require an entry fee not illegal? I was never a big Magic the Gathering, Dreamblade, ect. player but I have several friends that go to tournaments with cash prizes based on placement and entry fees that are in the $50 range.

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Because CCGs are generally viewed as skill games.

[The Bryce]

Actually, I remember at one point a local TC had to give out t-shirts at constructed events to get around this (you paid for the t-shirt, the rest was free). In limited events they got around it by saying your fee covered the cost of the product.

[TomVeil]

I actually own a CCG store in Washington state. We have never had a problem running tournaments or anything, HOWEVER: On Magic Online (Magic the Gathering...wait for it....Online), there is a "waiver" that you have to click to say that you're not in the 14 states that do not allow you to win prizes. (Ironically, Washington, where WOTC is located, is one of the states)

I have no fear that the law-man is gonna come knock on my door. However, if something like the Poker Boom happened to Magic, I'm sure that some people out there would complain.

Having played these games for a while, clearly CCGs are skill games, just as poker is. They are simply small potatoes, and thus have escaped the wrath of the law (where such games aren't allowed)

[jlkrusty]

I too have wondered how Wizards of the Coast gets away with online MTG tournaments that cost money to enter and the winners get valuable prizes (which can easily be converted to cash). Yes, it's a skill game, but so is poker. Why shout WOTC get to continue their operation while poker sites cannot? Who gets to decide which sites get black listed? The DOJ? The hypocracy just never runs out.