Online "business"

[n1ghtmares]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

I have a quick hypothetical question: I know it's illegal to run a poker website in the United States, and I'm assuming that it's because it's gambling. Would something like this be illegal in any way: Say I set up a website that hosts chess games between two players, and there is an optional membership fee (say $50). All paid members compete in a monthly tournament which pays out cash prizes from the pool generated by the membership fee (but I take some percentage off the top for site maintenance, etc...). I would think that because chess is a game of skill (no random chance like poker), that this is a legal idea for a business?

Thanks for any help you can give me

 

[racer72]

It's still gambling. Poker is considered a game of skill too.

 

[n1ghtmares]

Thanks for the quick reply

I guess I don't understand where the line is drawn between gambling and something that you can legally make money off of. There's a video game league, CEVO (www.cevo.com), which charges a $20 "membership fee" per event. Here is an excerpt from their rules:

2.20 Membership Fees
The membership fee for any CEVO event is twenty ($20) US Dollars per player, and your membership will remain active for the length of the event. Being a member in CEVO grants you the player the right to compete in the CEVO event of your choice, customer service and support via Live Help or Ventrilo, and the use of CEVO game servers for any CEVO match. Once an event begins there will be an additional $5.00 late fee assessed to any new membership. Fees are subject to change from event to event and for specialty events.

Captains and Managers are allowed to pay for players on their team. When a Captain or Manager pays for a member or members on the team, CEVO assumes that the member who paid for the membership owns that membership spot and may transfer the membership fees to any player. CEVO ONLY ACCEPTS MEMBERSHIP FEES VIA PAYPAL. All PayPal questions can be addressed at www.paypal.com.

Once the event registration period ends and the event begins; NO REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED! Refunds can be made at any time prior to the close of the event registration by submitting an offline ticket to the Accounting Department at support.cevo.com

PayPal charge backs of CEVO membership fees will result in a one (1) year suspension

So essentially they are charging each player $20 for the service of playing in their event, and this must be legal because CEVO has been around for a while. I don't understand how my chess example differs from CEVO.

Thanks