Goblins

Naturally it is OOG, [strike]wet blanket[/strike] Matt.  I believe if all the funds are given out, it is not illegal, witness the proliferation of March Madness pools, fantasy football/baseball leagues, and superbowl pools.
Modification - it is not illegal to smoke Cuban cigars, however importing them to the USA is.  Go figure.

What if we wagered in bacon?  I put a half pound on Brik!

Bacon is acceptable.  Will you cook it or does the wager revert to thw winner to prepare?   Odds?

I am hurt by the lack of confidence...I guess one bases my combat ability on what they have seen from my mage.

Norm B

The phrase that caused my alarm was "book is now being made". When you make a book, you generally intend to profit from it by taking opposing wagers at odds that (if you're doing it right) guarantee that there's some money left over for you once you've paid out all winning bets.

A pool is fine, but there shouldn't be odds offered in a pool since that could lead to either a surplus or deficit once the contest is decided - unless you get lucky and receive exactly the correct balance of wagers on those odds.

A little bird happened to mention to me that technically wagering anything of value is gambling, and bacon is most certainly something of value! As an alternative, I suggest that everyone bring a half-pound of bacon to the match, which we will simply cook and eat, and then, sated on bacon and bloodsport, we'll forget all about gambling...

So yeah... um...

How bout those Goblins?