TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. THE GAME:
Virtualpunter competition 2008/2009 (the "Game") will run on the virtualpunter website (www.virtualpunter.com) from 8th August 2008, when it opens for registration, to the completion of the final Eligible Fixture, currently scheduled for 27th May 2009. Eligible Fixtures are those played in the English Barclays Premier League, English Coca Cola Championship, English Coca Cola League One, English Coca Cola League Two, Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League, Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division, Irn-Bru Scottish League Second Division and Irn-Bru Scottish League Third Division during the 2008/2009 season only starting with the first Eligible Fixture on 9th August 2008 and ending with the completion of the final Eligible Fixture on 27th May 2009. FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions League and UEFA Cup are not Eligible Fixtures. Matches played during the opening weekend of the Scottish Division One League (2nd to 3rd August 2008) are not Eligible Fixtures.
2. ENTRY GENERAL:
Entry to the Game is £5 per entrant. Entrants may also incur their own time and costs (if any) of accessing the website. The Game is only open to those aged 18 years or over at the time of registration and is open to any eligible person residing in a country where the Game is not prohibited or otherwise unlawful. Failure to observe these requirements will mean that any potential winning entry is invalid and all winnings will be forfeited. Employees of the Promoter, its associated, affiliated and subsidiary companies, and their families, agents and any person connected with the Game are excluded from entry. Entrants may enter as many times as they wish. Entries in excess of this will be void and not eligible to win a prize but will still be charged for.
3. ENTRY DATES:
The Game opens for entries on 6th August 2008. To guarantee maximum points-scoring and prize-winning potential, valid confirmed entries must be received by the scheduled start of the first Eligible Fixture on 9th August 2008. Entrants are responsible for verifying the exact kick-off time for the first Eligible Fixture on August 9th 2008 and ensuring their entries are made in time. Entries may be made after this time until the closing date on midnight 15th May 2009. Entries made during the Game will commence from the next Eligible Fixture after entry has been validly submitted.
4. ENTRY ROUTE:
Entries to the Game may only be made via the virtualpunter website at www.virtualpunter.com . Entrants will be required to register and include a user id (entrant's email address) and enter a password which will be required for future logins. Entrants are advised to keep their login details safe and these should not be disclosed to any other person.
5. PAYMENT FOR ENTRY:
Payment of £5 per entry may be made with a valid credit / debit card via our secure payment site.
6. ACCEPTANCE:
Entries correctly submitted via the website and registration page and for which the £5 entry fee has been successfully transacted will result in an email acceptance message being sent to the address supplied during registration (provided that the entrant has supplied the correct address). Entrants should be aware that the ISP or server from which they have entered the Game may have 'firewalls' prohibiting receipt of such confirmation emails. Entry into the Game is an entrant's acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Game. The Promoter will not be liable for any failure of receipt of entries.
7. RUNNING YOUR ACCOUNT:
Entrants will receive a notional ‘betting bank’ or ‘play money’ of £500 with which to bet on the eligible fixtures of the Game. The odds for the fixtures are fixed by virtualpunter.com and are taken from a cross-section of commercial bookmakers. Once any entry has been accepted, the entrant uses his judgement to bet on the fixtures offered up and will add to/lose from his notional betting bank based on the result of the real life football results. Should the entrants betting bank drop below £50, the entrant may re-buy £500 play monies at a cost of £4 per re-buy.
8. ACCOUNT NAME:
Entrants must choose a name for each account entered up to 20 characters long. The Promoter reserves the right to reject any account name that in its sole judgment is inappropriate or offensive. In such a case, the Promoter reserves the right to rename the account in the surname of the entrant or to apply such other name as the Promoter deems appropriate.
9. MINI LEAGUES:
Entrants may also form or enter Mini Leagues in which they may additionally play in a league against friends, families and colleagues. Mini Leagues must have a minimum of five accounts participating to be eligible and an entrant may not have more than one account in any Mini League. There is no maximum number of accounts in a Mini League but a different entrant must have entered each account. Entrants to a Mini League will participate for the Mini League prizes and will also be eligible for any other Game prize. Mini Leagues can only be created after an account has been successfully registered. To create a Mini League, entrants should click the Start Mini League button after they have successfully registered their account in the Game. Entrants must provide a name for the Mini League in accordance with the same conditions set out for account names in clause 8 and once the Mini League has been created, a unique PIN for the Mini League will be provided and this, along with the Mini League name, in exactly the format that it was entered should be passed to friends, family and colleagues to enable them to join the Mini League. Entrants can use the Send to a Friend facility on the Game site to advise friends, family and colleagues of their Mini League details.
10. LEADER BOARDS:
Leader boards for the Main Game and Mini Leagues will be updated on the Game site on a regular basis throughout the Game including after any Eligible Fixtures have been played. Results will be updated on the Game site within 48 hours of the fixture being concluded. Entrants will also be able to view their betting bank balances, Mini League position and position on the leaderboards on the Game site..
11. PRIZES:
End of Game Prize: The Entrant who has the most money in their betting bank after completion of the final Eligible Fixture will win £20,000. The entrant who has the second largest amount in their betting bank will win £3,500 and the entrant who has the third largest amount will win £1,500. If two or more accounts share a place, the account that has had the largest amount of winning bets will win the prize. There will also be 10 No. monthly prizes of £100 which will be awarded to the account showing the largest increase in that particular calendar month excluding re-buys.
Mini Leagues: No prizes are offered to the winners of individual Mini Leagues
12. CONTACTING WINNERS:
Final positions in the Game will be announced on the Game site within seven days of the completion of the final Eligible Fixture of the season following which the winners will be notified in accordance with clause 13.
13. AWARDING PRIZES:
Prize winners will be personally notified via the contact details provided at registration. The prizes will be awarded to the registered winners only. All prizes will be paid by cheque. No alternative prizes are available and in the event that a prize winner cannot be contacted within 3 months of the final Eligible Fixture the prize will be forfeited. Prize winners agree to participate in such publicity as may be required by the Promoter, which may include photographs and the inclusion of their names and geographic area of residence in any editorial publicity. The prizes set out in these terms and conditions are available at the date of publication. If events occur that render the Game itself or the awarding of these prizes impossible due to circumstance beyond the control of the Promoter, then the Promoter may make variations to these prizes at its sole discretion.
14. LIABILITY:
In respect of the operation of the Game and interpretation of these Terms and Conditions, the Promoter's decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into unless an Entrant complies with the Complaints Procedure (see clause 17). The Promoter and its subsidiary, associated and affiliated companies do not accept liability for lost, corrupted, damaged, unclear, delayed or otherwise invalid entries. Proof of sending or transmission of an entry shall not be proof of receipt or acceptance of an entry. The Promoter and its subsidiary, associated and affiliated companies do not accept liability for technical, hardware or software failures of any kind or lost or unavailable network conditions which may limit or prohibit the opportunity to participate in the Game. The Promoter reserves the right to amend and/or waive these Terms and Conditions or any part thereof at any time and entrants agree that no liability shall attach to the Promoter as a result thereof, and that the exercise of such discretion shall not result in any compensation or payment being payable or paid to any entrant. It is a condition of entry of the Game that these Terms and Conditions and the rules and the latest promotional and explanatory copy which form part of these Terms and Conditions are accepted as binding and that the entrant agrees to abide by these Terms and Conditions. If there is any inconsistency between these Terms and Conditions and any other promotional or explanatory copy, these Terms and Conditions shall prevail. Except for death or personal injury caused by their negligent acts or omissions, the Promoter will only be liable to any entrant for any loss or damage which is a responsibly foreseeable consequence of a breach by the Promoter of these Terms and Conditions. The Promoter will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by it, its employees or agents in circumstances where (i) they are not at fault for errors or inaccuracies, or (ii) the loss or damage is not foreseeable to the entrant and the Promoter, or (iii) the loss or damage is a business loss or the losses were caused in the course of business, including losses relating to lost data, lost profits or business interruption.
15. COPYRIGHT:
Intellectual Property Rights means trade marks, service marks, trade names, design rights, domain names, copyright and moral rights, patents and any other intellectual property rights (save for rights in know-how), in each case whether registered or unregistered and including applications for the grant of any of the foregoing and all rights or forms of protection having equivalent or similar effect to any of the foregoing which may subsist anywhere in the world. All Intellectual Property Rights in the trade mark virtualpunter and associated logos are owned by Rose Design Limited. Copyright in the Game rules, the game mechanics is the sole property of the Promoter or a subsidiary, associated or affiliated company of the Promoter. Single copies of the Game rules may be copied or printed off by each entrant solely for their use in connection with the Game but otherwise no information or material relating to the Game may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written consent of the Promoter.
16. GENERAL AND HELP:
The Promoter will make reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the Game information in on the Website and to update such information on a regular basis, but does not guarantee that such information will be accurate or up-to-date at all times. If you have any problems in accessing details about your account or any other details regarding your entry/entries, or any general queries please click the contact us button on the game site.
17. COMPLAINTS:
The Game rules will be interpreted in accordance with English law and the entrants agree that all claims they may have arising from their participation in the Game which they may bring against the Promoter will be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. The Promoter reserves the right to refuse to accept any entry if at its sole discretion the entrant has not complied with the Game Rules or if the entrant has in the sole view of the Promoter contravened the spirit of the Game. If any provision of the Game Rules proves to be illegal or unenforceable, this shall not prevent the remaining provisions continuing in full force and effect.
In the event an Entrant has a complaint about the Game or the service received in connection with the Game then initially the Entrant should us using the "Contact Us" facility available on the Game website and seek to resolve the matter on an informal basis. However, if the matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved then a formal complaint may be made using the following procedure:-
1. If you have a complaint then please get in touch with us by using the "Contact Us" facility available on the Game website or by writing to us at:
Rose Design Limited
Customer Liaison - virtualpunter
BCM Box 4279
London
WC1N 3XX
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Providing details of your complaint and contact information.
2. Email complaints will receive a return email to confirm receipt and will confirm that the Games Department will be dealing with it.
3. If you make a written complaint you will receive a response within 7 days of the complaint. If your complaint requires further investigation and referral to an alternative person, you will be advised of this within that time.
4. What happens next? Where a complaint requires further investigation, every effort will be made to complete the investigation within 14 days of receipt. After which we will contact you with the findings, recommendations and any proposed actions.
18. PROMOTER:
Rose Design Limited