Spiele-Palast GmbH
Terms & Conditions of Use for Online Games

Status: May 25, 2018

1              Scope

1.1           These Terms & Conditions of Use comprise the basic provisions governing the use by registered users (hereinafter called Users) of the online games supplied by Spiele-Palast GmbH, Boxhagener Strasse 106, 10245 Berlin, Germany (hereinafter called Spiele-Palast).

1.2           Online games within the meaning of these Terms & Conditions of Use shall be all games of Spiele-Palast which are supplied on websites, as downloads, via app stores such as the Apple App Store, Google Play and the Amazon App Store, and other platforms such as Facebook and Steam (hereinafter called Online Games).

1.3           Supply of the said Online Games shall be solely pursuant to these Terms & Conditions of Use. Any general terms and conditions of the User differing herefrom shall not apply to relations between Spiele-Palast and Users, unless Spiele-Palast has expressly agreed to the same in advance.

1.4           Use of individual Online Games shall, in addition to these General Terms & Conditions of Use, be governed by any supplementary terms and conditions (hereinafter called Supplementary Conditions). In case of conflict the regulation in the Supplementary Conditions shall take precedence in governing the use of the game in question, unless this precedence is excluded in the Supplementary Conditions for the use of the game in question,

1.5           The app stores and platforms which are not operated by Spiele-Palast may have their own terms and conditions of business and data-protection provisions which will apply to the User’s relations with the operator of the app store or platform in question.

2              Subject of contract

2.1           Spiele-Palast supplies the Online Games solely for private, not commercial use. The Online Games are intended solely for private entertainment and gaming. In particular, no benefits of any description, whether in money or in kind, shall be won by participation in the said Games. Virtual currency (so-called “chips”) earned in a game which can be used as a stake in the course of the Online Games shall serve solely to trigger further functions in the game and cannot be paid out. Use of the Online Games for gainful or commercial purposes is hereby prohibited.

  

2.2           Spiele-Palast will supply the Online Games in a basic version which is free of charge. Additional functions and activities for the Online Games (hereinafter called Premium Contents) will likewise be supplied at a charge. These are clearly marked as such in the game. The use of Premium Contents may be subject to additional or different terms and conditions of use, and Spiele-Palast will draw the User’s attention thereto prior to conclusion of the contract of use pertaining thereto.

2.3           Spiele-Palast hereby reserves the right to place the Online Games in the future on further portals and social networks. As a rule, all Users of the Online Games play together, irrespective of the portal or social network via which registration has been made.

3              Conclusion of contract, registration

3.1           It shall be a prior condition for use of the Online Games supplied by Spiele-Palast that the User register for the Online Game in question. The contract for the use of an Online Game shall be created by virtue of the User’s registration for the Online Game in question.

3.2           Registration via an Online Game

The User may carry out registration via each Online Game of Spiele-Palast by filling in a form designated for this purpose. The registration form can be reached via the registration window by clicking on the “New Profile” button. Registration shall require in all cases a valid e-mail address and password. These details will later form the login credentials. Unless a contract, the subject of which is also the use of the Online Game in question, has already been concluded with the User on another channel, by virtue of filling in and sending the registration form the User will be making an offer for conclusion of a contract with Spiele-Palast for use of the Online Game. Spiele-Palast may accept the offer of contract within 5 days through an express declaration to the User. Granting access to the Online Game for the User shall be the equivalent of such an express declaration of acceptance. Upon acceptance of the offer, the contract between the User and Spiele-Palast shall be created.

3.3           Registration with Facebook

Spiele-Palast also offers the User a registration via the social network Facebook. It shall be a prior condition for this registration facility that the User have a Facebook account. When registering via Facebook, certain information from the User’s Facebook profile (e.g. e-mail address) shall be released by Facebook, with the User’s permission, to Spiele-Palast and used at Spiele-Palast for registration. The User can then register for the Online Game in question using their Facebook account. Registration via Facebook is a service of Facebook, use of which is subject to the terms and conditions of use and data-protection provisions of Facebook.

 

3.4           Registration in online facilities of Third Parties

It may be possible to register for and use Online Games in online facilities provided by Third Parties (hereinafter called External Services, e.g. Steam, studiVZ, meinVZ, Kongregate). In this case the contract shall be created in the way set by the External Service, e.g. by adding it as an app or subscribing to the Online Game within the External Service concerned. Registration and use via an External Service may also be subject, in addition to these Terms & Conditions of Use, to the terms and conditions of use and data-protection provisions of the External Service in question. When registering via an External Service the User will be informed on the External Service in question of any particular provisions relating thereto.

3.5           Only persons who are in their legal majority and legally competent under the current law of their country may be Users. Minors shall require the permission of their parents.

3.6           When registering for the Online Games the User must give a player name which they have chosen themself and a valid e-mail address. The player name chosen must not infringe any rights of Third Parties, nor breach existing statutory prohibitions, nor offend morality. The User shall have no right to a particular player name.

3.7           The languages available for concluding the contract are English and German.

3.8           ​Spiele-Palast intends no separate storage of the text of the contract. The provisions of the contract concluded with Spiele-Palast shall be derived from the details of the order, from these Terms & Conditions of Use, and from any Supplementary Conditions. The particulars in question shall be transmitted to the User by e-mail as a confirmation of contract either upon or following conclusion of contract but prior to provision of the service. The User may inspect these Terms & Conditions of Use and any existing Supplementary Conditions at any time in their current version via a link for this purpose on the Spiele-Palast website.

4              Information concerning the exercise of the right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer and purchase an Online Game from Spiele-Palast (as a seller), you have the following legal right of withdrawal:

4.1           Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Spiele-Palast GmbH, Boxhagener Str. 106, 10245 Berlin, Germany, E-Mail: support@spiele-palast.de) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

If you requested to begin the performance of services during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

4.2           The model withdrawal form can be found here.

5              Chips, course of play

5.1           Users may play for so-called “chips” at tables designated for that purpose. These “chips” are a virtual currency for participation in each of the rounds in the game. Users may use chips to the extent prescribed in each Online Game in order to win further chips. The chips shall not be paid out in cash. In addition to the number of chips allocated to each User daily free of charge (hereinafter called Free Chips), Users may acquire additional chips at a charge, to participate in the course of play. Spiele-Palast hereby reserves the right to change or completely suspend at any time the extent to which Gratis Chips are distributed.

5.2           All Users may stake chips in the course of a round in the game. The stakes played by all players shall be placed in the jackpot, less a charge, and allocated, when the table is ended, to the winner and runner-up pro rata. The current charges and allocation formula will be found in the game concerned. Should the game be broken off prematurely by one or more Users leaving, the winnings shall be paid out in accordance with the foregoing allocation formula pro rata for rounds already played; for rounds not yet played the stakes shall be back-posted pro rata. If a player loses a round, an over-bidding charge may be imposed after each game, comprising a percentage of the stake on the table. This is to prevent players who are lagging behind from taking disproportionate risks because they would have nothing left to lose. The over-bidding charge may be increased if the player in question loses multiple times within one table. More detailed information can be found in the game concerned.

5.3           Should a User leave the table prematurely or suffer a connection break, they shall have a limited time to return to the table. Spiele-Palast shall, at its sole discretion, be entitled to end the table as set out in Paragraph 2 or to take over the role of the User during the absence of the User and to perform any gaming activities on behalf of the User by means of a computer player until the User returns to the table or the game ends. The same shall apply upon expiry of the time for the User’s game move. In these casesthere shall be no entitlement to repayment of chips lost.

5.4           If the game is ended as described in Paragraph 3 due to a User leaving the table prematurely or due to a connection break and is not continued by a computer player, the ending shall also apply to the remaining Users. In this case, the remaining Users are not entitled to continue the game.

5.5           In case of odd sums which cannot be disbursed, outgoing payments and charges shall be rounded in favour of Spiele-Palast.

5.6           Any Supplementary Conditions that deviate from this Clause 5 of the Terms & Conditions of Use and in particular those that apply to tournaments will be notified to the User after entering the tournament and shall have priority in the event of a collision.

6              Premium contents

6.1           The User may activate additional functions (e.g. chips, Premium Contents) at a charge. The current prices, conditions (e.g. one-off payment or subscription) and services will be found in the Online Game concerned.

6.2           By selecting a function at a charge, or by selecting the receipt of additional chargeable chips, selection of the desired payment method and entry of payment details, the User shall be making an offer to purchase the chargeable function or receive additional chargeable chips. Following receipt of the sum for payment by the User, Spiele-Palast shall activate the function purchased, according to the feature which the User has acquired, and shall transfer the chargeable chips so purchased to the User.

6.3           As part of test campaigns or special promotions, use of Premium Contents may be made wholly or partially free of charge. In this case the User shall have no entitlement to the permanent use of Premium Contents free of charge.

7              General duties of User

7.1           The User shall have a duty to play under a pseudonym (so-called nickname) and not to state any personal details unless this is expressly required by Spiele-Palast, neither as a pseudonym nor during communication with other users. Such details shall include in particular, but not exclusively: name, address, telephone number, and e-mail addresses.

7.2           The User is hereby prohibited from setting up or using multiple player accounts and player profiles, or supplying login credentials for a player account and a player profile to Third Parties, or passing on to Third Parties any data which have become known through the use of a game. The User is further hereby prohibited from using player accounts and player profile of other users permanently. The permanent transfer of the player account to a Third Party is hereby prohibited without the agreement of Spiele-Palast.

7.3           In the interests of fair competition the User is hereby prohibited from deliberately losing, deliberately allowing other players to win, making unwinnable bids, or carrying out deliberate actions which are liable to disrupt the regular course of play.

7.4           The User is hereby prohibited from using in the games of Spiele-Palast all and any software manufactured by Third Parties. This shall apply in particular to bots, cheats or hacks for the manipulation of the Online Games and course of play or for increasing virtual entities through automated processes or through any other interference in the gaming system or disruption of the gaming system. Any form of “data mining” or intrusion into programs or databases of Spiele-Palast is hereby also further prohibited.

7.5           The User is hereby prohibited from trading for gain with chips, supplementary functions or other virtual entities and from transmitting the same to Third Parties to a commercial extent.

7.6           The User is hereby prohibited from using the Online Games for commercial purposes or for executing or preparing commercial transactions. In case of such an infringement Spiele-Palast shall be entitled to impose a reasonable contractual fine upon the trader so doing.

7.7           The User is hereby prohibited from introducing illegal or illegally produced contents into the Online Games, or from uploading them onto the server of Spiele-Palast, or of transmitting them to Spiele-Palast.

7.8           The User is hereby prohibited from disseminating all and any forms of spam or advertising via the Online Games.

7.9           The User hereby agrees to ensure that they will comply with all protective rights and copyrights when transmitting data. This shall apply in particular, but not exclusively, to the profile picture, even if the said profile picture is transmitted to Spiele-Palast automatically and without further action on the part of the User in the case of installation by a social network.

8              Responsibility of Users for their own contents

8.1           In the course of the Online Games the User may introduce their own contents in selecting their own name, in selecting their own profile picture, and in communicating with other users. The User shall be solely responsible for their own contents used in this way and for this purpose.

8.2           The User is hereby prohibited from introducing advertising of any kind and any contents which are in breach of the law, particularly far-right, pornographic, racist, seditious, insulting, libellous and defamatory contents, and contents detrimental to a business. In case of infringements Spiele-Palast hereby reserves the right to undertake legal steps and to delete the contents in question.

8.3           The User hereby agrees to release Spiele-Palast from any claims by Third Parties brought by the same due to an infringement by the User of Paragraph 2, irrespective of the legal grounds (including claims under the Copyright Act and claims for infringement of personal rights).

9              Rights of Spiele-Palast in cases of breach of duty by a User

9.1           Should concrete indications exist that the User has culpably breached statutory provisions or the foregoing Terms & Conditions of Use, in particular that they have culpably breached one of the User’s duties as set out in in Sections 7 and 8, or should Spiele-Palast have any other justified interest therein (e.g. for protection of other users and to guarantee the regular course of gaming), Spiele-Palast shall be entitled to undertake the following measures without the requirement on the side of Spiele-Palast to warn the User in advance thereof:

  1. Issuing a warning to the User,
  2. Temporary or permanent blockage of the User and/or individual player profiles of the User,
  3. Withdrawal, deactivation or blocking of gaming functions, supplementary functions, Premium Contents, chips or score (e.g. stars, league points, game rounds, placements), insofar as the User has received the same by manipulating the course of the game or through any other breach of these Terms & Conditions of Use,
  4. Blockage or annulment of clubs or club memberships if concrete indications exist that the executive committee of the club approves or promotes breaches by the club or by individual club members of statutory requirements or of these Terms & Conditions of Use,
  5. Summary termination of the user contract without notice.

9.2           Should the measures set out under Paragraph 1, Nos. 2 to 4 have been undertaken for justifiable cause, the User shall have no right to reimbursement of any charges paid or any other claims to compensation for inability to use the games or supplementary functions or in reimbursement of chips purchased.

9.3           Should the User culpably breach statutory provisions or these Terms & Conditions of Use, particularly one of the User’s duties as set out in Section 7 or 8 of these Terms & Conditions of Use, Spiele-Palast shall be entitled to claim damages against the User on the grounds of the User’s culpable behaviour. The User hereby agrees to release Spiele-Palast from all and any claims by Third Parties arising from the breach of statutory provisions or of one of the aforesaid duties on the grounds of culpable behaviour by the User.

10         Termination by User

10.1       The User may terminate the contract between themself and Spiele-Palast at any time without giving reasons. Termination must be addressed by post or e-mail. The contact details for this purpose will be found in the Statutory Notice and Information for the game in question. To avoid queries, we recommend when terminating by e-mail that the User state the headword “Termination” and the title of the Online Game in question, and send it via the e-mail address which was used for registration. Online Games for which the User has registered in Facebook or other external services may be terminated by uninstalling or removing the Online Game from the User’s profile entry in the external service concerned.

10.2       Once the termination enters into force the relations of use governing the Online Game shall end and the User may no longer utilise their access to the Online Game in question. Spiele-Palast hereby reserves the right to block the username and password as soon as the termination enters into force and, following the expiry of any statutory retention periods, to permanently delete all data created for purposes of use.

10.3       Spiele-Palast shall be entitled to store the User’s gaming account for a period of 30 calendar days following the time when the termination has entered into force and, should the User’s registration be renewed within this period, to reactivate it wholly or in part (e.g. with reference to scores).

10.4       In all cases of termination by the User any remaining chargeable Premium Contents shall expire upon entry of the termination into force. Any reimbursement of these chargeable contents, even in parts, is hereby excluded.

11         Liability

11.1       Spiele-Palast shall be liable for loss or damage on the part of the User in accordance with statutory provisions, insofar as such loss or damage has been caused deliberately or by gross negligence, is the consequence of a failure to provide a guaranteed characteristic of the performance, is due to a culpable breach of cardinal contractual duties, is the consequence of a culpable injury to life, limb or health, or comprises loss or damage for which a compulsory liability exists under the German Product Liability Act. In the case of a merely negligent breach of a cardinal contractual duty, however, the liability of Spiele-Palast shall be restricted to such loss or damage as must be typically and foreseeably anticipated in the supply of the agreed performances. This restriction shall not apply insofar as the said loss or damage is the consequence of an injury to life, limb or health.

11.2       Cardinal contractual duties shall be those contractual duties without whose fulfilment the due and proper execution of the contract is not possible, on compliance with which the contracting partner may normally rely, and breach of which on the part of the contracting partner endangers attainment of the purpose of contract.

11.3       Otherwise liability by Spiele-Palast is hereby excluded, irrespective of its legal grounds.

12         Technical requirements

12.1       The User must ensure that the technical requirements are met for smooth use of the Online Games. These requirements shall include in particular a current browser, current browser plug-ins, a stable internet connection, and a sufficiently powerful computer or mobile device. Those services which are free of charge may be used in order to check these requirements before Premium Contents are purchased.

12.2       Spiele-Palast publishes new versions of its Online Games (“updates”) at irregular intervals. Only the latest version of each of the games is officially supported by Spiele-Palast. Should technical or entrepreneurial reasons make it seem necessary, the system requirements or the version of the underlying operating system required may change due to the release of new game versions. In such case the User shall not be entitled to continue using the Online Games with equipment which does not fulfil the system requirements.

12.3       Spiele-Palast shall make every effort to secure smooth operation. In case of technical problems, temporary maintenance work, whether for technical checks, for changing game contents, or due to other events which make playing a game temporarily impossible, Spiele-Palast cannot be made liable.

13         Changes to performances and amendments to these Terms & Conditions of Use

13.1       Spiele-Palast hereby reserves the right to change the Online Games, insofar as this can be reasonably expected of the User.

13.2       Spiele-Palast hereby reserves the right to amend these Terms & Conditions of Use at any time with effect for the future, even within existing relations of use, insofar as this can be reasonably expected of the User.

Spiele Palast shall notify the User of such changes and amendments by e-mail at least 14 days prior to the time when they are planned to come into force. If the User does not protest within 14 days following receipt of the notification and continues playing the game even after expiry of the protest period, the changes and amendments shall be deemed to be effective from the time when the period of grace expires. In case of protest the contract shall be continued on the existing terms and conditions. In its notification of change or amendment Spiele-Palast shall draw the User’s attention to their right of protest and to the consequences of failure so to protest.

Should the User protest in good time, both Parties shall be entitled to make extraordinary termination for good cause of the relations of use governing the game in question with effect as of the time when the changes or amendments come into force. In this case any payments and charges for use of Premium Contents already made by the User shall be reimbursed pro rata.

13.3       Spiele-Palast shall further be entitled to amend these Terms & Conditions of Use without notification of amendment if and insofar as the amendment

–          is solely beneficial to the User,

–          is required in order to make the Terms & Conditions of Use comply with current law, or in order to comply with a decision of the courts or a decision of an official body directed to Spiele-Palast,

–          is necessary in order to comprise new services, functions and facilities of Spiele-Palast in the Terms & Conditions of Use and no detriment is incurred thereby by Users with existing relations of use,

–          is necessary in order solely to comprise technical and design changes to the online facilities of Spiele-Palast and no significant detriment (e.g. loss of gaming facilities) is incurred by Users with existing relations of use.

Spiele-Palast shall inform the User of such amendments to the Terms & Conditions of Use, for instance on the websites of Spiele-Palast.

13.4       Should changes be made to Value Added Tax, Spiele-Palast shall be entitled to amend the charge payable for premium contents to reflect this change, nor shall the User have any right of protest with respect thereto.

14         Personal details

Our Data Protection Declaration shall apply to all personal details.

15         Arbitration panel

Spiele-Palast hereby draws Users’ attention to the fact that disputes between consumers and dealers in connection with online purchase contracts and online service contracts can be settled by the online platform of the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/odr/.

We do not take part in dispute resolution procedures before a consumer conciliation body and we are also not obliged to take part in such procedures.

16         Other regulations

16.1       The Law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, to the exclusion of UN purchase law (United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods). Compulsory provisions of the country in which the User has their residence shall not be affected by this choice of law.

16.2       Should a provision or a number of provisions in these Terms & Conditions of Use be ineffective, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms & Conditions of Use.