Blizzard suspends casino advertising =(

#0 - July 5, 2010, 4:50 p.m.

Greetings,

This email is to inform you of our policy regarding player-run casinos. We realize that many players enjoy running or patronizing casinos, and we did not come to this decision lightly. However, due to the many issues caused by casinos, we have decided to prohibit this form of gameplay until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope this doesn"t detract from your enjoyment of the game.

This email is simply a notification of our new policy regarding casinos. Your account will not be negatively affected at this time. However, future violations of this new policy may result in disciplinary action. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

For any game play questions, please refer to our site at http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowgm/

*** Please do not respond to this email as all conversations on this matter would be best handled online. ***

Regards,

Game Master Beshahl
Customer Services
Blizzard Entertainment
www.blizzard.com/support

-----------------------------------

This makes me very sad... i quite enjoyed casino :(

Malkorix

#29 - July 5, 2010, 6:24 p.m.

Q u o t e:
yep policy has changed, they banned it like this pre-bc then unbanned it mid bc.. now re-banning it ; / i had so much fun playing / hosting casino and for it to be taken away like this is very sadening (not advertisng i understand the spam is just as annoying as gold farmers) but actualy being able to play one with your guild and what not : /

yes i know im not banned, all my guildys got sent this email cause we use to run a guild casino / lottery

Before this thread proceeds any further, I need to make it clear that our policy regarding casinos has not reverted. Currently it is okay to operate a casino game; advertising for a casino and scamming remain prohibited.

I can understand how the text of the message you were sent might have caused some confusion though.

Q u o t e:
but yell/say in org seems fair enough to me

That's prohibited, I'm afraid. Any 'public' channel is prohibited, which includes unsolicited whispers.

Q u o t e:
i think its pathetic and stupid that blizzard banned it because a bunch of kids tossed there gold to scammers, cause they didnt use common sense.

Actually, there's a reason why casinos themselves aren't prohibited, while advertising for them on the forums and in-game is prohibited. When this issue last came to a head, our players made it clear that it was the advertising for these games which was disrupting their play experience - and that includes /say and /yell.

Malkorix

#31 - July 5, 2010, 6:30 p.m.

Q u o t e:

so a guild lotttery would be allowed if all participants are aware its a lottery and someone has to lose to win? Myself I never participate in this stuff, but just to nail the lid on this coffin, i wanted to clarify for others this question. My only gambling is will the bindings for thunderfury finally drop -_- after 5+ years.

Assuming that it isn't advertised and that no scamming takes place, then yes, that should be fine.

Malkorix

#50 - July 5, 2010, 6:53 p.m.

Q u o t e:

Sorry, but that is also considered advertising - character names and guild names. Ditto for mentioning your casino on the forums. Even encouraging word of mouth would be in-game advertising, though you'd get those you asked to do it for you in trouble.

The only real place you could advertise would be on private forums (non-Blizzard ones) or a blog of your own.

Eilethalua's post is correct, actually. You may want to argue less with those who understand the rules as we've presented them, and merely consider the information they're sharing with you. =/

Malkorix

#52 - July 5, 2010, 6:55 p.m.

Q u o t e:

so even this post asking a question about a casino related email is bannable...?

welcome to fight club anybody?

Don't get too indignant. It was only relatively recently that the total ban on any form of casino or gambling was removed.

For a long time it was a violation of our policies to engage in a casino game, period. At least now, the option exists, even if the terms aren't as you might like them to be.

Malkorix

#60 - July 5, 2010, 7:21 p.m.

Q u o t e:
so guild chat is considered a 'manually-created private channel' though right?

No, a manually created private channel is one that is created by typing /join channelname. Please note that directing players to /join CasinoHappyFunTimes would also be considered advertising.