Socket Errors - Socket errors occur when situation (1) or
(3) occur and indicates a poor or non-functioning Internet connection. In
each case we have taken "the customer is always right" attitude
and credited back player winnings or game credits. At the same time we have
asked our developers to produce work-arounds to these issues and to deliver
a Bingo game to our players that will guarantee that the money they spend is
well invested. We want to ensure that when a player purchases a game card
they have every chance of winning and that the outcome of the game is NOT
affected by the:
- Instability of the internet
- Speed of one players internet connection over the
other player or Physical location on the globe.
- Over the past three years our developers have
continued to evolve our award winning bingo service into what we believe
to be the fairest and most reliable form of Bingo on the Internet.
3. Game System Protocol
The key goals of our 'Game System Protocol' is that the games are designed
to be undeniably random, and most importantly, fair and enjoyable.
The Game Server Starts a New game by selecting the Game
pattern for the next game. The Game server enables player card purchasing.
The Players manually select their game cards from a deck of 30,000 unique
bingo cards. Players purchase their desired cards. The purchase requests are
sent to the game server.
The game server receives the purchase requests from the
players and enters their selected cards into the game. The server sends an
acknowledgement back to the player telling the player that their cards have
been purchased, and entered into the game. 25 Seconds before game start time
the game server suspends further card purchasing. The game server waits an
additional 15 seconds to make sure that all purchase requests have been
completed and properly entered into the system. The game server then
generates 75 numbers between 1 and 75 using the systems random number
generator.
The game server then systematically applies the random
calls to each of the player purchased bingo cards and cross checks each card
with the winning pattern. With this procedure the game server has now
determined the number of winning bingo cards in the deck of player purchased
cards and at which call the cards have won.
The game server then broadcasts all of the calls to the
players game clients (both Java & windows version). The player's game
client software receives this information and begins calling the numbers.
Calls are presented to the user every ten seconds. Players can then play and
chat with other players knowing that in the event of any system, or
telecommunications interruption their cards have been fairly entered into
the game and that in each case the true game winner (or winners) will be
awarded the prize.
The outline provided here shows that our game system is
fair and completely random. Players are presented with random cards which
they can select at random. The 75 calls for the game are generated randomly
AFTER the card sales have closed. The only factor that enters into
determining a winner is the cards that players select on their own. There
are no external or internal factors that assist or deter people from winning
- it is purely a combination of card selection strategy and luck. Players
are always credited with wins regardless of program or network problems
during a game in progress.
4. Attornment Notice to the Laws of
Costa Rica and British Virgin Islands
When you enter our website and choose to make a Purchase to play a Game, you
are entering into a contract with the owner Worldwide Online Entertainment
Holdings Inc. of BVI. Because AstroBingo is a BVI corporation and the
operator is a Costa Rican Based supplier, operating pursuant to the Laws of
Costa Rica pursuant to a Virtual Gaming License issued in accordance with
the Free Trade Zone Processing Act, we require that you "attorn"
or "submit" to the laws of Costa Rica in order to play our Game or
otherwise use any information from our website.
Under general contract principals, because you are a
party to this contract, you have the option to select the laws under which
this agreement will be governed. Because the most substantial connection of
this agreement is to Costa Rica, by playing a Game or otherwise using
information from our website, you agree to such attornment and acknowledge
that the Laws of Costa Rica will govern your use of our website and the
Participating Rules of the Game. If you do not intend to attorn to the Laws
of Costa Rica, we would ask that you not play the Game.
5. Definitions and Terminology Used
in Our Game
A Player Is a person who registers to play AstroBingo by filling out our
registration form with the required information, correctly completed, and
makes a Purchase.
A Purchase occurs after a Player enters the AstroBingo
website and Purchases Bingo card(s) from funds that has been deposited in a
Players Account by the Player. When a Player elects to deposit funds into
their Player Account by one of our e-commerce systems, the Purchase must be
validated by AstroBingo and its credit card and other agents. In the event
that Purchase is subject to a charge-back, or is otherwise incomplete, the
Purchase becomes void. A game Purchase is considered valid if the Players
deposit of Cash funds transaction is complete. We can not offer refunds once
a Purchase is made. All Purchases are made in United States currency.
A Card represents a set of a randomly collected numbers
between 1 and 75 (inclusive) organized in 5 column, 5 row configurations.
Until a Card is in play, Players have the option to change the collection of
numbers by selecting a new Card. Once a Player accepts the collection of
numbers for any Game, the Card becomes valid and In Play.
A Sheet represents one (1), two (2), three (3) or four
(4) sets of a randomly generated Bingo cards. A full row of four (4) cards
costs $1.00 US to buy and a player can elect to purchase individual cards
for $0.25 US each!
A Game is a collection of purchased rows that are valid
and in play.
A Game Variation is a specified pattern that must be
matched on a Player's card in order to win a Game and receive a Prize.
A Call is a broadcast message from our Game server,
received by your computer containing a randomly generated number between 1
and 75.
A Bingo Call is a broadcast message from a Player's
computer, received by the AstroBingo game server identifying that Player as
a holder of a Game Variation.
In Play will be the term used to describe any Game that
has been initialized by our Game server and is receiving calls and
communicating with the Game server is in play.
A Prize is a cash allotment that is payable to a Player
(or Players if there are more than one winner) who identifies to the
AstroBingo.com, through a Bingo Call, a match to the Game Variation of a
Player Card. Prizes are automatically deposited into a Players Winner
Account.
The Parties: AstroBingo and the Player.
A Player ID is username that is assigned to the player by
The AstroBingo Corporation at the time of registration, such used by the
parties to uniquely identify a Player.
A Player Account is the account in which the Player's use
to deposit funds, use to buy into games, deposit winnings into and request
payouts from. Once a Card is In Play, the Game Credit can not be returned to
the Player.
6. Participation Rules
To participate in a Game a Player must be 18 years of age or older, must
read and consent to all of the Participating Rules and must have
authorization to use a valid credit card acceptable to AstroBingo.
AstroBingo is not available to persons under the age of 18 years, or the
legal age of majority in the jurisdiction where they reside. All
transactions by minors are considered null and void, including any winnings,
if any. AstroBingo reserves the right to request proof of age at any stage
at any time.
Participation will require that Players register with
AstroBingo by correctly completing the registration details and offering a
full name, address, city, zip code or postal code, state or province,
country, e-mail address and telephone number. For any subsequent
participation, a Player must login with their Player ID (provided by
AstroBingo) and the Player password.
Games will be offered at approximately 2 (two) minutes
after completion of a previous game. AstroBingo has exclusive authority to
modify the Game schedule without prior notice.
Any Player who wins a Prize may be transmitted a
reference number, which will identify a specific win. The Player is
responsible for the preserving of any reference numbers provided.
In the event that there is a discrepancy between the Game
Variation as it is recorded in AstroBingo's database, and that recorded by
the Player, the Calls recorded in the AstroBingo game server shall be
considered valid.
A Purchase will be void if for any reason payment is not
received by AstroBingo or if there is an applicable charge-back at a later
date. AstroBingo reserves the right to limit any Player's participation in a
Game, particularly in the event that a Purchase is rendered void.
Prizes will be deposited into the Player's Account.
The balance of a Winners Account will be mailed upon a
request by the Player, to the mailing address provided at registration. A
minimum payout request of $20 is required.
Employees of the AstroBingo Corporation are prohibited
from participating in a Game.
Players can request a Payout only under the following
conditions:
Players can request a payout from their winnings only.
The amounts cannot exceed their Player Account cash balance, which must be
in good standing. The AstroBingo Corporation reserves the right to withhold
any such payments until all financial transactions have been settled and
cleared.
Players can request a payout if they wish to close their
Players account. Any unpaid or outstanding charges will be subtracted from
their account balance in the event of charge backs.
Players CANNOT request a payout from deposits made to
their account unless they wish to cash out and close their Player Account.
Requesting payouts from their account balance derived from deposits and not
wins will be deemed a cash advance from the AstroBingo Corporation and a
misuse of our online purchasing system. In such cases, The AstroBingo
Corporation may levy a surcharge to offset transaction and administrative
costs.
In ALL cases, the AstroBingo Corporation reserves the
right to withhold any such payments until all financial transactions have
been settled and cleared.
7. Cost of Playing AstroBingo
A row of 4 Bingo cards costs only $1.00 US or single cards costs only $0.25
US each card. Players can purchase as little as 1 (one) card for only 0.25
US to participate in a game. Players can purchase up to 24 rows (4 cards for
each row) to participate in a game. Players can start another AstroBingo
game program to play more than 24 rows of cards per game.
8. Claiming Prizes
Prizes shall be automatically deposited to our Player Account cash balance.
Players can purchase games from their winnings or request a payout be mailed
the address given at the time of registration. Because all AstroBingo
payments are authorized by our Custodian and Trustees, who administer all of
AstroBingo's financial transactions, it may take up to thirty (30) days for
you to receive your Prize.
Players who wish to claim their prize money must request
a "payout". This can be done by visiting the Players Area and
selecting the Payout Request link.
Cash Redemptions are made possible when a users’
account exceeds a minimum of $20.00 U.S. Only users with a minimum deposit
of $20.00 U.S. may request and be issued a payout using our system.
However, please make sure that the mailing information is
correct when you register in order to avoid mailing delays.
9. Limits of Liability and
Indemnification Statement
THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT.
REFERENCES TO SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ARE PROVIDED AS IS
WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. IN NO EVENT SHALL
THE ASTROBINGO CORPORATION BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING
FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS INFORMATION.
THIS PUBLICATION COULD INCLUDE TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION
HEREIN; THESE CHANGES WILL BE INCORPORATED IN NEW EDITIONS OF THE
PUBLICATION. THE ASTROBINGO CORPORATION MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES
IN THE PRODUCT(S) AND/OR THE PROGRAM(S) DESCRIBED IN THIS PUBLICATION AT ANY
TIME.
SPECIFICS
It is the responsibility of Player to ensure that they understand and comply
fully in respect of any national and international laws, regulations,
directives etc. applicable to the Player.
AstroBingo cannot be held responsible for any third party
claims of any kind against Players.
Player's agree that they are 18 years of age and have
authorization and authority to use the credit card offered to the AstroBingo
Corporation for a Purchase.
AstroBingo's liability with respect to any claim made by
a Player shall be limited to the Prize.
Under no circumstances will AstroBingo be liable to any
costs or expenses incurred by a Player in making a claim.
AstroBingo will not be held liable to any costs or
expenses incurred by a Player for any overdrafts relating to deposits to
Player Accounts made through our e-commerce systems. It is the Player's
responsibility to ensure that sufficient funds are available to them before
they make a deposit to their Player Accounts via our e-commerce systems.
AstroBingo will not be held liable to any costs or
expenses incurred by a Player for any overdrafts resulting from multiple
deposits to a Player's Accounts made through the improper use of our
e-commerce systems. Reloading a cash deposit transaction page constitutes
misuse of our e-commerce system and as such, AstroBingo will not be held
responsible or liable for any overdraft charges or costs that they may incur
as a result misuse of our e-commerce systems. AstroBingo will issue a credit
for any multiple billings arising from the use or misuse of our e-commerce
systems.
AstroBingo shall have the right to suspend or withdraw
any participation at its absolute discretion. Personal details of all
Players will remain confidential unless Players agree to their details being
used for future publicity purposes.
AstroBingo will not be liable for any loss of whatever
nature arising from the cancellation of any round, including the loss, for
whatever reason, of the chance to participate in the Game.
In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of
the foregoing, AstroBingo will not be liable to any person:
