#1 - Oct. 8, 2013, 10:51 p.m.
Hello,
Is it a violation of GW2 TOS to advertise (in-game or on the forums) a drawing for a chance to win a Gem Card
Question about TOS & Gem Cards
#5 - Oct. 9, 2013, 12:13 p.m.
That ticket was probably ultimately be escalated to me, so let me answer here. 
Some player-run giveaways are great. I can remember one of our radio stations doing giveaways of donated miniatures in Guild Wars. That event was very well received and I don’t recall a single player complaint about it.
But player-run giveaways can have negative outcomes. And in some cases they are disallowed. For instance, players are not allowed to hold “raffles” where everyone chips in XX and then one person (random drawing, whoever guesses closest to a number, etc.) wins an in-game item, gem card, whatever. The reason they are disallowed is because so many times someone ends up shorted or scammed. The item isn’t delivered; isn’t as advertised, is a used code, etc. We can’t inject ourselves into such situations, and so we simply disallow such activities.
If you’re doing a straight giveaway, with no required contribution on the part of others, that should be fine. For instance, a guild leader might purchase a gem card and have a random drawing amongst the guild members to pick a winner. That’s perfectly fine. Although again, fulfillment is something we can’t enforce, so if the winner were to come and say “I was promised a gem card and it never got delivered” we would ask that he sort it out with the person who made the promise and would not get in the middle of the transfer/transaction.
#7 - Oct. 9, 2013, 1:43 p.m.
Gaile, can you clarify a little on this rule? I can’t find anything in the Rules of Conduct (https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/guild-wars-2-rules-of-conduct/) or at the top of this forum which states raffles are disallowed in-game. I can’t even find language which closely resembles it.
50/50 raffles are a great and fun way for guilds to build up their bank.
Please describe a 50/50 raffle to me. Thanks.
#11 - Oct. 9, 2013, 2:33 p.m.
The problem is that historically, raffles and other forms of gambling have been rife with issues: scamming, lack of fulfillment, items not as advertised, cheating, etc.
We had what we thought was a harmless mini-game in Guild Wars (original) when it released, but it was so abused, and so many players were scammed or cheated through it, that we removed it from the game. (This was the /roll option, for those of you who were around back then.)
It’s a given that CS won’t get involved in a Gentleman’s Agreement. I am currently discussing where we are on raffles. I believed we were “policy against” but perhaps it was more “strongly discouraged” because of all the potential and sadly often-realized ugly side effects, such as non-fulfillment, host running off with the gold/goods, false advertising (swapping a less-valuable item for the offered prize, straight-up cheating, etc.
#14 - Oct. 9, 2013, 3:50 p.m.
I remember /roll
But the true best was:
/paper
/rock
/scissors
So true, my friend, so true.
#15 - Oct. 9, 2013, 4:14 p.m.
Gaile, can you clarify a little on this rule? I can’t find anything in the Rules of Conduct (https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/guild-wars-2-rules-of-conduct/) or at the top of this forum which states raffles are disallowed in-game. I can’t even find language which closely resembles it.
50/50 raffles are a great and fun way for guilds to build up their bank.
Please describe a 50/50 raffle to me. Thanks.
Players would submit gold to the player running the raffle. The winner of the raffle would get 50% of the total gold (in the form of gems) while the organizers would keep the other 50% of the gold
Popular fundraiser technique. Only requires tickets and a coffee can or two when done in the real world.
I’ve seen it done in RL, yes. In fact, I attended an event this month where they did a 50/50. But when I have seen it, it’s always for a charity, not for personal gain. (The one in which I participated this month was for cancer research.) That doesn’t seem to be the case in the one’s mentioned here — it’s not “one’s favorite charity” but “one’s wallet,” I surmise? 