that you for a solid informed answer to my thoughts, Mikey- but a question for you.
would a Chess Hustler fall in the same exceptions as perhaps chess tournaments. keep in mind a chess hustler might allow you to win for a few games to give you confidence and a naive impression to go deeper in your pocketbook-- that play full stregth in a quick game certain to swindle the pot.
this, then, becomes something a little different a chess tournament or even in internet chess- where organizers try to insist upon a fair game.
it becomes a scam - I guess.
but surely one that would be hard to prove.
FWIW; I have heard this was/is very common in pool. do you know of Its legality?
ESP
from a legal point of view
In the US, Chess gaming is Not an easy legal matter At all- and there are laws in Most places in America that prevent betting, with a few exceptions.
In fact, these laws HAVE been used before to stop chess tournaments, strait up- but I think in most places no judge is going to take action against a legitimate USCF sanctioned event-- the USCF has made it clear that it will defend tournament chess as NOT a game of chance....
But I think, what you Really need to appreciate about America is that How widespread illegal activity Really is. take Drinking by kids. that Happens ALL the time! I don't want to take this to a political place
but as an nation we're horribly hypocritical. Washington Park NYC just Might be one of the great tourist destinations of our biggest city OR it could be shut down by a political rants (from a local politician) against petty gambling.
but betting on the Superbowl- just as illegal mind you- could Never be stopped as literally millions of Americans do it every year.
so in the End; who the heck cares of what is Legal?
my Limited experience is that there must NOT be many places where you can play a chess hustler in a major American city. I haven't been to NYC but I've been to a few other ones and I didn't see any. Outside of the biggest of cities- someone setting up such a table would be laughable; Americans as a whole have only vague experience with chess and don't love the game. I wonder if chess gambling is common in Russia- I've heard it said that it is. but is this Only in Moscow or could you go to many russian cities and find yourself betting a few roubbles in a bar?
In modern America. betting games of skill are no longer considered gambling in most states because there are three legal requirements for gambling: (1) the award of a prize, (2) paid-in consideration (meaning entrants pay to compete) and (3) an outcome determined on the basis of chance. Without all three of these elements, a cash competition is not gambling. Chess wins are not based on chance.
A quick search turned up Iowa's Gambling Laws which include:
99B.11 Bona fide contests.
1. It is lawful for a person to conduct any of the contests specified in subsection 2, and to offer and pay awards to persons winning in those contests whether or not entry fees, participation fees, or other charges are assessed against or collected from the participants...
2. A contest is not lawful unless it is one of the following contests:
...d. Cribbage, bridge, chess, checkers, dominoes, pinochle and similar contests, leagues or tournaments. The provisions of this paragraph are retroactive to August 15, 1975.
Cribbage, bridge, chess, checkers, dominoes, pinochle and similar contests, leagues or tournaments. The provisions of this paragraph are retroactive to August 15, 1975.
This sort of betting allowance is pretty much the same across most states.