What is the law governing carnival games in CT?

Question

I was told that we can't have a carnival game where we pay out money because it would be considered gambling, but is there any law that says we can't give prizes?

Answer 1

I live in CT and I wasn't aware of any new law.
I know they have really cracked down on poker games because a lot of bars and clubs are having illegal poker games. They are only illegal if the bar takes a rake (cut of the prize pool).

I believe that carnival games are still legal as long as it is a non-profit organization such as a church for bingo or a carnival benefiting the 4H club or something. If all carnival games are made illegal, I think all the elderly would have a big problem with no bingo.

The law as I understand it is simple. As long as the host of the event isn't making any money off of the event, it is OK in the state of CT. I am not 100% on it. It will be interesting to see what other answers you get.

Answer 2

1. Set up a game where you charge people to play.

2. As a prize, you give them a ticket or some other meaningless item.

3. At the other end of the carnival, set up a booth that buys the tickets for cash.

example: You charge a buck to play the game. Make sure you set a minimum of three players per game at a time. Then give the winner a ticket and send him to the booth that buys the tickets for two bucks each. You just made a dollar per game. And it's perfectly legal, because you're not directly giving the winner money at the game. That's how they get around it in Japan with pachinko parlors.

Answer 3

You should be able to give out prizes, but I'm not sure if that will work too well. I know a number of CT Church Carnivals have seen their income fall dramatically after that law was passed.

It is sort of ironic that a Church was holding gambling to make money, but whatever!

Answer 4

You can give prizes but you cant claim money. Its gambling. Thats why places like Chucky Cheeses and Peter Piper Pizza have you buy tokens and you do whatever you want but if you decide to spend it on a machine that only accepts tokens well thats all on you. They are in the business of selling tokens. What I would do is sell tickets and if they wanted to play games for prizes then have them pay you with tickets not money.