Thanks for your quick attention to my questions and concerns. Your TOS revisions make your intentions clearer now, but I think some of the wording is still a little uncertain. I'd like to suggest these changes:
Change this:
Quote:
"16. Any amount withdrawn by the Player shall be forwarded to the Player within seven (7) days of the withdraw pending the results of satisfactory anti-fraud processes. Funds can be withdrawn via check, wire transfer or other methods that may be offered. We reserve the right to request additional forms of identification before sending a withdrawal. All deposits must be rolled over one time before any withdrawal requests are made. If a player account is closed for cause or a withdrawal is demanded and made before the Terms & Conditions are met, all bonus money paid will be forfeited as well as any money earned by wagering will be forfeited."
to this:
"16. Any amount withdrawn by the Player shall be forwarded to the Player within seven (7) days of the withdraw pending the results of satisfactory anti-fraud processes. Funds can be withdrawn via check, wire transfer or other methods that may be offered. We reserve the right to request additional forms of identification before sending a withdrawal. All deposits must be rolled over one time before
any portion of the deposit is withdrawn. If a player account is closed for cause or a withdrawal
of any remaining portion of the player deposit is demanded and made before the
roll-over requirements are met, an amount equal to all deposit bonus money paid plus any money earned by wagering will be forfeited from the Player account balance before the withdrawal is processed."
This allows a player to withdraw earnings before fully playing through the deposit. For instance, if a player wins a tournament for a few hundred or thousand dollars, he would be allowed to withdraw those winnings while requiring an amount equal to his un-played-through deposit to remain on account. You will need a system in place for player deposit money similar to what you need for bonus money - it is available for play but un-played-through balances are locked up from withdrawal until released through rollover.
If you want to build traffic and encourage player deposits, you really have to make this change. No one is going to make a significant deposit (such as $500 to take advantage of your 35% rakeback for life offer) if they can't withdraw any earnings on their play until the entire deposit is rolled over (which could take many months considering your current level of traffic).
By the way, I disagree with the policy that the player must forfeit the money they earned in addition to bonus money. This money came from play against other players, not from the house. You would essentially be stealing money from players. In the case of account closure for cause, this money should be forfeited and returned to the other affected players. But in the case of a player asking for his deposit back before completing play through, the player should be able to get his winnings as well, and only forfeit money that came from the house - bonus money. After all, you did make your profit (the rake) on his play as well.
So really I think the TOS should read:
"16. Any amount withdrawn by the Player shall be forwarded to the Player within seven (7) days of the withdraw pending the results of satisfactory anti-fraud processes. Funds can be withdrawn via check, wire transfer or other methods that may be offered. We reserve the right to request additional forms of identification before sending a withdrawal. All deposits must be rolled over one time before
any portion of the deposit is withdrawn. If a withdrawal of any remaining portion of the player deposit is demanded by the player and made before the roll-over requirements are met, an amount equal to all deposit bonus money paid will be forfeited from the Player account balance before the withdrawal is processed. If a player account is closed for cause, an amount equal to all deposit bonus money paid plus any money earned by wagering will be forfeited from the Player account balance before a withdrawal is processed, and the entire Player account balance may be forfeited in accordance with other provisions of this Terms of Service."
I think you are also making a mistake in your cash bonus policy, where a player loses his winnings in addition to his earned cash bonus amounts if he makes any withdrawal prior to completion of the bonus period. Once again, this is like stealing from the players, and I'm not sure what you are protecting yourself from. It is much more fair and more likely to attract new players if you have a simple policy that just says that a player loses any unreleased bonus amount if they make a withdrawal before completion of the bonus period (PokerStars does it this way), like this:
"Bonuses
When a player receives a Cash Bonus he must meet all the attached requirements prior to requesting withdrawal
to retain the bonus in active status. The requirements are attached to varying
, specific promotional offers and cannot be changed. The player has 60 days from the issuance of said bonuses to meet the attached requirement. If a player requests a withdrawal prior to completing the requirement
, the bonus will immediately become expired and any unreleased portion of the bonus will be forfeited."
I'd also like to suggest a little rewording of the Free Roll play-through provisions, just for clarity:
"Free Roll
and Other 'Promotional' Winnings Play Through:
"
Player must
generate $1.00 in rake for every $1.00
in winnings to be released for withdrawal. Total amount earned in
winnings must be cleared in total prior to release of those winnings.
For example, a $50.00 Free Roll win will be cleared dollar for dollar but not released until the $50.00 total of rake is
generated.
In both cases, previous account balance and other monies earned in buy-in events and/or deposited will not be subject to the play through restrictions. If a player sustains losses totaling the Free Roll or
Promotional amount won, the restrictions are cleared from his account.
For example, in the case of a $50.00 FR win that results in a player's total account balance of $150.00, should he sustain $50.00 or more in table losses (not P2P's or withdrawals, etc.) the play through restrictions
are lifted and do not apply to the remaining $100.00 or less of his account balance."
Last edited by PokerXanadu; 04-21-2012 at 07:46 AM.