So let's clarify why Konami does not do cash prizing for Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments because after all this time people still are unaware what the reason it.
Let's begin by explaining what IS NOT the reason:
- "Kazuki Takahashi wanted Yu-Gi-Oh to not have cash prizing" IS NOT the reason.
- "Konami is greedy and doesn't wanna pay players" IS NOT the reason.
- "Japanese gambling laws/giveaway laws" IS NOT the reason.
THE REASON why Konami does not pay cash to players is due to their licensing agreement with Shueisha.
Konami does not own Yu-Gi-Oh, Shueisha does and they license out the rights to Konami for them to create and run the TCG, OGC, Master Duel & Duel Links. As part of this licensing agreement Shueisha does not allow giving out cash prizing.
This was confirmed by Julia Hedberg in this Pojo forum back in 2012 https://t.co/KnpfyeK7Lz
Quote: "And I'll say it again, we cannot give out cash prizes. Our licensing agreements won't allow it. We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, remember?"
So before anyone tried to point the finger and blame Konami, they have no say in it. Re-negotiating the licensing agreement is both not easy to and could result in possible termination of it after the term. Konami has no reason to try to push for cash prizing unless the community as a whole stopped spending money on the game unless this changed, and we all know that's not happening.
So as a final point, I think selling your prizing is fine. Winners are free to do as they wish with the prizes they won and if they'd rather get an absurdly high sum of money over a sentimental item, I would not blame them for it. If you have an issue with the way tournament prizing is currently handled, direct it towards Shueisha rather than the players for selling their prizes.
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