Gaming account Contract for the operation of remote gaming activities
hereinafter the “Contract”
Between
The undertaking REEL Italy Ltd., holder of licence No. 15023 for the operation of the following types of games, skill games including tournament based card games and non-tournament based card games with remote participation with registered office at Villa Seminia 8, Sir Temi Zammit Avenue, Ta' Xbiex XBX 1011, Malta, Italian fiscal code No. 94023030128 represented by Mr Cormac Thomas O'Brien hereinafter the “Licensee”;
and
the “Customer”;
Hereinafter jointly referred to as the “Parties”;
Whereas
Now, therefore, the Parties hereto agree as follows
Article 1 - Value of the recitals
The recitals, expressly assuming the value agreed between the Parties, constitute an integral and substantial part of the Contract which nullify and replace any other remote gaming acceptance agreement previously held between the Parties.
Article 2 - Purpose of the Contract
The purpose of the Contract is the activation of a non-interest bearing gaming account, stored on the gaming account system of the Licensee exclusively in the name of the Customer, for participation in remote gaming activities.
The Licensee entitles the Customer to the remote participation in the following games, for the operation of which authorisation has been granted by ADM:
The Customer has acknowledged and expressed his/her consent to extending the selection available through the gaming account only after having logged into his/her account using his/her gaming account details (username/login and password).
Article 3 - Formalisation of the Contract
This Contract form is available in a downloadable form on the Site and is compliant with the minimum requirements of the sample agreement available on ADM website at www.adm.gov.it.
The Contract may be formalised electronically, in compliance with the criteria per Articles 52 and 53 of Legislative Decree 206 of 2005 and of the Legislative Decree 231/2007. It is agreed that the Customer shall send within 30 days and in any case before withdrawing the winnings a copy of an identification document to be sent to one of the e-mail addresses indicated in subparagraph H of the recitals.
The Contract is identified by the unique identification code notified automatically by the Licensee to the Customer on the termination of the proceeding for the opening of the gaming account and is uniquely numbered within the scope of the licensing relationship.
Should the customer wish to also confirm their acceptance and agreement to the contract, it may be downloaded by the Customer so that he/she can complete it on his/her computer, print it out, sign it and send it, along with a copy of the front and back of a valid identification document and tax identification number within 30 days and in any case before withdrawing the winnings, to the Licensee by registered letter with return receipt at the following address:
Undertaking name: REEL Italy Ltd.
Street: Villa Seminia 8, Sir Temi Zammit Avenue, Ta' Xbiex XBX 1011
Country: Malta
However please note that the Customers’ electronic acceptance is logged and submitted to ADM as audit evidence of the Customer’s agreement. Customers may feel this is satisfactory and negates the need to send a signed copy through the postal system.
Article 4 - Gaming account activation
All operations deriving from the performance of the gaming account Contract in relation to bets, wins and payouts, deposits, bonuses, and withdrawals are recorded in the gaming account.
The gaming account has an identification code (username and login) univocally associated with the Contract file number and the personal code (password). Under no circumstances will the Customer be entitled to amend his username or login. Additionally, if the Licensee believes, at its mere discretion, that the username or login selected by the Customer is offensive, against public decency, norms or morality, or in breach of third parties' rights (including the rights of the companies of the group of companies to which REEL Italy belongs as well as name and trademark rights), (the criteria requiring a change to the username or login are jointly defined herein as the "Username Change Events") the Customer is obliged, upon request from the Licensee, to select a different username or login and his gaming account will not be activated or (if already activated) will be suspended until the Customer selects a username or login that according to the Licensee does not trigger a Username Change Event.
The password is known only by the Customer, who is responsible for its safekeeping and may change it at any time. The steps for activating gaming accounts and changing passwords are published on the Site; the Customer expressly declares that he/she has read and understood them in their entirety.
The Customer, where he/she deems it appropriate, may suspend the operation of his/her gaming account following procedures published on the Site, of which the Customer expresses his/her full knowledge and understanding, having read them in their entirety.
The gaming account will only be activated after its validation by the Central System of the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli.
Gaming account activation, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Article, is strictly subject to the activation by the Customer of the instruments of self-limitation pursuant to Article 24(17)(e) of Law 88 of 7 July 2009 and to the establishment of a time-based deposit limit.
Where the Customer has physically signed the contract and sent it to the Licensee by registered letter with return receipt or via fax, withdrawal of any winnings may only be made after the Licensee has received the signed contract and accompanying documentation.
The Parties jointly and expressly agree and unconditionally accept that all use of the gaming account must comply with national and EU provisions concerning prevention of the use of the financial system for laundering money gained from criminal activities and for the financing of terrorism.
Article 5 - Gaming account management
Each gaming account offers the player the following services:
The Customer may deposit funds into his/her gaming account using any forms of payment which comply with the regulations in force, or using prepaid top-up cards, by logging into the secure area of the Site. The usage of top-up cards is allowed only by the Customer that has sent the copy of his identification document. Deposit methods are published by the Licensee on said Site.
The Customer may access his/her gaming account services on the Site by logging in using his/her login details (i.e. username and password), following the steps indicated on said Site, of which the Customer declares his/her full knowledge and understanding of, having read them in their entirety.
Gaming services are accessible according to the calendar and hours of operation of the Central System of ADM, which are published on the Site.
The Customer may place bets of an amount not exceeding the gaming credit available, without prejudice to the limits set forth in the rules of each game concerning the amounts and number of bets allowed, nor to the limits imposed by the Customer using the self-limitation instruments.
The Licensee may temporarily disable the service, with the prior authorization from ADM, without notice due to organisational needs or for system maintenance, without prejudice to the rights of the Customer.
The Licensee submits details of each gaming operation, following the procedures established in the communication protocols, to the Central System of ADM each time a bet and its outcome is registered. The registration of bets and their outcomes on the national registration, control and validation system, which is immediately registered on the gaming account, constitutes a bet receipt to all effects.
When a gaming account is opened, the Licensee submits the Customer’s encrypted personal data to ADM for tax ID validation purposes.
The Licensee registers all transactions on the gaming account immediately, in the form of debits or credits, giving details of all bets placed, winnings, returns, payments, deposits, bonuses, collections, and withdrawals immediately or within the terms prescribed by the regulations of each game. The registration of transactions and the updated gaming account balance can be viewed immediately by the player.
The Licensee allows the payment and deposit methods that are acceptable under the regulations in force, as published on the Site, of which the Customer expressly declares knowledge and understanding having read them in their entirety.
The Licensee may award the Customer bonuses for use as playing credits, giving notification thereof on the Site or notifying the Customer via electronic mail using the addresses given. Bonuses may be used for gameplay only; they may not be exchanged for cash or withdrawn along with account balance withdrawals. The withdrawal of winnings obtained from bets placed by the Customer using bonuses is subject to the rules established by the Licensee when awarding the bonus and communicated in advance to the Customer.
The Customer may withdraw amounts at any time, following the delivery of a copy of his identification document, deriving from winnings or returns credited to his/her gaming account, except in the cases of suspension described in Article 14. The Licensee allows the withdrawal methods that are acceptable under the regulations in force, as published on the Site, of which the Customer expressly declares its knowledge and understanding having read them in their entirety.
The Licensee, in compliance with ADM provisions and without any obligation to state underlying reasons, may limit maximum bet amounts, as well as the maximum number and type of acceptable bets, or request additional information to the Customer, whenever or wherever it should be deemed necessary to guarantee transaction security and correct site management for the benefit of players and/or the investigation on potential breaches or unlawful or unfair conduct performed by the Customer.
Remote bets may not be cancelled, except where expressly specified in the individual game rules.
By logging into the Site, the Customer may view his/her updated account balance in real time, along with the transactions carried out within the last thirty days. Earlier transactions may be requested by the Customer from the Licensee.
The Customer may also obtain analytical details on all bets whose outcome is either confirmed or still unconfirmed, which have been placed within the last thirty days. Analytical details of earlier bets may be requested by the Customer from the Licensee.
Gaming accounts and transactions may only be viewed by the Customer and/or the Licensee for any necessary managerial transactions and in compliance with the Privacy Policy, as indicated in the Article entitled Data protection and data processing, and all applicable regulations governing the protection of personal data.
Each page of the Site, accessible after logging in, particularly the pages showing the gaming account balance and transactions as well as details of bets placed, indicates: the licence number of Licensee with which the game account was opened; the Licensee undertaking name; the gaming account number; and the Customer’s tax identification number. These details can also be printed from such pages. The licence number and undertaking name of the Licensee are indicated on each page of the Site and can be viewed without logging in.
The Licensee keeps an analytical record of each Customer’s gaming account transactions and of all bets placed for a period of ten years in compliance with the data retention period defined in the Privacy Policy. This information is available to the Customer, who may request it from the Licensee following the steps published on the Site, of which the Customer expressly declares knowledge and understanding thereof, having read them in their entirety.
Any disputes in relation to account statements and analytical records of bets placed must be submitted in writing to the Licensee’s office or via email or certified email, to the addresses indicated in subparagraph H of the recitals.
The Licensee may deduct from the gaming account of the Customer any amount that has been subject to a charge back. Likewise if a bet has been either mistakenly accepted after the expiry of the deadline for the acceptance of the bets or has not been validated by the national totalizator through the issue of the receipt of participation, the bet shall not be considered placed and the bet amount refunded to the Customer. Finally, if a bet had been incorrectly judged as a winning bet according to the outcome of the bet erroneously provided either by the national totalizator or by the Licensee or due to a malfunctioning and then, according to the actual outcome of the event, it was a losing bet, the winning incorrectly awarded will be deducted from the gaming account of the Customer.
Article 6 - Placement of bets
The Licensee shall inform the Customer of the minimum and maximum individual bet limits as well as the maximum amount of winnings permitted by the regulations in force, and undertakes to promptly communicate any updates to such amounts established by ADM procedures.
Article 7 - Information
The gaming standards and regulations in force, instructions for placing bets, calendar and hours of gaming operation, betting schedules, and any other information related to bets - such as events on which bets may be placed, odds, event outcomes, etc. - or to other games, are published on the Licensee Site.
The Licensee ensures all information is constantly updated in accordance with the official relevant entities and with the ADM central system.
Article 8 - Communications in regard to player protection
The Licensee Site displays player protection information focusing on responsible gaming, health risks, and exclusion of minors, along with any communications issued by ADM.
In accordance with the principles of transparency and correctness, the Licensee notifies the Customer of the use of the self-exclusion and self-limitation measures pursuant to the regulations in force, ensuring that the Customer is only granted access to games after having acknowledged such regulations made available through his/her gaming account.
Article 9 - Service costs
The crediting and debiting of funds to and from the Customer’s gaming account is free. The Customer may also view his/her account balance, transactions and a breakdown of all bets placed for free.
Accounts are non-interest bearing for the Customer.
Article 10 - Customer obligations and responsibilities
The Customer is responsible for ensuring the correctness and completeness of all information and declarations submitted to the Licensee at signing and undertakes to promptly notify the Licensee of any changes.
The communication of incorrect or incomplete information or the lack of delivery of the valid and legible identification document and any other documentation that the Licensee may request in accordance with Article 5.13 within 30 days implies the suspension of gaming account operations until the Licensee receives the necessary additions or rectifications and in any case up to a maximum period of sixty days on whose expiry the Contract shall be considered terminated. The remaining funds will be returned to the player only following the delivery of his identification document.
The Customer is the exclusive owner of the gaming account, which may not be transferred to nor used by third parties. The Customer is solely responsible for any use whatsoever of his/her gaming account by third parties. Any use whatsoever of the gaming account by third parties implies that the Customer assumes full responsibility in relation to the debiting of any amounts to the account.
If the Customer allows the usage of his/her gaming account by third parties, this Contract shall be terminated and any outstanding balance returned to the Customer following the delivery of a valid identification document.
The Customer uses the gaming account adopting a proper conduct towards players and towards the Licensee as well as towards applicable laws. In particular, the Customer expressly declares to have fully reviewed and understood:
(a) the policy and criteria adopted by the Licensee for identification of frauds, collusions, and the usage of gaming accounts by persons different from the Customer himself;
(b) the intent to limit this conducts through policies dissuasive of the player performed with the potential publication in a dedicated section of the Site of the nickname of the fraudulent player and providing to the other operators the data referring to him.
For this purpose, the Customer undertakes not to participate in or be connected with any form of collusion, cheating or fraudulent practice, or otherwise any other criminal or unlawful activity, during the performance of any activity connected directly or indirectly to this Contract. In particular, the Customer cannot:
(a) collude with other customers of the Licensee to alter, or to try to alter, the results of the games performed through the Site or, in any other way, cannot adopt practices in breach of applicable laws, of the terms of this Contract, of the End User License Agreement published on the Site and of all the terms regulating the games performed through the Site that the Customer declares to have read and understood;
(b) adopt any conduct and use any software, non-software-based database or profile (including websites and subscription services) and any other program aimed at providing an unfair advantage to players of the games performed through the Site. For the purposes of this Article 10.6 (b) an "unfair advantage" shall include without limitation any instance in which a Customer of the Licensee accesses or compiles information on other customers beyond that which the customer has personally observed through the Customer's own game play as well as the exploitation of a fault, loophole or error in the Licensee’s or any third party's software used by the Customer in connection with the games and services offered on the Site, the use of automated players ('bots');
(c) undertake fraudulent practices or criminal activities. For the purposes of this Article 10, a "fraudulent practice" shall include any fraudulent activity engaged in by the Customer or by any person acting on the Customer's behalf or in collusion with the Customer, and shall include, without limitation: (i) fraudulent charge-backs and rake-back activity; (ii) the use by the Customer or any other person who was participating in the same game as the Customer at any time, of a stolen, cloned or otherwise unauthorized credit or debit card, as a source of funds; (iii) the collusion by the Customer with others in order to gain an unfair advantage (including through bonus schemes or similar incentives offered by the licensee ); (iv) any attempt to register false or misleading account information; (v) any actual or attempted act by the Customer which may be potentially deemed to be illegal in Italy, made in bad faith, or intended to defraud the Licensee and/or circumvent any contractual or legal restrictions, regardless of whether such act or attempted act actually causes any damage or harm to the licensee;
(d) perform any fraudulent conduct aimed at gaining an advantage from bonuses or other promotions;
(e) use any artificial intelligence program, including without limitation, the so called "robots", aimed at automatically performing the games provided through the Site. All actions taken in relation to the games provided through the Site must be executed personally by the Customer through the Site; or
(f) perform the so called "chip-dumping" and any practice in which the Customer intentionally loses a game, or part of it, in order to deliberately allow the game to be won by another customer of the Site.
If the Licensee becomes aware that the Customer
(a) has performed frauds or collusions and/or has made available his gaming account to third parties or has performed any of the activities mentioned in article 10, paragraph 5 above;
(b) has fraudulently "charged back" or denied any of the deposits or transactions that he made on his gaming account;
(c) has either knowingly or negligently introduced viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful in the Site or attempted to gain unauthorised access to the Site, including the circumstances when the Customer attempted to gain unauthorised access to the gaming account of other customers of the Site,
the Licensee can suspend the Contract, informing ADM as well as any other competent authority of the occurrence, up to the verification of the events also by the competent authorities; if following the verification of the events, the Licensee deems that the Customer has performed any of the conducts of this article 10, paragraph 6, the Contract is automatically terminated and the termination is immediately notified to ADM. Against the decisions of the Licensee, the Customer is entitled to file a complaint to the commission for the transparency of games at the Agenzia dei Monopoli e delle Dogane, via della Luce, 34/bis - 00153 Rome, Italy of article 2(4) b) of the Presidential Decree 15 December 2003 No. 385. The Customer in case of favourable decision is entitled to receive the refund prescribed by the card of services.
The Licensee is hereby held harmless from all liability related to any damages suffered by the Customer and/or by third parties as a result of third-party use of the gaming account, or the fraudulent use of the account by the Customer.
Article 11 - Deposits and withdrawals
The Licensee may communicate account deposits to the Customer electronically or by telephone using the computer system or the contact centre service of the Licensee.
The Licensee may allow the Customer to make withdrawals through the banking or postal network or through the tools compliant with applicable laws.
Article 12 - Licensee obligations and responsibilities
In accordance with the provisions of recital A, in order to ensure correct gaming activity and gaming account management, the Licensee undertakes to:
The Licensee is also responsible for:
Article 13 - Validity and duration
This Contract is valid from the date of signing until the expiration of the licence.
Both parties may opt to withdraw from the Contract, following the procedures indicated in Article 15 below.
Article 14 - Suspension of execution of Contract
The Licensee, at its own discretion or at the request of ADM or of the judicial authority, may suspend the execution of the Contract at any time, communicating its reasons to the Customer, for no more than one hundred and eighty consecutive days where it is deemed necessary to ensure the transparency, security, and correct performance of the service and its management, including for reasons of force majeure.
Article 15 - Withdrawal
Both parties are entitled to withdraw from the Contract.
Repealing the provisions of Article 55(2)(f) of Legislative Decree 206 of 6 September 2005 - Consumer Code, the Customer is granted the right to withdraw from the Contract, without penalty and without stating reasons, within a period of ten days from the date of delivery of the statement through registered letter with return receipt, save for what prescribed by article 64 (2) of the Legislative Decree 6 September 2005 No. 206, the Consumers' Code.
The Licensee can withdraw from the Contract through the delivery of a written notice either via registered letter with return receipt or via fax or through the delivery of an email to be sent to the addresses of the Customer at least fifteen days prior to the date of efficacy of the termination. The Customer may withdraw from the Contract at any time and without notice by sending a written notification by registered letter with return receipt to the registered address of the Licensee. The withdrawal is effective from the receipt of the notification by the Licensee and is not effective in relation to the activities already performed and in progress.
The Customer may also withdraw from the Contract by sending an e-mail notification of its intention to the address support@pokerstars.it, support@pokerstarscasino.it or support@pokerstarssports.it; in this case, the withdrawal shall take effect from the moment of delivery of the message.
Where a Customer exercises his/her right of withdrawal from the Contract or the Contract is terminated for any reason in compliance with the terms of this Contract, the Licensee may not enter into a new contract with the same Customer for at least 15 days following the date of withdrawal or termination and the Licensee can decide not to enter into a new contract with the Customer for a period of time determined at his discretion, including an indefinite period of time.
Article 16 - Termination of Contract
This Contract will be considered terminated if the licence should be revoked or confiscated by the Public Authority.
Termination of the Contract must be communicated to the Customer via email, giving clear details of the forms of exercising the right of collection per Article 17.
Article 17 - Gaming account closure
The gaming account will be closed in the event of failure to perform contractual obligations, notwithstanding the Customer’s right to collect any available funds, following the issue of a receipt and in accordance with the collection procedures accepted by the regulations in force (including the anti-money laundering obligations) and published on the Site, of which the Customer declares his/her full knowledge and understanding having read them in their entirety.
If three years should elapse without the transactions being carried out, the gaming account shall be considered closed and any remaining funds will be transferred to the Treasury.
Article 18 - Data protection and data processing
With respect to any data processing and data protection matters, Customers are advised to refer to the Privacy Policy available here.
Article 19 - Contractual additions and amendments
Any amendments to this Contract that have been authorised by ADM must be notified via email and either be executed in writing by the Licensee and the Customer or be accepted by the Customer electronically in compliance with the terms of this article 19.
In case of acceptance in writing of the amendments to the Contract, acceptance of proposed written amendments must be sent to the Licensee by registered letter with return receipt, via fax, or by e-mail and shall be considered accepted upon receipt.
Article 20 - Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This Contract is governed and interpreted in accordance with Italian law.
Any disputes that may arise in relation to the interpretation, execution, efficacy or validity of this proposal or the relative gaming Contract shall be settled by the Court with jurisdiction, in compliance with Article 63 of the Legislative Decree 6 September 2005 No. 206 - Consumer Code, which requires the unquestionable territorial jurisdiction of the place of residence or domicile of the consumer, if located within Italy.
In any case the competent court is in Italy.
Without prejudice to the right of the Customer to take action before the competent court, in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation 524/2013/EC, the Customer is hereby informed that the European Commission has created an Online Dispute Resolution Platform where the customer can log his complaint. As part of this process the Customer will be requested to provide an email address for the Licensee, kindly note that the applicable email address to be provided is support@pokerstars.it, support@pokerstarscasino.it or support@pokerstarssports.it.
Article 21 - Miscellaneous
The following Articles will survive to the termination of this Contract and will remain effective also in relation to gaming accounts opened in the future by the Customer on the Site and future contracts for the operation of remote gaming activities entered between the Licensee and the Customer: 4.2 (Gaming account activation) and 20 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction).
In accordance with Articles 1341 and 1342 of the Italian Civil Code, the Customer declares their express acknowledgement and acceptance of the clauses contained in the following Articles:
- Article 4 - Gaming account activation
- Article 5 - Gaming account management
- Article 7 - Information
- Article 10 - Customer obligations and responsibilities
- Article 12 - Licensee obligations and responsibilities
- Article 14 - Suspension of the execution of Contract
- Article 15 - Withdrawal
- Article 17 - Gaming account closure
- Article 19 - Contractual additions and amendments
- Article 20 - Governing Law and Jurisdiction