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An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Operation of Tournament Games by Charitable Organizations
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  17 MRSA §1836, sub-§2-A  is enacted to read:
 
2-A.  Members and nonmembers may conduct tournament games.     Notwithstanding section 1835, subsection 2, an organization licensed to conduct a tournament game may permit persons who are not members of the organization to conduct a tournament game on behalf of the organization. An organization licensed to conduct a tournament game may compensate nonmembers who conduct the tournament game in an amount not to exceed 20% of the total revenue from entry fees received for the tournament game. At least one member of the organization licensed to conduct a tournament game must be present at all times when the tournament game is being conducted.
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$200, 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$225. An organization that holds a per tournament license may collect up to $150$250 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 amends the laws governing the operation of tournament games by charitable organizations. Current law requires that only members of the organization may conduct tournament games. This bill allows the charitable organization to hire nonmembers to conduct the tournament games. Compensation paid to nonmembers for conducting a tournament game is limited to 20% of the gross revenue from the entry fees collected for the tournament game. The bill also increases the maximum entry fee for tournament game players.