The Wild West Side of Cornhole in Today's Show and Tell World

The Evolution of Cornhole

There is no denying that cornhole has its roots in the backyard; that's part of the appeal.  Bags, beers, and everyone pitches in $5.  While I have never been a fan of pooling and redistributing money, no real harm and no foul.  But, that was years ago when you were much more likely to pitch bags with buds than join an organized event.  Fast forward to the end of this decade, and it's easy to find cornhole, but difficult to even find a $5 tournament.  Cornhole has evolved, the skill levels have been raised, and supplementary side contests have created a culture where more money comes in and subsequently goes out.  Each week, tournament or league directors engage in activities that some states including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may deem to be unlawful.  Whether it's $5 or $500, That makes me a bit uncomfortable.

What happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet! 

In parallel to the cornhole boom, technology and social media platforms have continued to grow exponentially.  Facebook, the cornhole world's platform of choice, now has messaging, groups, and of course, live streaming.  This has been a great tool for we cornhole fanatics to promote our events or litter the Internet with evidence of gaming and gambling.  Take your pick.  I am amazed that so many local organizations not only advertise the raffle-based Money Shot pots on social media, but actually stream the weekly attempts at big money live.  Are most just ignorant to the laws of the Commonwealth?  Or do we have a bunch of Colonel Jessup tournament directors who believe they are above the law and don't care who knows about it?  It may be a little bit of both.  However, I think it mainly comes down to directors just trying to give players what they want.  Hey, everybody is doing it!  That argument will work, until it doesn't.

Ghost Cornhole

Just when I think things can't be more self-incriminating on facebook than the bag raffles and the Money Shot, in floats a ghost and says, "hold my sheet!"  Of course, I am referring to the very popular Ghost Cornhole Tournaments that the organizers have invested lots of time and effort into.  To be honest, I really like the concept and would love to incorporate some of the permutations into Boston Cornhole events.  A very good way to compare apples to oranges, but to my knowledge, there's no way to decouple the innovative format from self-wagering and pooling of money.  And as Ghost Cornhole matches must be streamed on facebook live, the social media platform has evolved into a required, integral part of the competition, much more than just a broadcaster of information.

The Perfect Storm

Don't panic as I still do not think anyone really gives a shit about cornhole.  But, lawmakers that sit on my side of the aisle have made Mark Zuckerberg and facebook public enemy number one.  At a visit to Capitol Hill a few months back, the facebook head honcho was grilled on redlining, human rights, fake news, etc.  Essentially, democrats want facebook to take responsibility and police the content that appears on its site.  And in reality, that's not a simple task and one that facebook has struggled to do well.  If it were easy, group pages such as Ghost Cornhole that provide a portal for competitors anywhere in the world to wager on themselves without regulations, would be promptly dismantled.  However, that has not happened and I would bet guess that PayPal would be the first to raise the red flag.  While cornhole may still be well under the radar, I am sure Capitol Hill would relish the opportunity to accuse facebook of facilitating gambling.  If the Gladiator Glove don't fit, you have still provided hundreds of self-incriminating videos!

Game of Skill or Game of Chance?

I often hear that playing cornhole for money is not gambling because it's a game of skill.  It's certainly a game of skill, I mean, have you seen me play?  But, chance definitely dominates the Money Shot!  How about a blind draw where your partner is first decided by chance...hmm, I don't know.  I believe DraftKings had to fight this battle and according to the disclaimer on their website, their contests are not gambling.  Of course, it also states that they are regulated at the state and federal levels.  After paying millions of dollars in fines to Massachusetts and New York, I wonder if the founders are home wishing they just created a facebook group??

Completely independent of skill are laws against the pooling and redistributing of money.  Cash prizes are ok, but it gets a bit dicey when they are directly dependent on entry fees.  Therefore, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would certainly frown against the ever popular percentage payouts.  But, hey, I just play a lawyer when I am blogging.  If there are any cornhole attorneys out there, let's hear what you got!

Why do I care?

As cornhole grows in the direction we all want it to go, this issue of legality and the exchange of money must be addressed sooner or later with regulatory groups involved.  Do we have hotel ballrooms transforming into casinos for a day or is there really nothing to see here?  Perhaps the alphabet organizations have lawyers working on this, but I have never seen any guidance flowed down to the regions.  It would be hypocritical for me to tell anyone not to do what we all have been doing.  However, this is my "Beware the Ides of March" post and would encourage some discretion with what is posted to social media.