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Can I offer contests that involve both skill and chance in Ohio? What are the requirements?
Yes, it is possible to offer contests that involve both skill and chance in Ohio, but there are specific requirements that must be followed.
To conduct a skill-based amusement machine tournament, an operator must provide prior notice to the commission and comply with all requirements under OHAC Rule 3772-50-26. The tournament must award merchandise prizes or redeemable vouchers for merchandise prizes that are announced, established, and made known to the players at least forty-eight hours in advance of the tournament. The value of prizes may not be determined by the number of players in the tournament or the amount of any fees paid by the players. The announced prizes may not be changed, and the announced prizes may exceed a wholesale value of ten dollars but may not be for cash, gift cards, currency, including digital currency, or any equivalent thereof; plays on games of chance, state lottery tickets, bingo, or instant bingo; firearms, tobacco, or alcoholic beverages; gold or silver bullion, coins, rounds, bars, or ingots; or a redeemable voucher that is redeemable for any of the items listed above.
In addition to the above, Ohio allows player against player contests, which are events in which individuals pay consideration to participate or compete against one another in a program or series of programs in which the casino operator has no stake other than a rake. To offer player against player contests, a casino operator must comply with OHAC Rule 3772-14-01, which outlines the requirements for conducting such contests. The rules must contain, at a minimum, the date(s) on which the player against player contest will be held or its designation as a perpetual event, required entry fee or other consideration to be paid in order to participate, formula to be used to calculate the rake, participant eligibility requirements, minimum and maximum number of participants, a description of the player against player contest, including the program, structure, equipment, guidelines, time limits, any material conditions or limiting factors, and criteria for entry and determination of winners, the prize structure, including amounts or percentages, or both, for prize levels, and procedures for event cancellation, including timely notification to entrants and refunding of entry fees or other consideration collected.
Finally, a person who wants to operate skill-based amusement machines in Ohio must register with the commission and comply with all requirements under OHAC Rule 3772-50-09. The person must submit a complete list of locations where they conduct or participate in conducting type-B or type-C skill-based amusement machine gaming, a complete list of skill-based amusement machines in each of the skill-based amusement machine locations, a complete list of all skill-based amusement machine vendors with which the person conducts or otherwise transacts business, and any other information requested by the commission. The person must also submit a completed application for licensure, operate skill-based amusement machines in accordance with Chapters 2915. and 3772. of the Revised Code, and pay the required fees.
Therefore, to offer contests that involve both skill and chance in Ohio, an operator must comply with the requirements outlined in OHAC Rule 3772-50-26 for skill-based amusement machine tournaments, OHAC Rule 3772-14-01 for player against player contests, and OHAC Rule 3772-50-09 for operating skill-based amusement machines.
Jurisdiction
Ohio