I've watched several episodes of Perry Mason, which I believe trumps all of you :)

What a striking example of the failings of academia.

@kaner: while I think your question is aimed at looking at the legality of the issue more than interest in actually participating, I will answer your question for the sake of any argument among the disapproving crowd ^^

The tournament is designed to bring the experienced of FtF tournaments we have around the globe to the internet community. In these tournaments, it has been clearly identified that it is acceptable and legal to collect money to (a) pay for a venue and (b) purchase awards and (c) purchase catering to the event in one facet or another. The issue becomes illegal when one or more individuals profit from the competitions since this is, in essence, Hasbro losing money as a result of a tournament.

This tournament is setup in a similar fashion. We have collected the lowest amount possible ($10) based on the number of entrants into the competition. Money is collected to (a) pay for the venue and (b) pay for awards.

Here, the 'venue' is the site itself. Money goes to the site in the form of a donation. This donation helps keep the site running and pays for the coding necessary to setup a page in recognition of the award winners. This is equivalent to playdip's collection of $1 to pay for site maintenance and upkeep and gives users access to their 'stats' page.

The awards are as follows: 1 'Champion' plaque for 1st place, a 2nd place and 3rd place plaque for the two runner-ups, and 7 'best country' awards which are all common to FtF tournaments. In addition, if we can garner the necessary numbers, we can also purchase a 'best stab' plaque which is voted on by all entrants.

The tournament consists of 3 rounds of play. Talent will be fairly distributed among all games to ensure fair results. Games are setup October 11th (3 days from this post). The bet is 5 or another fairly decided-upon value that is agreeable by all in a particular board. New rounds start November 1st and December 1st. Pauses are granted for those traveling as long as the time does not exceed a 'fair' amount. In terms of long-term absences (typically longer than a week), a player should request the presence of a 'sitter' to play their account until that person's return.

The official scoring system used for this tournament is called "better than averages" in which players score points by center count based on the country in which they are playing and compared to the outcomes of all players playing that country to that point. Players that do better than others playing the same country earn points while those doing worse lose points. Each player begins with 50 and scores are updated at the completion of all boards for any particular round.

A thread will be setup for the forum at large to follow along with the tournament. Placing is based on points at the end of the tournament with a tie being broken by highest center count across all three games. Best Country awards will be given to the players with the highest center count for each respective country.

@ SYnapse: What a striking example of you making a claim about something being illegal, and then being unable to support your claim despite being challenged.

I challenge you to cite legislation or relevant case law which would in any way suggest that an online Diplomacy tournament, with a very small buy-in, and with prizes of no cash value, would be "illegal".

Unless you can do this, I suggest you shut up.

R v Kelly 2008

The judgment of R v Kelly concerned games of Texas Holdem poker, and the conviction was based on it being played for money and poker being a game of chance.

I look forward to your argument that Diplomacy is a game of chance, Synapse :)

It so obviously is!

Guys, guys, guys... It isn't illegal in the US in any state I'm aware of for the simple fact it isn't a game of chance. There is no random factor involved. It is more akin to a cornhole tournament or bowling league. And, it is my understanding that the money is being used to buy trophies. There is no prize money and the house isn't keeping any I am aware of so it doesn't run afoul of any racketeering charges or RICO statutes.We can let that part of it go. Sorry SY, but on that you are wrong. But only that part.

What about the IRS?

No it isn't illegal because nobody is making money off it. There is no need for the organizer to declare it on their income tax returns because there is no expectation of income ever being earned.

Synapse kindly stop being an idiot.

and if the winner won cash, it is his responsibility to claim those winnings, not the tourney organizers. Not unless it was a LARGE sum of money anyways. But no money paid out = no problem.

As far as the organizers collecting money, again, that is their problem as far as reporting goes. (and this is obviously no problem for them either) But you as a player should have no concern. Do you check if the grocery store you buy bananas at paid their taxes?
Not your concern!

It is their concern because it deals with a tournament on a website they were banned/chased from so they have a moral obligation to complain about it.

Yeesh! I originally posted as a joke implying the best were over here and not allowed over there. This got way too OOC. Mellow folks. Nothing illegal. No income for the person or organization of any significant amount. Undrr $500 from outside sources need not be declared and they are just using it to buy trophies which is what we used to do on bowling leagues so no tax issues or prize money issues. Just Tru claiming he has been here so long when all he has ever done us advertise for the other site.

So we are all agreed that SYnapse was wrong.

Good.

Just for the full summary, which Octavious has mentioned in part:

R v Kelly 2008 concerned a case under the Gaming Act 1968 (UK legislation).

The Gaming Act 1968 specifically regulates "gaming" which is defined as follows:

" 'Gaming' means the playing of a game of chance for winnings in money, or money's worth"

It is my understanding that the prizes in this tournament will be "plaques" that are not real physical items, but a graphic next to the player's username - like a comedy cube. These, I hope we can agree, have no monetary worth. Therefore the case law SYnapse quoted does not apply to this tournament, because:

1. Diplomacy is not a game of chance
and
2. In the case of the tournament, it is not being played for money, or money's worth.

The Gambling Act you're citing was succeeded by the Gambling Act 2005.

Read the case law properly, mister "I know about the law".

The judgement from the Court of Appeal in the Kelly case specifically quoted from the 1968 Act.

R. v KELLY CA [2008] 2Cr. App. R. 11

But since you mention the 2005 Act, it uses exactly the same definition of a "prize" as the 1968 Act, specifically:

"money or money's worth"

As we have established already, the prize in this tournament is not money, nor is it money's worth.

Thus, your claim that the tournament is "illegal" is still wrong. It is not offering a prize of the kind that would bring it within the scope of the Gambling Act 2005.

The regulations set a fixed limit of £5 per game on the amount that may be staked by a player in any type of equal chance gaming. As $10 this is equivalent to a £6.18 stake in the game making it subject to the Gambling Act 2005.

You are still wrong. The £5 stake limit does not apply in this case, because the Act itself does not apply to the Diplomacy tournament in question.

The basic definition of gaming, in Part 1 (6) of the Act, says:

"In this Act “gaming” means playing a game of chance for a prize."

"Equal chance gaming" is then further defined within the basic overall definition of "gaming".

The Gambling Act 2005 does not apply to this Diplomacy tournament because:

1. Diplomacy is not a game of chance;
and:
2. It is not being played for a "prize" (within the definition of "prize" stated in the Act, as previously explained).

You remain wrong.

The plaques are to be real, not icons. That said, it isn't a game of chance so gambling laws are not being violated.

Right. It's definitely not a "game of chance".