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I have been informed, in the past, that this is actually not legal...

Because most wargames incorporate dice, they are considered games of chance...as such, any tournament that you have to pay to enter can't award cash prizes as it's considered gambling.

For what it's worth, this is a grey area with a lot of shallow information on the count of most folks, when it comes to legalities.

Non-cash prizes are also taxable, for instance. If you receive a car as a prize in a competition, the vehicle is not tax-exempt. Neither are cash prizes.

There are to a degree minimum bounds here as well, as far as what is considered reportable. Also, there are grey areas in terms of how you structure and classify things ... gifts vs. prizes vs. winnings.

I'll say that for the NOVA's small part in the first page discussions, we reported our cash awards on our taxes, and followed VA/Fed laws for what to do with regard to our recipients, and ourselves. It's not really my specialty, so my partner tackled handling all the appropriate paperwork / etc.

With relevance to the discussion at hand, we experienced extremely good sportsmanship at the Invitational, by observation, and by wide report of our participants. So, at least within the boundaries of that event, there was no visible negative impact of a pair of $1,000 cash prizes upon the behavior of the attendees.

MVBrandt wrote:
With relevance to the discussion at hand, we experienced extremely good sportsmanship at the Invitational, by observation, and by wide report of our participants. So, at least within the boundaries of that event, there was no visible negative impact of a pair of $1,000 cash prizes upon the behavior of the attendees.

Only because everyone was afraid of Hulksmash pulling a Loki on them.

Seriously, cash prizes are not substantially different than any other prize with a monetary value, legally. Certainly the case could be made that 40K was a game of chance moreso than a game of skill, but honestly who is going to prosecute a case against a bunch of geeks playing toy soldiers? And the dollar values involved aren't all that compelling, either. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm in my 4th year with a good sized event and I'm lucky if my black from the event lasts until the money starts coming in for the next year on costs (like making more terrain, storing it, repairing it, etc). So as far as a gambling racket goes, I'd do a lot better with 3 card monte at the carnival.

Tronbot2600 wrote:I have been informed, in the past, that this is actually not legal...

Because most wargames incorporate dice, they are considered games of chance...as such, any tournament that you have to pay to enter can't award cash prizes as it's considered gambling.

How does WotC do it?

Random card draws are the basis of many games in casinos today (Blackjack, Poker, etc)

labmouse42 wrote:How does WotC do it?

Random card draws are the basis of many games in casinos today (Blackjack, Poker, etc)

This has been a bit of an issue in the past in fact. I can recall at least one instance in which the mayor of a German city stopped a pro tour from taking place in his city because he viewed mtg as a game of chance and WotC didn't have the proper permits to hand out cash prizes for a gambling game.

labmouse42 wrote:So 'could' GW give away $500,000 USD per year in prizes? Yes, they make more than enough money to afford that. Will they? No.
Can Hasbro? Easily. They have deeper pockets and more overall profit.
They offer cash like that to generate buzz about their game, and you know it works. If GW were to offer 100,000 dollar rewards 5 times a year, more people would be interested in the hobby.

IMO, offering cash prizes invites the wrong attitude to the miniatures hobby. I've seen the ultra competitiveness that arises from this in Magic and to me it's a major turn off. I only play in casual formats in Magic now because I just want to have fun. CCGs lend themselves to being played in a competitive format of the high prize money variety better than something like 40k anyway. We refer to it as a hobby for good reason. It is more than just a game (though I've seen some 40k players that care nothing for the hobby side of it) and it seems to have been designed and maintained not to be played for high stakes. I'm in the hobby for fun games with friends, the creative aspect of modeling/painting my boyz, and awesome fluff. I would lament greatly if 40k ever became the next Yu-Gi-Oh.

Personally, I'd stay away from cash, for two reasons.

First, it creates a more "sports-ey" atmopshere that really doesn't belong in a tabletop wargame.

Second, it changes the stakes. Free product is one thing, Cash is another. People get weird about cash, and people get mean about cash. This is primarily why I could not compete in such an event.

Also, cash can get into weird legal areas, and could in effect be considered gambling (you are playing a dice game for cash after all).