An Act To Reduce the Licensing Fee for Certain Tournament Games
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §1836, sub-§3-A, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 325, §3, is amended to read:
A. For tournament games that do not exceed 100 players:
(1) One hundred fifty Fifty dollars per tournament license;
(2) Two hundred fifty Seventy-five dollars for a monthly license; and
(3) Three thousand Nine hundred dollars for an annual license; and
Sec. 2. 17 MRSA §1836, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2011, c. 325, §4, is further amended to read:
4. Tournament. The organization licensed to conduct a tournament game under this section shall display the rules of the tournament game and the license issued. The maximum number of players allowed is 100 unless the tournament game is held on premises owned by the licensee, in which case the maximum number of players allowed is 300. Winners are determined by a process of elimination. The use of currency is prohibited as part of tournament game play. The maximum entry fee to play in the tournament game is $100 , except the organization may add to the player entry fee to defray the cost of the license fee, as long as the total additional amount collected from all players does not exceed $125. An organization that holds a per tournament license may collect up to $150 to defray the cost of the license fee. Only one entry fee is permitted per person. A tournament game must be completed within 48 hours. Other games of chance on the premises are prohibited during a tournament game, except for lucky seven or similar sealed tickets and no more than one 50/50 raffle per tournament with a prize value up to $1,000. This subsection does not prohibit a licensee from conducting one winner-take-all hand per tournament game with a bet limit of $5. The total number of bets received in a winner-take-all round must be awarded to the winner or in the case of multiple winners divided among them as evenly as possible. All prizes awarded in accordance with this subsection must be paid in cash.
summary
This bill reduces the license fees for tournament games that do not exceed 100 players. This bill also eliminates the ability of an organization licensed to hold a tournament game to charge a player an addition to the entry fee to defray the cost of the license.