I think the sugar world is more or less legal.  You are FAR more likely to run into a scammer or ripoff artist than LE.

There are a variety of reasons why LE isn't wanting time on SA.

1.The hit rate for any SB is low in most cities. You would need a smoking hot female cop for the job as the SD's usually say no if the pics don't match on the date.

2. They can't control the situation. Cops get johns at hotels with other cops in the next room.  SD's pick the restaurant and then the hotel. No cop is going to risk all of that for a weak prostitution bust, alone.

3. What illegal has actually occurred?  The couple met on a website, had coffee or dinner and then decided to have sex.  The lady need some cab fare home.  Cops bust johns before sex, SD's pay after sex.  

4. I could be wrong. There are some LE's obsessed with prostitution. But assuming they find an SD dumb enough to skip the meet and just come to a hotel for sex with $$$ in an envelope, they might get a good bust. After many, many hours of time wasted.  For the normal SD first or second date, there is just too much time and too many variables for most LE to even bother.

So stick with some rules.

Try to never discuss money over email. You can always say the amount will vary depending on how well we click.

Always meet at a public place first. Take your time and have dinner and at least two drinks. (if you SB won't drink, you might have a clue. If they down three martini's they definitely aren't LE!) If the girl is a cop, you'll probably figure it out and be able to split. If you are unsure, set a second date. LE will want to get to the bust ASAP.  Most SB's are good with waiting to have sex.

Only pay after sex. I don't set a price beforehand and I have found that most girls are OK with this. I had one ask if we had an understanding. I said yes and she jumped on my dick. Female LE will not fuck you, male LE has been known to.

Most departments have tight budgets. Street Prostitution is what they focus on, then the hotel girls (often reported by hotel security, no hotel reports a couple showing up together for a fuck session). SA would be a very low bang for the bucks invested and I don't see any good busts coming from a normal SD/SB relationship. Do you ever give your wife or GF money? Is that only for sex?

I don't think the risk is entirely non-existent either. This is another reason why you should not be super-explicit in your messaging. When you say things like "adult fun time" or "we can get a room", these are things that can be widely interpreted while explicitly bargaining cash for sex is almost definitely illegal. Arrangements are technically legal as long as they are presented the right way. Real SBs will know the drill and will also not want to subject themselves to the same risk. This is why it's good to keep things implied and talked about in a somewhat roundabout way. Like with providers, the arrangement is for "companionship" only and any sex is otherwise consensual and not part of the arrangement (at least from a legal standpoint).  

The other main reason I think it's unlikely is that I don't think LE would want to waste the resources just to catch 1 SD at a time. With a Craigslist or BP sting, they could target multiple johns at once and have a lot of arrests to show for it at the end... that likely wouldn't be the case targeting SDs. Not to mention that I don't even think a Sugar case hasn't ever been tried in court so I don't think LE or prosecutors have any clue as to how an SD arrest would ultimately hold up.

When you consider the reports of all the guys on this board who have successfully navigated SA to get laid multiple times (myself included), if the risk is still too much for you, then you should stick to providers. There are no guarantees in this world... either you are prepared to except some risk or you are not. Just keep your wits and your common sense about you and you should do fine.

is one of the big reasons Sugar Dating is more difficult, more time consuming and more uncertain that hobbying. There's also no White List, no P411, in fact there's no meaningful prescreening available at all. Kinda like the real world, no? But that's also what makes it so damn rewarding when it works. Last night I had my second BCD date with my latest SB who seems to think I'm brilliant and insightful and sensitive and generally awesome and loves my daty technique and had 5 big O's hands free while I fucked her silly. We spent 3 hours together and I gave her a gift of $250 which she told me she was so grateful for. Yes, I invested untold hours in messages with her and with others who did not pan out before this sweet young honey wound up in  my bed.  But it's the kind of connection with a female that I crave, and it's mos def not gonna happen that way with a pro. So the work to make it happen and the slight risk involved seem quite reasonable to me.