Hello!

I would like to know your opinion on the following scenario:

Father comes to play at a Standard PPTQ with his 10-year-old son. To make the son's experience from the tournament better the father says: “I will give you a booster pack for every game you win” which is happily agreed by the kid.

Is this considered wagering (betting on outcomes of kid's games), i.e. do we ruin the experience by DQing both of them? Why / why not?

Thanks for your views,

Milan

I would say that for anything to constitute a wager all parties must either lose or win something if a certain condition is met. What is the kid losing (other than his match:p ) if he loses his match?

So no, I do not feel this is wagering, just awesome parenting :)

As it's one sided, I don't think it's wagering either. It's an incentive to compete. In fact it's more like the bounty events at GPs we see somewhat regularly, where if you beat one of the headline pros you get a bonus prize.

Also, given that the purpose of competition is to win, anything which encourages that is fair. (obviously assuming it doesn't negatively affect anything else :p)

Agreed. No-one is betting on anything, it's just a father incentivising his son to try and win each game rather than the reality that he might not win enough to get prizes from the store.

I wouldn't DQ for this.

Thank you all, I just wanted to be 100% sure that I am not a bad dad causing a DQ moment to my son :-)

Milan - I suggest you keep that agreement quiet, and ask your son not to talk about it at the event. It's not really even borderline, in my opinion - but I won't be the judge at this event. Also, if players hear about it, their misunderstanding re: bribery&wagering may lead to bad decisions on their part, or they may accuse you of things, etc.

d:^D

P.S. - fun idea!

One of the local shops that closed down a few years ago used to run a similar “bounty” system at weekend sealed events for kids–anyone 10 and under playing got a pack per match win. It's like that free teaser–the first dose of (cardboard) crack is on us, because it's worth it to make the experience enjoyable for new players and to generate the players for life.

Agree with Scott on not broadcasting this. If opponents know about this arrangement, it could lead to bribery situations. “I'll scoop to you so you get your booster pack from your dad, but if you get a fetchland I get it, ok?”