23.16.1705    AUTHORIZED SPORTS POOLS

(1) Authorized sports pools described in this rule are identified by a title to distinguish one pool type from another. The controlling factor as to the legality of a sports pool is not the pool's title but the method and manner in which the pool is conducted.

(2) The conduct of an authorized sports pool is subject to the provisions of 23-5-501 through 23-5-503, MCA, and department rules.

(3) The following sports pools are authorized under 23-5-501 through 23-5-503, MCA:

(a) A "traditional sports pool" involving a single sports event with two competitors that is conducted on a sports pool card containing a master square with 25, 50, or 100 spaces. Each space is randomly assigned a unique pair of numbers from the vertical and horizontal axis of the master square.

(i) A winner is determined by matching the numbers assigned to a space with the only or last digit of the score of each competitor in the sports event at the end of the event.

(ii) Winners may also be determined by the score at predetermined intervals during the event as long there is also a winner and prize awarded based upon the score at the end of the event. If any prize is awarded for a score attained at a predetermined interval, the value of any such prize may not exceed the value of the prize awarded for the score attained at the end of the event.

(b) A "series sports pool" conducted on a master square in conjunction with a series of sports events. The pair of numbers assigned to each space on the master square remains the same for each sports event in the series. The competitors in each sports event in the series may be individual teams or a combination of teams (e.g., a group of teams designated as home teams versus a group of teams designated as away teams). Spaces must be sold for all events in the series of sports events and may not be sold for individual events. Winners for each sports event in the series are determined:

(i) in the same manner as in a traditional sports pool; or

(ii) in the same manner as in a traditional sports pool for the first sports event in the series. For the second and subsequent events, winners are determined by combining the scores generated by each competitor in the previous events.

(c) A "multiple way sports pool" conducted on a master square with multiple sets of numbers randomly assigned to the horizontal and the vertical axes representing certain intervals of a single sports event or individual sports events in a series of events. Winners are determined in the same manner as in a traditional sports pool.

(d) A "selected point sports pool" in which the winner is the participant whose randomly assigned competitor is the first to attain a final score that matches a predetermined number (e.g., 28, 39).

(i) The number of participants in a selected point sports pool is limited to the number of competitors in an established league. Competitors are randomly assigned to the participants and may be assigned for a single week or the duration of the pool.

(ii) If declared by publicly posted rules before the sale of any chances, the pool may be designed to carry over the prize from week to week until a competitor's score matches the preselected score, or until the pool's predetermined conclusion if none of the competitor's scores match the preselected score. Subject to the limits provided in (d)(iii), participants may be required to increase their wager each week until a match occurs, or until the pool's predetermined conclusion if none of the competitor's scores match the preselected score. A competitor assigned to a participant who fails to pay the increased wager or otherwise drops out of the pool at any time before a winner is declared must be deleted from the list of competitors in the league.

(iii) If no competitor obtains the preselected score before the predetermined conclusion to the pool, the prize(s) must be awarded to the participant(s) whose assigned competitor has achieved a score closest to the preselected score, or an alternate score, as may be established by publicly posted rules before the sale of any chances.

(e) A "blackout sports pool" in which the winner is the participant who holds the randomly assigned competitor that first accumulates scores on succeeding weeks whose only or final digit corresponds to all of the numbers zero through nine. A variation of this pool tallies only those scores in which the competitor is the winner of a sports event. The number of participants is limited to the number of competitors in an established league.

(f) A "weekly sweepstakes sports pool" in which a different competitor or competitors are randomly assigned to participants for each week. The winner is determined by the most or least points scored by the competitor or competitors assigned to a participant or by the most games won by the competitors assigned to a participant. The number of participants is limited to the number of competitors in a league or to the maximum combination of competitors in a league.

(g) A "multiple competitor sports pool" in which three or more competitors simultaneously compete in a sports event or series of sports events as individuals, not as a team, such as in a car race or golf tournament. Competitors are randomly assigned to participants, and a pool winner is determined by the score or place that the competitor attains in the sports event or series of sports events.

 

History: 23-5-115, 23-5-512, MCA; IMP, 23-5-502, 23-5-503, 23-5-512, MCA; TEMP, NEW, 1991 MAR p. 1942, Eff. 10/18/91; AMD, 2012 MAR p. 402, Eff. 2/24/12; AMD, 2013 MAR p. 1606, Eff. 10/1/13; AMD, 2014 MAR p. 1505, Eff. 7/11/14; AMD, 2017 MAR p. 1893, Eff. 10/14/17; AMD, 2022 MAR p. 48, Eff. 1/15/22.