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[Maze]

Arggh, I only read these posts about tournaments suggestions now, was thinking about this already for some time and just posted this suggestion somewhere else (= igor's thread on the ladder counting system). Wanted to pick up this discussion here as I had read about the suggestion to allow betting.

Are you sure "tournaments" are not seen as betting? I would say there is a thin line, maybe not in the US but who knows in other countries, between the two. If it is true that putting money on "1 game of 1vs1" is betting as previously stated, how will this change if you say "let's make it X games and involve Y players" (=tournament)? And of course I only mean putting money on own games, not on other player's games (1 or tournament) as it is clear that that is betting.

Another issue: is Warbarons ready to implement betting systems / larger money flow (if not already now at risk) if we think of:
- hacking / safe system
- already mentioned copyright claims
- other legal claims for bugs, ...
- abuse of bugs
Of course you can cover most risks with a disclaimer but this wouldn't sound that appealing...

[LPhillips]

It's nothing to rush into nor implement immediately. The project has a way to go before it can aspire to be profitable or even self-supporting, mainly in the way of becoming user-friendly.

Competitions with a purse are not considered gambling. They're competitions. You are earning your payout, not gambling for it. The only time the line is blurred is when the competition itself is gambling (IE poker or other "games of chance"). However, betting on the outcome of a match in which you do not participate, or setting unequal stakes/odds, is obviously gambling (as is betting on the outcome of a tournament as a third party). Competing in a tournament and paying an entree fee is not really similar to betting. In fact, putting our own money on our own matches (say, a game of chess) is actually legal and not gambling, even though it can be called "betting". The relevant laws always include a clause about "games of chance" or "sporting events". One would have better luck prosecuting stock brokers for gambling than participants or hosts of a chess tournament or Starcraft tournament.

So, there's no blurry line nor gray area there. It's strictly legal, moral, and ethical.
Alternately, player-run tournaments do not infer any responsibility on the part of the game developers. However, they also don't benefit the project financially.

[Maze]

Sorry, I misread somewhere that betting on own games might be illegal, hence my question: "if 1vs1 is illegal, how can a series of 1vs1 (tournament) be legal then?"

[Igor]

Tournament is different of usual games that winner take reward after all games are finished. Single game is not a tournament. Suppose, 1-st player lost his 1x1 game and won other 3 in a tournament of 5 players. If nobody won the same number of games, 1-st player is winner despite the fact that he lost his first game.
All points in tournament "play each other" are accumulate to the end of the tournament. Then players are ranked according to received points: 1st place, 2nd, etc. Prize will be splitted between several winners.