By Gene Huntington, Administrator
The Gambling Control Division
The Super Bowl is over and even if you had known beforehand that the Giants would win, it would not have helped you betting in a legal Montana sports pool. In a legal pool the teams and scores must be randomly assigned by the operator selling chances on the pool. It has nothing to do with skill, and everything to do with pure luck.
Even if the Super Bowl is history, "March Madness" is just around the corner and it' a good time to remind everyone about the restrictions on sports pools.
The most common form of sports pools are the poster-sized cards of 100 squares that we see hung in bars and casinos advertising the sports event of the week. These boards are referred to as "sports cards" in the rules of the Gambling Control Division. Montana law and administrative rules place clear limits on publicly offered sports pools.
Here's a look at Montana limits on sports pools:
--Each chance to participate (each space) must be sold for the same amount, and the price of a chance may not exceed $5.
--The total prize for the pool may not exceed $500, and pools may not be combined in any way so as to exceed the $5 entry fee or $500 prize limit.
--A sports pool may not be conducted on a segment, or portion of a single sporting event (for example, a $500 pool on each quarter of a game). Recently, some organizers have tried to increase the prizes for pools by having separate pools for each quarter of a game.
--The winners of the sports pool must receive 100 percent payout, and there must be at least one winner in every pool.
--Every participant in the pool must have an equal chance to win.
--Teams or competitors must be randomly assigned to the participants.
--The card on which players participate in the pool must clearly indicate the event, the cost of a square, the number of squares and the amount to be paid to the winner.
--There are no approved sports pool variations that include a "bracketed tournament" format.
These are only some main points; additional restrictions are contained in law and rules of the Gambling Control Division. If you are planning something different from this basic sports pool you would be well advised to check it out with the Gambling Control Division in advance.
Because many people participate in NCAA pools, it is important to be able to draw the distinction between "public" and "private" gambling.
State law does not address the typical office pool because state law generally only applies to "public gambling." Public gambling is defined in the law as a situation in which "players are publicly solicited or the gambling activity is conducted in a predominantly commercial manner."
So if someone is making money from the pool other than by winning the pool, or if the organizers are trying to sign up outsiders, they may be conducting "public gambling." Any private gaming needs to be conducted somewhere other than the part of a business, office building or club that the public has access to.
If you have any questions on whether a sports pool is legal, contact the GCD before selling any chances (444-1971).
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, March, 2008, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.