PokerStars Online Poker Software Terms of Service

This end user license agreement (the "Agreement") should be read by you (the "User" or "you") in its entirety prior to your use of PokerStars' service or products. Please note that the Agreement constitutes a legally binding agreement between you and Rational Poker School Limited (referred to herein as "PokerStars", "us" or "we") which owns and operates the Internet site found at www.pokerstars.net (the "Site"). In addition to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, please review our Privacy Policy and the Poker Rules, as well as the other rules, policies and terms and conditions relating to the games and promotions available on the Site as posted on the Site from time to time, which are incorporated herein by reference, together with such other policies of which you may be notified of by us from time to time.

By clicking the "I Agree" button as part of the software installation process and using the Software (as defined below), you consent to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Privacy Policy and the Poker Rules as each may be updated or modified from time to time in accordance with the provisions below and therein.

For the purposes of this Agreement, the definition of "Software" will include both the PokerStars poker software downloadable to your personal desktop or laptop computer (“PC”) from www.pokerstars.net (the “PC Software”) and the PokerStars mobile software application (the "Mobile Software") downloadable to a mobile device (including, without limitation, a cellular phone, PDA, tablet, or any other type of device now existing or hereafter devised) (each, a “Device”).

1. GRANT OF LICENSE/INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.1. Subject to the terms and conditions contained herein PokerStars grants the User a non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable right to install and use the Software on your PC or Device, as the case may be, in order to access the PokerStars servers and play the "play for free"/"play money" poker games (the "Games") available (the Software and Games together being the "Service").

1.2. The Software is licensed to you by PokerStars for your private personal use. Please note that the Software is not for use by (i) individuals under 18 years of age, (ii) individuals under the legal age of majority in their jurisdiction and (iii) individuals connecting to the Site from jurisdictions from which it is illegal to do so. PokerStars is not able to verify the legality of the Service in each jurisdiction and it is the User's responsibility to ensure that their use of the Service is lawful.

1.3. We reserve the right at any time to request from you evidence of age in order to ensure that minors are not using the Service. We further reserve the right to suspend or cancel your account and exclude you, temporarily or permanently, from using the Service if satisfactory proof of age is not provided or if we suspect that you are underage.

1.4. PokerStars, its group companies and its licensors are the sole holders of all rights in the Software and the Software's code, structure and organisation are protected by copyright, trade secrets, intellectual property and other rights. You may not within the limits prescribed by applicable laws:

(a) copy, distribute, publish, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify, or translate the Software or make any attempt to access the source code to create derivate works of the source code of the Software, or otherwise;
(b) sell, assign, sublicense, transfer, distribute or lease the Software;
(c) make the Software available to any third party through a computer network or otherwise;
(d) export the Software to any country (whether by physical or electronic means); or
(e) use the Software in a manner prohibited by applicable laws or regulations.

(each of the above is an "Unauthorised Use").

PokerStars, its group companies and its licensors reserve any and all rights implied or otherwise, which are not expressly granted to the User hereunder and retain all rights, title and interest in and to the Software.

You agree that you will be solely liable for any damage, costs or expenses arising out of or in connection with the commission by you of any Unauthorised Use. You shall notify PokerStars immediately upon becoming aware of the commission by any person of any Unauthorised Use and shall provide PokerStars with reasonable assistance with any investigations it conducts in light of the information provided by you in this respect.

1.5. The terms "PokerStars", the domain names “pokerstars.net” and “pokerstarsmobile.net” and any other trade marks, service marks, signs, trade names and/or domain names used by PokerStars on the Site from time to time (the "Trade Marks"), are the trade marks, service marks, signs, trade names and/or domain names of PokerStars and/or its group companies and/or its licensors, and these entities reserve all rights to such Trade Marks. In addition, all other content on the Site, including, but not limited to, the Software, images, pictures, graphics, photographs, animations, videos, music, audio and text (the "Site Content") belongs to PokerStars and its group companies and/or its licensors and is protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property or other rights. You hereby acknowledge that by using the Service and the Site you obtain no rights in the Site Content, or any part thereof. Under no circumstances may you use the Site Content and/or the Trade Marks without PokerStars' prior written consent.

Additionally, you agree not to do anything that will harm or potentially harm the rights, including the intellectual property rights, held by PokerStars, its group companies and/or its licensors in the Software, the Trade Marks or the site Content nor will you do anything that damages the image or reputation of PokerStars, its group companies, employees, directors, officers and consultants.

2. NO WARRANTIES

2.1. PokerStars disclaims any and all warranties, expressed or implied, in connection with the Service which is provided to you "AS IS" and we provide you with no warranty or representation whatsoever regarding its quality, fitness for purpose, completeness or accuracy.

2.2. Regardless of our efforts to provide you with service of the highest quality, safety and security, we make no warranty that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely or error-free, that defects will be corrected or that the Software and the Site shall be free from viruses, bugs or other contaminants.

2.3. PokerStars reserves the right to suspend, discontinue, modify, remove or add to the Service in its absolute discretion with immediate effect and without an obligation to provide you with notice where we consider it necessary to do so including (for example) for the management, maintenance or update of the Software and we shall not be liable in any way whatsoever for any loss suffered as a consequence of any decision made by PokerStars in this regard.

3. AUTHORITY

PokerStars retains authority over the issuing, maintenance, and closing of Users' accounts at PokerStars. The decision of PokerStars' management, as regards any aspect of a User's account, use of the Service or dispute resolution, is final and shall not be open to review or appeal.

4. YOUR REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

Prior to your use of the Service and on an ongoing basis you represent, warrant, covenant and agree that:

4.1. your use of the Service is at your sole option, discretion and risk.

4.2. you will need to provide us with certain personal details about yourself for the purpose of using the Service. PokerStars will process your personal details in compliance with the data protection laws and regulations of the Isle of Man all in accordance with and as set out in our Privacy Policy.

4.3. the telecommunications networks and Internet access services required for you to access and use the Service are entirely beyond the control of PokerStars and PokerStars shall have no liability whatsoever for any outages, slowness, capacity constraints or other deficiencies affecting the same.

4.4. you are solely responsible for any applicable taxes which may be payable on cash or prizes awarded to you through your using the Services.

4.5. you are prohibited from using the Service in any way to create any financial gain or other pecuniary advantage to you. Play money funds have no value in and of themselves and are not transferable and exchangeable within a User account. Further, such play money funds in a User account have no value in themselves and are not redeemable for any ‘real’ currency or prize.

5. PROHIBITED USES

5.1. SOFTWARE MODIFICATIONS. User may not attempt to modify, decompile, reverse-engineer or disassemble the Software in any way.

5.2. PERSONAL USE. The Service is intended solely for the User's personal use and entertainment and not for money and must not in any way be used to create any financial gain or other pecuniary advantage to you. The User must provide full and truthful information in respect of all details and information provided by the User to PokerStars and the User is obligated to update such details in the event of any change thereto.

5.3. COLLUSION. Collusion between Users by sharing hole cards or by any other methods is strictly forbidden. PokerStars reserves the right, in addition to other measures, to restrict seating and/or to prohibit Users from playing at a particular poker table or in a tournament, including restricting two or more Users from playing together at the same table or in the same tournament . In addition, PokerStars reserves the right to consider any collusion between players (including Users) as a material breach of this Agreement and accordingly PokerStars shall have the right to terminate a User's account if a User engages or attempts to engage in any such activity, regardless of the outcome of such attempt.

5.4. EXTERNAL PLAYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS (EPA). PokerStars prohibits those External Player Assistance Programs ("EPA Programs") which are designed to provide an "Unfair Advantage" to players. PokerStars defines "External" to mean computer software (other than the Software), and non-software-based databases or profiles (e.g. web sites and subscription services). PokerStars defines an "Unfair Advantage" as any instance in which a User accesses or compiles information on other players beyond that which the User has personally observed through the User's own game play. We encourage you to read our Prohibited Online Software FAQ.

5.5. AUTOMATIC PLAYERS (BOTS). The use of artificial intelligence including, without limitation, "robots" is strictly forbidden in connection with the Service. All actions taken in relation to the Service by a User must be executed personally by players through the user interface accessible by use of the Software.

5.6. You agree that PokerStars may take steps to detect and prevent the use of prohibited EPA Programs. These steps may include, but are not limited to, examination of software programs running concurrently with the PokerStars Software on the User's computer.

5.7. CHIP-DUMPING. Chip-dumping occurs when any User intentionally loses a hand in order to deliberately transfer his chips to another User. Any User who chip-dumps or attempts to chip-dump with any other User while using the Service may be permanently banned from using the Service and their account may be terminated immediately. In such circumstances PokerStars will be under no obligation to return or credit to you any chips that may be in your PokerStars account at such time. You agree that you will not attempt to bypass, interfere with, or block such steps, including, without limitation, the use of third party software that bypasses, interferes with, or blocks such steps.

5.8. FRAUDULENT BEHAVIOR. In the event that PokerStars deems that a User has engaged or attempted to engage in fraudulent, unlawful, dishonest or improper activity while using the Service, including without limitation, engaging in any of the activities set forth above or any other game manipulation, PokerStars shall be entitled to take such action as it sees fit, including but not limited to:

immediately blocking a User’s access to the Service,
seizing all play money chips held in the User's account,
terminating a User's account; and/or
taking legal action against a User.

6. LIVE CHAT/VOICE CHAT

6.1 Users may decide to enable the live chat or voice chat function (the “Chat Function”) available on the Service at their own discretion, subject to compliance with the terms of this Agreement.

6.2 You agree that PokerStars will not actively monitor the Chat Function among Users and should you choose to play on tables enabled with the Chat Function you do so at your own risk.

6.3 It is strictly prohibited for a User to use the Chat Function for any malicious or offensive behavior, including but not limited to collusion, fraud, spam, and/or harassment.

6.4 It is strictly prohibited for a User to use the Chat Function for any commercial use whatsoever including making any statements which promote any service or product of any party except PokerStars. Further, Users shall not make statements about PokerStars or the Service that are untrue or would reasonably be considered to be derogatory or critical.

6.5 Any violation of these rules should be immediately reported to PokerStars Support (support@pokerstars.net).

6.6 If PokerStars finds that a User is in violation of the rules contained in this Clause 6 regarding the Chat Function, we reserve the right to ban a specific User from using the Chat Function and/or to take further action (including any or all actions listed in Clause 8 below).

7. OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE OR CONTENT

The User is prohibited from posting any unlawful, indecent, racist, obscene, libelous, defamatory or threatening material or any material that would violate any law or generally be considered to be offensive, via the Service whether using the Chat Function, the player images option or in correspondence with PokerStars' staff.

8. BREACH

8.1. Without prejudice to any other rights, if a User breaches in whole or in part any provision contained herein, PokerStars reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit, including terminating this Agreement, including immediately blocking access to the Service to such User, terminating such User's account with PokerStars and/or taking legal action against such User.

8.2. You agree to fully indemnify, defend and hold harmless PokerStars and its shareholders, directors and employees from and against all claims, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including legal fees and any other charges whatsoever, howsoever caused, that may arise as a result of:

8.2.1. your breach of this Agreement, in whole or in part;
8.2.2. violation by you of any law or any third party rights; and
8.2.3. use by you of the Service or use by any other person accessing the Service using your Login Credentials (as defined below) , whether or not with your authorization.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Under no circumstances, including negligence, shall PokerStars be liable for any special, incidental, direct, indirect or consequential damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or any other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use (or misuse) of the Service even if PokerStars had prior knowledge of the possibility of such damages.

10. SECURITY AND YOUR ACCOUNT

10.1. Each User account shall be accessible through the use of a combination of a unique
User ID ("User ID"), a unique and secret password ("Password"), and
other optional numeric authentication methods that the User may select (the User ID, Password and any other authentication features together being referred to as the "Login Credentials"). The User is obligated to choose his/her own User ID and Password in accordance with the rules relating thereto.

10.2. The User agrees that he/she is solely responsible for all use of the Service under his/her Login Credentials and that he/she shall not disclose the Login Credentials to any person whatsoever nor permit another person to use the Service via his/her User account.

10.3. The User is obliged to keep his/her Login Credentials secret and confidential at all times and to take all efforts to protect their secrecy and confidentiality. Any unauthorized use of the Login Credentials shall be the sole responsibility of the User and be deemed as his/her use. Any liability therefrom shall be that of the User.

10.4. A User may only have one User account with PokerStars and shall only use the Service using such single account. It is prohibited for a User to open multiple accounts with PokerStars. In the event that PokerStars becomes aware of additional accounts opened by a User, PokerStars may close such additional accounts without notice.

10.5. You will not be able to place any bets (with play money) using the Service in an amount greater than the total amount of play money in your User account.

10.6. PokerStars reserves the right to run identity checks on a User, with third party services, using the information provided to us by a User on registration with the Service.

11. OTHER

This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org).

12. DISPUTES

The User accepts that the historical data of each game shall be as recorded on the PokerStars servers. In the event of a discrepancy between the cards displayed on your computer and the game records on the PokerStars' server the latter shall prevail. The User accepts that the "Instant Hand History" and "Hand Replayer" features of the Software shall not be considered as the official historical record of any hand.

13. AMENDMENT

PokerStars reserves the right to update or modify this Agreement or any part thereof at any time without notice and you will be bound by such amended Agreement within 14 days of it being posted at the Site. Therefore, we encourage you to visit the Site regularly and check the terms and conditions contained in the version of the Agreement in force at such time. Your continued use of the Site shall be deemed to attest to your agreement to any amendments to the Agreement.

14. GOVERNING LAW

The Agreement and any matters relating hereto shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Isle of Man. You irrevocably agree that, subject as provided below. the courts of the Isle of Man shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning the Agreement and any matter arising therefrom and irrevocably waive any right that it may have to object to an action being brought in those courts, or to claim that the action has been brought in an inconvenient forum, or that those courts do not have jurisdiction. Nothing in this clause shall limit the right of PokerStars to take proceedings against you in any other court of competent jurisdiction, nor shall the taking of proceedings in any one or more jurisdictions preclude the taking of proceedings in any other jurisdictions, whether concurrently or not, to the extent permitted by the law of such other jurisdiction.

15. SEVERABILITY

If a provision of this Agreement is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, that shall not affect the validity or enforceability in that jurisdiction of any other provision hereof or the validity or enforceability in other jurisdictions of that or any other provision hereof.

16. ASSIGNMENT

PokerStars reserves the right to assign this agreement, in whole or in part, at any time without notice. The User may not assign any of his/her rights or obligations under this Agreement.

17. MISCELLANEOUS

17.1. No waiver by PokerStars of any breach of any provision of this Agreement (including the failure of PokerStars to require strict and literal performance of or compliance with any provision of this Agreement) shall in any way be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach of such provision or of any breach of any other provision of this Agreement.

17.2. Nothing in this Agreement shall create or confer any rights or other benefits in favour of any third parties not party to this Agreement.

17.3. Nothing in this Agreement shall create or be deemed to create a partnership, agency, trust arrangement, fiduciary relationship or joint venture between you and us.

17.4. This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding and agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersedes any prior agreement, understanding, or arrangement between you and us.

17.5. The User must provide full and truthful information in respect of all details and information requested by PokerStars in connection with the User's use of the Service subject at all time to the terms of the Privacy Policy.

17.6. The English language version of this Agreement shall be the prevailing version in the event of any discrepancy between any translated versions of this Agreement.