Terms of use

1 SiGMA ADR is an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service, specializing in the field of gambling disputes. SiGMA ADR is authorised by the Malta Consumer Affairs Council (“CAC”) to act as an ADR service for Malta Gaming Authority (“MGA” ) licensees.

2 SiGMA ADR accepts disputes that arise between registered sites that hold operating license from the MGA and their players (“Player”). We are pleased to offer our assistance provided the below measures are followed:

3 These Terms of Use apply to all Operators and Players who wish to use SiGMA ADR to resolve a dispute. By submitting a complaint each Player agrees to be bound by, and to comply with, these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use may be amended from time to time, so you should check the most up to date version of these Terms of Use before submitting any Complaint.

4 These Terms of Use include SiGMA ADR’s Resolution Procedure, which is deemed to be incorporated into these Terms of Use.

5 When certain words and phrases are used in these Terms of Use, they have specific meanings (these are known as “defined terms”). You can identify these defined terms because they start with capital letters (even if they are not at the start of a sentence). Where a defined term is used, it has the meaning given to it below:

Player means any person who enters into a betting or gaming transaction with a registered Operator.

DRO means SiGMA’s Dispute Resolution Officer

Complaint means a dispute between a Player and an Operator regarding the expected return from a bet, game, gambling activity, or account transaction, including any promised credit, which the Operator has not resolved to the Player’s satisfaction.

Gaming Authority means that Gaming Authority of Malta.

SiGMA ADR means the SG ADR MT LTD, a company registered in Malta, under company number C 108262 with its registered address at 146, Triq il-Wied Hal-Balzan, BZN 1402, Ħal Balzan, Malta.

Operator means any provider of betting or gaming services that holds an operating licence from the Gaming Authority, or whose registration is otherwise accepted by SiGMA ADR.

6 SiGMA ADR shall only resolve a Complaint when:

6.1 the Operator holds an operating licence from the Gaming Authority and the Complaint concerns a gambling transaction which is subject to the laws of Malta; and

6.2 the Operator is registered or becomes registered with SiGMA ADR prior to the resolution of the complaint (Player can check whether an Operator is registered with SiGMA ADR); and

6.3 the Player has followed the Operator’s complaints policy , and has either been informed by a senior manager that the Complaint has been resolved in accordance with the Operator’s complaints procedure or the Complaint has not been resolved to the Player’s satisfaction within 8 (eight) weeks from the date the Player made the Operator aware of the Complaint (provided that the Player has cooperated with that complaints procedure in a timely fashion); and

6.4 the Complaint is not the subject of any court action, unless referred to SiGMA ADR by a court; and

6.5 the Complaint has not been ruled upon previously by any other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) entity, regulatory authority or court; and

7. SiGMA ADR reserves the right to refuse the handling of the Complaint at any time if:

7.1 the Player has not followed the Operator’s complaint procedure;

7.2 SiGMA ADR considers that the Player and Operator have failed to make reasonable efforts to resolve the Complaint;

7.3 it is considered by SiGMA ADR to be vexatious or frivolous, for example, but not limited to where:

7.3.1 it relates to a non-existent transaction;

7.3.2 it is restricted to a complaint about standards or customer service;

7.3.3 it is repetitive of previous complaints presented by the same Player;

7.3.4 either party to the complaint has, in SiGMA ADR’s opinion made a deliberate attempt to mislead or omitted to mention material facts, or does not comply with other requirements set out in these Terms of Use or any agreement between SiGMA ADR and the Operator;

7.4 the monetary value of the claim falls above or below any upper or lower threshold which shall be set out on the SiGMA ADR’s website;

7.5 the Player has not submitted the Complaint within 12 (twelve) months from the date upon which the Operator has given notice to the Player that it is unable to resolve the Dispute, unless SiGMA ADR considers that there have been exceptional circumstances delaying its referral;

7.6 dealing with it would seriously impair the effective operation of SiGMA ADR;

7.7 either party attempts to intimidate, threaten or extent any undue external pressure on the process; or

7.8 SiGMA ADR has yet to receive the applicable registration fees from the Operator for the applicable period.

8. SiGMA ADR may, in its absolute discretion, refuse to register any Operator.

9. The complaint resolution procedure shall be conducted in accordance with the SiGMA ADR Resolution Procedures, which can be posted or e-mailed to either party on request.

10. The complaint resolution procedure is free of charge to all Players , but both Operators and Players will be responsible for all their own costs and any expenses incurred in relation to any complaint referred to SiGMA ADR. Each party agrees not to take any legal action against the other to recover any such costs. Where a finding is made in favour of a Player , SiGMA ADR may consider reimbursement by the Operator of expenses incurred by the Player in its absolute discretion.

11. In all cases, the complaint resolution procedure shall be conducted wholly in the English language unless otherwise advertised and/or agreed by SiGMA ADR.

12. SiGMA ADR reserves the right to share the evidence and other information provided by either Player or Operator with the other party, in order to allow them to respond to certain points of dispute. It may decide to share only extracts of that evidence where it considers that: (i) only a limited amount of the evidence is relevant to the Complaint, (ii) some of the evidence is confidential and/or SiGMA ADR is required by law not to share it; and/or (iii) doing so may result in the sharing of personal data or information belonging to third parties who have not agreed to participate in the process. Both Player and Operator are entitled to request copies of the evidence provided by the other party, which shall be provided subject to due consideration of any data protection or other regulatory or legislative restrictions that may apply to it.

13. SiGMA ADR shall take no more than 90 days to issue its ruling, except in special circumstances, which shall be notified to the parties. Further information on the timeline for resolution can be found in the Complaint resolution Procedure.

16. SiGMA ADR shall process any personal information relating to Players or Operators in accordance with this Privacy Notice.

17. SiGMA ADR, its directors, employees and contractors and agents, including its DROs, will have no liability to either Operator or Player or any other party to a Complaint in relation to any ruling, any review of a ruling or any other part of the resolution procedure for any loss howsoever caused.

18. These Terms of Use are to be construed according to the laws of Malta.

SiGMA ADR COMPLAINT RESOLUTION PROCEDURES

1. The Complaint Resolution Procedure

1.1 SiGMA ADR will acknowledge receipt of the Player’s Complaint within 3 (three) working days.

1.2 Following receipt of a Complaint, SiGMA ADR will consider whether it is able to investigate the Complaint by reference to sections 6 and 7 of the Terms of Use. If SiGMA ADR determines that it cannot handle the Complaint it will, within three weeks of the date upon which it received the Dispute, inform both parties and provide a reasonable explanation of the grounds for not handling the Complaint.

1.3 When a Complaint is referred to SiGMA ADR and it determines that it can handle the Complaint, the Player will be requested to make a written submission setting out all of their reasons for believing that they are entitled to their claim. The submission should include the full circumstances of the Complaint and, where relevant, reference to any relevant terms or game rules of the Operator. The Player should also send any documents or evidence held, and an indication of any evidence relevant to the Complaint which the Player believes that the Operator might hold.

1.4 Where the Player takes in excess of 28 (twenty-eight) days to respond to any request for information, SiGMA ADR will consider ‘pausing’ the Complaint where it reasonably believes that the Player would otherwise be deprived of an opportunity to have the Complaint fairly considered. Where SiGMA ADR decides to pause the Complaint, it will notify the Player and the Operator.

1.5 Upon receipt of a completed Complaint form from a Player, and following clarification of any queries, SiGMA ADR will require the Operator to make a full written submission to SiGMA ADR of the circumstances of the Complaint. Any submissions should be made within 10 (ten) days of receipt by a senior member of the Operator’s staff and should include details as to the primary point of contact which should be used by SiGMA ADR.

1.6 The submission should include any staff comments or actions and where possible provide supporting evidence of all factual assertions, including all relevant data stored on computer systems. Operators should refer to the relevant part of their terms or rules and say how they apply in the circumstances of the Complaint. Operators should say if they do not have a term or rule covering the circumstances of the Complaint, or if the Player could not have been aware of the term or rule in question for whatever reason. When a Complaint has involved communication systems and/or information technology, then upon request by SiGMA ADR the Operator must submit a report into their systems that addresses the issue giving rise to the Complaint.

1.7 SiGMA ADR reserves the right to discontinue its investigation into a Complaint at any time. Without prejudice to this right SiGMA ADR will normally explain their reasons, which may include the following circumstances as illustrations:

1.8 If either party to the Complaint has in SiGMA ADR’s opinion misled the SiGMA ADR , or omitted to mention material facts, or does not comply with other requirements set out within these Terms of Use, or any agreement between SiGMA ADR and the Operator.

1.9 DRO judges the submissions made to be vexatious or frivolous or in any way an abuse of the resolution procedure.

1.10 Information comes to light during the resolution process which satisfies SiGMA ADR that the Dispute would be better considered by another regulatory authority.

1.11 The calculated financial value of the claim falls above or below any stipulated maximum or minimum threshold advertised by SiGMA ADR, unless, in the case of Complaint below an advertised minimum threshold, SiGMA ADR considers at that stage that the principle of the Complaint is more significant than its monetary value.

1.12 If in the view of SiGMA ADR, either party unreasonably refuses to comply with the Terms of Use or the Complaint Resolution Procedure.

1.13 If the Player fails to respond following more than two attempts to contact that Player.

1.14 Following receipt of submissions, DRO may require further explanation, or the production of further evidence relating to the Complaint. This may include, but is not limited to, evidence of the circumstances in which the Operator’s terms of trading, game return information, odds, and specific game or betting rules were made available or drawn to the Player’s attention.

1.15 SiGMA ADR expects Operators to make payment of any undisputed part of a part-disputed gambling transaction to a Player with whom they are in Dispute, at the earliest opportunity. If an Operator makes a goodwill payment in respect of any Disputed claim, or part of a claim, before the SiGMA ADR resolution procedure has commenced, then unless it is accepted in writing by the Player as being in full settlement of his or her claim, SiGMA ADR will continue to investigate it.

1.16 Players may request SiGMA ADR to cease resolution of their Dispute at any time. SiGMA ADR may then ask the Player to sign a letter confirming their request to end the resolution process.

1.17 Operators must use all reasonable endeavors to retain all relevant records and data relating to Disputes until after the Dispute is settled, or SiGMA ADR has issued a ruling with which the Operator has complied.

1.18 SiGMA ADR will provide the Operator and Player with an update on the resolution process at least every 30 (thirty) days.

2. PLAYER – OPERATOR COMMUNICATION

2.1 Operators and Players in a Dispute which has been referred to SiGMA ADR should refrain from contacting each other and discussing the Dispute. If the Operator wishes to make an offer to the Player to settle the Dispute after the SiGMA ADR resolution procedure has commenced, it should submit details of the proposed settlement to SiGMA ADR. SiGMA ADR will then suspend the resolution and communicate the offer to the Player requesting acceptance or rejection within 21(twenty-one) days. SiGMA ADR will notify the Operator of the Player’s decision.

2.2 If the Player rejects the offer, SiGMA ADR will resume the resolution process without allowing the fact of the offer to influence its decision. If the offer is accepted, this will be treated as in full and final settlement of the Dispute and SiGMA ADR will conclude the resolution process. If an Operator pays a goodwill payment to the Player, other than in accordance with this procedure, then the resolution process will continue, unless and until the Player withdraws the claim.

3. THE OBLIGATION TO OBSERVE CONFIDENTIALITY

3.1 SiGMA ADR considers gambling transactions to be confidential between the parties concerned. To this end, Operators and Players are requested to respect the rights of each party in the dispute to confidentiality. This request to observe confidentiality does not restrict:

(a) the Player’s ability to notify the Gaming Authority or other regulators or law enforcement agencies of conduct which might otherwise be reported and/or complained of;

(b) the Operator’s ability to notify the Gaming Authority or other regulators or law enforcement agencies of offences, including breaches of licence conditions or social

responsibility codes of practice;

(d) either party providing information to a regulator, or in the course of legal proceedings.

3.2 As part of the complaint resolution procedure SiGMA ADR must notify Operators of the name of the complainant. Players and their designated representatives are expected to correspond with SiGMA ADR in their true names. SiGMA ADR may disclose facts about the nature of any Dispute and its ruling on its website, annual report or other literature, and to other Operators, but will not disclose the identity of the parties to the Dispute. Should either party seek to publicize the details of a Dispute in breach of these Resolution Procedures, SiGMA ADR will ordinarily make no public comment unless otherwise agreed by any other parties to the same Dispute.

3.3 SiGMA ADR will at all times store all data and documents securely and act in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and its own Privacy Notice. It must be understood by Operators and Players that the nature of the complaint resolution procedure relating to disputed gambling transactions is facilitated by the maintenance of confidence. Accordingly, SiGMA ADR will maintain the confidence of submissions, save in instances where it is obliged to disclose material to its legal advisors or any relevant regulatory body, or as required by law. Information relating to SiGMA ADR’s approach around data access can be found in the Data Access Policy.

4. SiGMA ADR RULINGS

4.1 At the conclusion of the resolution procedure, the SiGMA ADR will issue a ruling in writing which will notify simultaneously to the Player and Operator. SiGMA ADR rulings shall be legally non-binding on the Player but binding on the Operator if accepted by the Player.

4.2 The issuing of a ruling and the consideration of any related request for review shall conclude SiGMA ADR’s obligation under these Resolution Procedures to the Player and Operator. SiGMA ADR will not then enter into correspondence in relation to a Dispute with either party unless SiGMA ADR in its absolute discretion considers it appropriate.

4.3 SiGMA ADR may, in its absolute discretion, undertake a review of a ruling which it has issued but only in exceptional circumstances and provided that a request for review is received within 40 days of the notifying of the decision to the parties. The decision to review will rest with SiGMA ADR Executive and will only be undertaken if there is compelling evidence to suggest that a ruling may have been wrong, for example, if it is clear that the SiGMA ADR has adjudicated upon the basis of factually incorrect information or if it appears that there has been an obvious misinterpretation of the relevant rules. The parties will be informed as soon as reasonably practical of a decision to refuse a review and in the event of a review being undertaken, SiGMA ADR will notify the parties of the outcome of the review simultaneously.

4.4 The Directors of SiGMA ADR will investigate any complaint received from a Player or Operator against SiGMA ADR concerning the way it has handled a Dispute or the conduct of any member of SiGMA ADR’s staff or SiGMA ADR’s DROs.

5. BREACHES

5.1 SiGMA ADR reserves the right to refuse to investigate a Dispute, or continue with a pending resolution procedure if, in its absolute discretion it decides that an Operator, any of its personnel, a Player or their designated representative has seriously or persistently been responsible directly or indirectly for intimidation or duress in dealings with SiGMA ADR staff or has otherwise acted abusively or unreasonably.

6. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

6.1 If SiGMA ADR considers that there would be a conflict of interest in conducting any resolution using the SiGMA ADR personnel assigned to the Dispute it will first seek to use alternative personnel to ensure that the conflict of interest is resolved. If not possible, SiGMA ADR may suggest that parties refer the Dispute to an alternative provider that is competent to deal with the Dispute (and in which case the terms of that provider will govern such Dispute). If the parties are unable to refer the Dispute to another provider, SiGMA ADR will inform the Player and Operator of the circumstances of the conflict of interest. Both Player and Operator have a right to object to the conflicted SiGMA ADR personnel continuing to handle the Dispute. The resolution procedure will only continue if neither party objects.

7. GENERAL

7.1 SiGMA ADR reserves the right to apply other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in order to resolve a dispute in the event that it considers that the resolution procedure is inappropriate for the circumstances of the Dispute, subject to the agreement of both Player and Operator.