By
Dick Famous |
Published
Dec 11 2007, 05:58 PM
Internet poker players have a lot to cope with these days. First, there is the battle against the omnipresent cheating scams. Then, there is the US government’s current assault on online gaming in general via the ban on money transfers. If those things aren’t enough to chill you from playing poker online, let’s take a look at the terms under which players must agree to play!
If you are like most people, when the terms and conditions (T&C) for a software product come up on your computer screen, you just click on whatever version of “yes” they present to you and move on. For online poker players, it is no different. After a few conversations and interactions with other players online, it occurred to me that most people have very little idea just how much authority they grant to the gaming sites at which they play and place their money.
The typical T&C that poker players sign up to are outrageously one-sided and unfair in my opinion. We would never accept these terms from anyone else handling our money, but we do so from these guys. Why? Well, mostly it is because players do not take the time to understand them, and because together, the site providers form a united front. The various companies agree to non-compete on terms and only compete in other areas. The consumer has nowhere to go. Your choices are to play or not to play.
All of this is fair to a large degree, because playing poker is not a necessity. Sites have the right to create unreasonable terms. Players, on the other hand, have the right to understand the terms and start fighting against them. The purpose of this article is to educate players on the dangers in the T&C to which they agree and to encourage players to complain and grumble about them—loudly and frequently.
For the purposes of the notes below, I am summarizing the actual T&C from a site on which I have a small amount of cash in play. I have taken care to not reveal the name of the site, because I do not want to target them. My point is that the site name is irrelevant because most share the most disagreeable terms in one way of another—modified just enough for the lawyers to get paid. I will provide the site name for anyone who asks by email.
I am not a lawyer, but the T&C are, for the most part, written in plain language—perhaps the only comfort we can share. I feel confident in my interpretations of the wording.
Summary of T&C you probably have not read:
1) You agree that if you violate any part of the T&C, the site can close your account and take all your money. This applies to ALL parts of the T&C without regard for how small the infraction. Keep that in mind when you are reading this.
2) You agree to provide update your account information as necessary to keep it current. That means if you fail to keep you email current, they may suspend your account and use it for executive bonuses.
3) Rules of games are defined by the site and can vary from one site to another or between online and live play. The rules are not defined by any rule book you have in your bookshelf or by how it is done at the Rio or anywhere else. You don’t like it? Go play somewhere else.
4) The games are for entertainment only. You agree that you are only playing for your own personal enjoyment and non-professional use. Professional use is prohibited. This fact would be a surprise to many online professionals and serious amateurs.
5) If you are found to be under 18-years old, they can take your money.
6) You are responsible to know if your local area allows you to play or not. If it is illegal where you live, then you are violating the T&C. Imagine your local District Attorney charges you with illegal gambling and demands the money be turned over for evidence. Guess what? You violated the T&C, and the site will take your money and could give it to the court or just take it.
7) You are not allowed to send any information concerning anyone’s play (including yours) to anyone. Therefore, poker trackers and databases not getting explicit permission from the site to gather information are violations.
8) The site is allowed to look at your computer to see any programs that are running and even take screen shots in real time to verify you are not violating the T&C. Ever hear your hard drive start spinning up during game for apparently no reason? Well, now you know why.
9) You, on the other hand, are not allowed to take screen shots and send them to anyone or post them online as it is a violation of trademark and copyright terms.
10) The site reserves the right to reclaim any bonus amounts if you do not use them within the period of time specified. And they can change that time when they see fit.
11) Cash out fees can change at any time.
12) Payments can be made by any manner the site decides at THEIR discretion.
13) Time to pay out can be delayed by the site by any time the site feels is reasonable for security reviews. Security review procedures can be changed in real time at the site’s discretion.
14) Security reviews have no time limits, and may take as long as the site wants them to take. If you fail to comply with any security request, the site can void your account. The site can take your account balance if you refuse to sign any affidavits, releases of liability, or publicity authorizations. At any time, for no reason or any reason, the site is saying you will agree to sign a release of liability that you have never seen. If you don’t sign they can take your money. They are getting you to agree to terms of anything they write in some future agreement. Would you accept these terms from your bank?
15) Here is a nice catch-all: Poker sites can cancel your account for any justifiable reason. Do they have to give you notice? Nope. How about an appeal process? Sorry. Justifiable? Justifiable to whom?
16) If you don’t sign-in every 180 days or so, they can close your account and take your money. Glad my bank can’t do that with my savings account.
17) The TOP TEN infractions are those that are special in the sense that if you do them at one site, you can be penalized at another site. The site, using unfettered discretion, can void any winnings and confiscate your balance if you do any of these things:
i. Maintain multiple accounts;
ii. Registration name does not match your credit card;
iii. You start a promotion and withdraw early;
iv. Give bad registration information;
v. Not old enough where you live;
vi. You play from a jurisdiction where play is illegal;
vii. You charge back or deny any deposits that you make;
viii. You attempt to cheat;
ix. You do not comply with any of the terms and conditions;
DRUM ROLL PLEASE:
x. If the site becomes aware that you violated any of 1 to 9 above at another gaming site.
18) Oh, by the way, you also agree you can’t sue them—anywhere, or for any amount of damages. Even if you tried, the laws of a foreign land apply. And that may not be where you think it is. For example, the operations may be a Tribal operation in Canada, but they lay claim to the Laws of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles when you want to sue them. It’s a sweet deal for them--not so much for you.
19) You not only agree to these terms but any future modifications that come from time to time that you must discover by reading them yourself each time you play. No worries because they are only 30 pages long. When my bank changes terms, they must notify me each time and allow me an opportunity to close my account. This practice is too common in online commerce.
END OF BORING STUFF: Let me finish by admitting that I have money deposited at online poker sites. However, I would never keep more money deposited online than I would want to be taken unfairly and without due process. My advice to you, the reader, is to follow my lead and keep your balances low.
Additionally, I understand that poker sites maintain a separation from what they can legally do and what they can reasonably do without losing their client base. After all, the online poker community is very vocal and spreads information quickly. If poker sites started screwing around with player’s money left and right, they would start losing clients.
Still, do you want to sign up for these T&C and trust poker sites to act ethically with your money? And how does the site become aware of your failure to comply? There are no poker police are there? Where is the Due Process? Where is the appeal process?
The only thing the gaming sites will respond to is decreased revenue. That’s all. So when you terminate an account for any reason, always state the T&C as the main cause. Complain about these terms frequently online in forums and when corresponding with the sites. All of this is necessary as we move forward toward regulation of online poker—a necessary step in legalizing online poker in the United States.
It’s a long battle, but it has to start somewhere. I am drawing the starting line HERE.
--Dick Famous
richard@dickfamous.com
“It seems Dick is very popular these days.”