InfiniteOcean
Member
How can I make an Esports company pay me my balance? I live in the U.S. and they are located in another country, but their TOS states:
“These terms shall be governed by the laws of the state of Delaware, USA, without regards to conflict of law principles. You hereby consent to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts of Delaware, USA.”
Some facts and highlights:
My main questions:
Thank you so much for reading.
“These terms shall be governed by the laws of the state of Delaware, USA, without regards to conflict of law principles. You hereby consent to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts of Delaware, USA.”
Some facts and highlights:
- It’s a skill-based bingo game (not the gambling kind). Players pay entry fees to enter a tournament, winner takes the main cash prize and the company keeps percentage of total entries. So I wasn’t playing against the house, but against other players.
- I played dozens eSports games and got payouts from multiple companies (still getting).
- When I just started playing this company’s game, they banned me twice (it never happened to me before) and said their system automatically blocks accounts if it thinks you’re cheating. They would unblock me (almost) right away after me contacting the support. My guess is I was new player for them but was constantly winning right away (due to experience I already had).
- My first cash withdrawal with earnings (winnings) was around $20 and they transferred that to my bank with no problems or real delays.
- My second withdrawal was $140+ and I had to go through identity verification process (successfully) and never got the money even after waiting 14 days (support said if longer than 14 days contact us again). And you can’t withdraw again until your previous withdrawal is processed.
- Sometime between the 2nd withdrawal and 14 days mark I discovered that some players are cheating using the company’s unofficial own rules which I wasn’t aware of earlier and none of other similar companies have: if player can’t complete their game upon entering the tournament (paused the game and forgot, lost internet connection, phone died, etc), their entry fee is refunded and they are removed from the tournament and next player takes their place. So players were getting out of the tournament with no consequences if they didn’t get high enough score or messed up their game. So I contacted support about that. They said, “Funny you noticed,”, but basically, that’s our rule, but thanks for the feedback. I kept sending them screenshots proving it. Finally they said other players complained about same players I reported and they said they’ll change that rule. So they admitted to knowing about the cheating.
- The same day my account is banned again. This time I have $320+ in there that I want to get out and just leave now. They owe me total $460+. In a polite way, I told them give me my money that I won despite all the cheating going on and I am gone, don’t make me write bad reviews and contact Better Business Bureau (before I knew they’re not US based). They said give us till Monday morning (which is 6 days since last contact), we’re reviewing your account. It’s Monday afternoon, they’re still dragging it out with “still reviewing your account” and “will get back to you soon”.
- They advertise everywhere (including their website) that they are all about fair competition. I think it’s a crime called Deceptive Trade Practices.
- I have screenshots of everything.
My main questions:
- Where can I complain/file a report?
- Is it a good idea to threaten them with reporting to Delaware court system or Federal Trade Commission to help them decide?
Thank you so much for reading.
