Relating to certain billiard or pool tournaments and providing penalties

This bill relates to certain billiard or pool tournaments.33. The bill prohibits a person from hosting, conducting, or otherwise facilitating a billiard or pool tournament in this state with at least tournament participants without first obtaining a license from the department of inspections and appeals. The bill authorizes the department to issue an annual license for a tournament upon receipt of an application and a fee of $100. The bill requires the application to include the name, phone number, electronic mail address, and physical address of the applicant. The bill authorizes the department to renew an annual license for a tournament upon receipt of an application and a fee of $100. The bill requires the application to include: the name, phone number, electronic mail address, and physical address of the applicant; the number of tournaments the applicant conducted the previous year; for each tournament conducted during the previous calendar year, the names of the top five finishers in each group; for each tournament conducted during the previous calendar year, the amount of prize money the applicant paid to the top five finishers in each group; and for each tournament conducted during the previous calendar year, the amount of money the applicant charged participants to participate in the tournament. The bill requires a person hosting, conducting, or otherwise facilitating a tournament to do all of the following: organize participants in the tournament into groups based on the skill level of the participants; pay out in prizes to participants during each tournament at least percent of the total entry fees; if the tournament includes participants competing as a team, register the team in the group corresponding to the group in which the participant with the highest skill level on the team would compete individually; and publish certain information on the person’s internet site related to the participants in the tournament and information related to the department. The bill prohibits a person hosting, conducting, or otherwise facilitating a tournament from charging a participant to challenge what group another participant should be included in.3.3 in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for each violation.3.33.33 could lead to suspension of the liquor control license. The bill grants the department the authority to adopt rules to administer and interpret the bill.19(10)(l)).19(10)(c)).