Bank account is the way to go, accept check or money order as payment only, and checks are used for payouts. Some folks might not like it, but it eliminates a lot of variables, the biggest IMO is large sums of cash going missing.
Fully disclosure that all banking fees associated to the account will be deducted from the fund as a cost of league operation.
Minor inconvenience versus guaranteed payout. I know which I would prefer. :thumbup:
*Disclaimer: I've never been a LO! ha ha.
I like this check idea as well. Its probably less work to write out 50 checks for a large league, then to count out 50 cash piles for 50 players in all different amounts.
The other option that would work in today's world is Venmo or Paypal payments. That might cause trouble with fees if the amounts get too high. And if you try to pay 50 people in one day, the Paypal police might think someone hacked your account and shut it down. It could be made a condition of joining the league that you pay your dues using the app, and collect any prizes using the app. Some older players that are not doing that yet might object, but they will get over it, and get with the times
If there is some sort of end of year league celebration dinner, where the winnings are handed out, and the LO wants the players to have cash in hand to pay for their meals, tip the wait staff, etc....
-Maybe give each player $15 in cash, besides the check or paypal payment. This would keep the total cash money low, so risk of robbery is low.
-If paying the players by paypal, then pay them a few days before the dinner. They can then pay for their dinner with their credit card or cash they already have.
-Or, don't worry about that at all, and if you don't pay the players with cash, they will find a way to pay for the dinner on their own.
All that said, a bank account or paypal still won't stop a thief LO. It will just change the excuse they use when they donkey off the money. The new excuse will be: someone hacked into my paypal. Or, someone stole my checkbook.