Are kids/children allowed to collect money if they were to place high enough to win it and not lose their amateur status?
Yes, and there is no “amateur status.” Kids no more than 10 have won decent amounts before.
Ok just checking. When I was growing up, I was one of the top ranked youth bowlers in the state and I could not collect money in tournaments or else it would void my amateur status which in turn makes you ineligible for scholarships. So just double checking before some kid’s life gets ruined by accident.
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Haha. Yeah. The difference between bowling and pinball is there are no professionals in pinball. And the ball is a lot smaller.
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Sometimes you use two balls at once.
Is that not the case in bowling…? Oh boy have I been doing it wrong.
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I hate to break it to ya, but this isn’t even a bowling forum
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I think the pinball community would love to have this problem if some day competitive pinball was widespread enough for colleges to give scholarships for it 
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You never know. With Cornhole now being played on the collegiate level, anything is possible.
??? Playing it at college football tailgates counts as “on the collegiate level?” 
I had issues with college grants 7-8 years ago when claiming income for myself over a threshold that I accidentally met by working nights and holidays, and that annual threshold was below the top payouts for some recent tournaments that I’m aware of.
I ended up paying 3-4x the amount that I made over the cap out of pocket to make up for the lost financial aid. YMMV but definitely figure out what restrictions there are on aid you or your kids expect to apply for before they earn anything.
Is prize money considered income elsewhere? I know in Canada it isn’t because it’s considered a “gift”…unless you’re employed as a professional pinball player.
The money I won at Pinburgh certainly wasn’t treated as a gift from Replay Foundation in the USA’s IRS eyes.
It’s considered “Other Income.”
Ouch.
I’ll take “Ouch” every year
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Can confirm, and you also get the joy of filing PA state taxes since the money was earned there. Hopefully they won’t “lose” your return like they did mine and come calling for back taxes.
Yeah don’t work that way in the states. All income that needs to be included with your personal income tax return.