Is it still OK to sponsor tournaments and not charge an entry fee? Is it possible to sponsor part of the tournament and have an entry fee too? Who determines the payouts? I assume the tournament creator.

As for the gambling aspect of charging entry fees. In California it depends on a few things. What game or sport is being played and if the money collected from the entry fees is lessthan the amount paid out. If more money is paid out than collected or exactly the amount collected is paid out it is generally not considered gambling. Of course if the game is a game of chance as defined in the California Penal code, this doesn't matter and it is gambling. Which may or may not be against the law because some forms of gambling are legal in California. If less money is paid out than collected and it doesn't cover expenses then it works differently too, but it's not necessarily gambling either. Compare playing darts, pool, cribbage, or blackjack for prize money. There's all sorts of legal things that have to be decided in this crazy state that I live in to determine the legality of each. Plus, believe it or not, the location of the event! This makes a big difference in California. I know, I know, our legislature obviously has had too much time on its hands. Betting in a place that has a license to sell alcohol for onsite consumption is almost always against the law and yet some tournaments are legal even in that case. And of course some bars sell California Lottery tickets. And there's also charitible types of gambling like some Bingo games or drawings.

As for this site, even if it is illegal it be hard to imagine anyone getting busted for it. It's not like the site itself is set up for taking bets on a game or running a sportsbook. Collecting fees and paying them out to the participants in games that require more skill then luck is a far cry from being an online casino. If you take a cut in any of the tournaments Fencer, it might be construed as running a casino, though I feel that's a stretch. And if I have my own turnament and award all money collected, or if I do it like I did the only time I have so far and just put the prize myself and let all that want to join for free, that certainly should not run afoul of the law. Are any of the games offered on this site considered games of chance within California? I sincerely doubt it, but even if one is, your site is outside of California. Other states might have different laws. There's a few left that don't allow most forms of betting whether or not it's a game of skill. Wagering is wagering and they consider it gambling. How's Czech Republic view it? Anybody you know betting on the Super Bowl's outcome tomorrow? That's one of the biggest betting days of the year in the United States. You'd never know that betting on sports is illegal in almost every state from the amount of money that's being laid down on the game.