Fishing Ponds

[joeperry]

For $1 you'll win around $1k-$4k? Seems like a good deal. However, considering the number of the fish in the pond and I think the chance of it is actually low, just like in gambling. Even though the odds is low, it's not zero and there's actually chance to win it, however there's no skill or anything required in it and I think it's just pure luck, even though your great at fishing, you really can't choose which fish would take your bait and regarding your question. As long as you risk money in exchange of winning more money, can be considered as gambling so, technically it's a gambling but the difference is you'll be really having fun fishing unlike in conventional gambling where most of us are not really enjoying anymore and just after the profit.

[Asiska02]

This is similar to a fishing festival in my country. But in that case, no one is paying anything to participate, you can join willingly as long as you’re a fisherman and they join hands in groups to participate in it. Even fishermen from neighboring countries do join to participate in the festival. The person who gets to catch the largest fish is being rewarded around $7,000-$10,000 and other gifts.

The distinctly from yours a little as money is not required to participate if you’re a fisherman. In your own case, that money could be as a means for the pond owners/guards to manage the ponds well and if it’s a private ownership, they will use that to also pay tax. Despite collecting some money to stand a chance to participate, I won’t categorize this as a gambling event, there are some qualities here missing to make it not qualify to be one.

[sunsilk]

It's more of a recreational to me like going to the carnival and other amusement centers. You pay a ticket and get prizes based on how many you're able to collect.

And that's the same with the fish. But if you consider that it is gambling because your pay(ticket) serves as your bankroll.

While the results of it will vary on how you're going to go get and the assigned prizes for it. If you lose, you get nothing but enjoyment just like the usual gambling experience.

[Porfirii]

As per considering it gambling or not, it all depends on whether we use the term in a strict sense or in a broad sense, but, although this is not the kind of game we can usually think of when we talk about gambling, you risk your money for a probability to win a big prize, and that definitely falls into the definition of gambling.

I know games like that in fair, where you have to catch fishes made by plastic in little artificial ponds, but you don't get money if you win in these cases, just a teddy bear and things like that. So I'm surprised to see that the real events these games come from exist, although afaik they aren't held in my country or anywhere near.

[giammangiato]

Can this be considered gambling?

Nice image, but I don't understand how you can win the jackpot.
I consider it more of a competition than a game of chance, like when you do a go-kart race with a group of friends and you place a quota, whoever gets on the podium wins the prize.
Maybe I have a different view, but I honestly don't see it as gambling.

[Stablexcoin]

Anything that involves betting money on is actually referred to as gambling and that is not different with this fish pond activity. I don't really think I have heard of such before so it's a bit new to me, but given the circumstances it does seem to win as luck and not really a rigged sports.

[goldkingcoiner]

It seems like a fun idea but it is not gambling.

If this would be considered gambling than any game stall in any fair would be considered the same since you pay to shoot/throw/whatever and you may have the chance to win a prize if you achieve something. But you could turn this into gambling if you bet on the fish someone might or might not catch.

[JunaidAzizi]

Feel free to share your opinions, personal experiences, or any other perspectives.

It is gambling because you are paying an entry fee just to catch the big one and win the prize. Yes, it involves both luck and skill, luck will help you catch the big fish, while your skill will determine how to catch it, where to throw the hook, and how much time it takes. All these things require luck. Perhaps because of this, authorities look at it legally as, in many states, it is considered a sport. One more thing that comes to mind is that if you don't catch the big fish, you might still catch some small fish that can fulfill your entry fee, which makes it different from gambling, where you either lose completely or win big.

[Sticky Bomb]

In some countries, fishing ponds are really popular and can turn into a very profitable business. In my country, these kinds of fishing ponds are easy to find and are spread across many cities. You pay an entry fee, usually between $1 and $100, then you fish for fun and prizes. If you’re lucky enough to catch the biggest fish in the pond, you can even win a jackpot.
There have been cases where pond owners paid out jackpots of around $1000 to $4000 to lucky players.

I have some few questions...

• Do the fisherman go with the fishes they caught?
• Do they put it back in the pond or do they submit it to the pond owners?
• Does the amount they pay as entry fee determine the payout amounts?

• If it is gambling, is it mostly about luck, or does skill actually matter?
Feel free to share your opinions, personal experiences, or any other perspectives.

I would answer this with respect to the activity. Fishing is 90% about skill and experience and 10% about luck. A good fisherman can detect where a big fish could be hiding in a still water, the time it does come out in search of food and can pull off great tactics and methods to catch it including luring it out and setting good traps to hold it down.

[Marvelockg]

My reason for creating this thread is actually out of curiosity. In my country, all gambling activities are prohibited. However, fishing ponds are considered legal and not considered a form of gambling. It's clear that we have to pay a certain amount of money to win a prize that isn't guaranteed.

Sometimes, the challenge about what the society looks at to be morally right is most times associated with what the majority of people sees to be right and that's to a large extent the case with some things that's similar to the regular gambling though not exactly the same with the sports betting or casino king of gambling.

The case of a fishing pond setting as this is just like that of trading being looked at as gambling. If you critically look at it, they are both similar things and can both be considered gambling but because one is more popular or so to say looks a bit negative, it gets dragged the more as gambling than others. If any other thing fits the definition of gambling, there's no two ways about it, it's purely gambling..

[Nahl]

The fishing tournament similar like OP says is very often to helded in my place and the main rules about the tournament is not so different that the champion will be determined how many fish the angler can catch and usually the champion will gets the main prizes like money or other stuffs such as motorcycle or car but because this is related to money i have to says fishing tournament like this can be called gambling but the competition is hard because if want to be the champion the angler should have good skill and do not forget too because this is gambling then luck is required

[WhoYouCantKill]

Any activity that involves wagering your money with expectations of winning a price for me should be considered gambling, I don’t know about every other person.

And to answer the second question, fishing is barely about luck but more about skills and techniques. From where I come from, there are some set of people or should I say tribe that has fishing as their primary source of livelihood, although not many of them still fish now. But my point is that these folks are so skilled in fishing that it’s almost like they communicate with fishes. Fishing is completely about skill than luck.

[casey15]

For the fact that there is a prize pool, I would really like to see it as a competition but since there is uncertainty that you may not catch anything and your money definitely did nut yield anything, then I will say it's a gamble. But it's not just a regular type like casinos that has so much to do with luck. In this type, your skill is most important. Fishing is a skill requiring different skill set out together like knowing how to tie a fishing line to the hook, knowing what type of bait to use to lure different species of fishes, knowing the signs if there are even fishes nearby e t.c. all these are what distinguishes a good fisherman from a bad one. With the stake and raffle involved then it is definitely a gamble

[Kelward]

I consider every games that you will pay a fee to play and stand a chance of winning something bigger than your stake or fee as gambling, if you didn't pay to play and stand a chance to win I wouldn't call it gambling, it'll be regarded as reward. Some people only consider games that are played in a casino, lottery and bets as gamble, they are major gambling that are popular but it doesn't mean that other lesser forms of paying money to win bigger amounts are not gambling. People don't see games that they pay a fee to try their skills and luck to win as gambling probably because they are not in formal gambling setups, they can call it what they want but it is still gambling one way or another.

[abaeze]

Fishing with tickets can never be considered as gambling. It is considered a tradition in different countries of the world. And here, fishing skills and good fish food are the only strategy. If someone thinks that it depends on luck like gambling, then I will call him a fool because if he does not use good quality lures/food and returns home without catching a single fish at the end of the day, then he has failed. Many people may say that despite trying a lot did not catch a fish, then he may not know that there is a kind of policy inside it, and that is that the pond owner/authority puts a lot of food in the pond a few days before starting this game so that there is no shortage of fish food and the fish cannot easily eat the spear food and get into the spear.

[DPHOR]

Usually in fishing there are some techniques needed to catch enough fish and if you aren't that skillful it would be that hard for you to catch up fish. Of course anyone who doesn't know how to fish would never catch any single fish except they have the experience of fishing before you could see them catching at least some few fishes but that doesn't guaranteed they must catch a bigger fish. Catching a bigger fish depends on the fish ponds if they are already having a bigger fish inside the fish ponds..so relating this with gambling, we can say it's not that easier to win in gambling if you do not have any experience or if you do not know how to gamble before. For you to gamble and have winning it's assumed that you have spent longer time gambling and you have experience and even though you must wait on luck your experience should be driving you closer to winning but it doesn't guaranteed that you must win something very big. In terms of gambling your input determines your output and if you used a Very good amount to gamble you would definitely have a better payout.

[Fiatless]

Fishing with tickets can never be considered as gambling. It is considered a tradition in different countries of the world. And here, fishing skills and good fish food are the only strategy. If someone thinks that it depends on luck like gambling, then I will call him a fool because if he does not use good quality lures/food and returns home without catching a single fish at the end of the day, then he has failed. Many people may say that despite trying a lot did not catch a fish, then he may not know that there is a kind of policy inside it, and that is that the pond owner/authority puts a lot of food in the pond a few days before starting this game so that there is no shortage of fish food and the fish cannot easily eat the spear food and get into the spear.

What do you mean by fishing with tickets? OP is talking about paying a fee as a gate pass which qualifies you to win the prizes. The entrance fee could be seen as the initial deposit in a casino or the amount used to place bets. The process of fishing could be seen as analysing games and predicting the right outcome.

Fishing is a profession with its peculiar skills. Therefore I agree that depending solely on luck to catch fish is a waste of time.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

If your betting it by taking risk on your money to play fishing, then its also gambling, though could be entertaining, but at the same time we have to understand that its all about fun and bet, which many will see as gambling, in addition, we should also see anything that we do and stake in our bet for bet as gambling, this can come in any form of entertainment, but the purpose and intention is what we are going to look at the most, which is to entertain ourselves and bet.

[mcdouglasx]

I think many would agree that fishing is a sport, and like any sport, it can be used for betting, regardless of whether it's in a pond or if the establishment offers prizes, since it's understood to be a leisure activity; it's basically the equivalent of carnival games.

I think the prohibitive aspect of these events is that you need a license, or you can't catch protected species to avoid problems. In some places, it's even permitted during specific seasons of the year.

[lionheart78]

• Can this be considered gambling?

As I can see the this fish game have stake, risk and reward.  Stake is the entry fee, can be considered as bet the range of entry is equivalent to bet size. The possiblity of catching an x size of fish is the risk, and the submission of the caught fish determine as a reward.  So yes, this can be considered as a gambling leaning towards competition.

• If it is gambling, is it mostly about luck, or does skill actually matter?

It can be divided into two.  The possibility of catching bigger fish is on luck.  Reeling in a bigger fish without snapping the rod is a skill.  But with this kind of game, catching big fish depends mostly on luck, assuming that the bait use is all the same.