Terms of Service

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY. THEY CONTAIN A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS (Section 16). BY USING GAFFER YOU AGREE TO RESOLVE DISPUTES INDIVIDUALLY THROUGH ARBITRATION RATHER THAN IN COURT.

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) form a binding agreement between you and Gaffer (also referred to as “we”, “us”, or “our”) and govern your access to and use of the Gaffer website, mobile site, applications, smart contracts, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). By creating an account, depositing funds, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Operator. “Gaffer” refers to the natural or legal person operating the Service from time to time. The Service is currently operated by an unincorporated venture. When a successor entity is formed to operate the Service (the “Operator Entity”), these Terms will apply to that entity with the same effect, and your existing account, contests, and balances will transfer automatically. We will notify you by email when an Operator Entity is formed.

1. Eligibility

To open an account or participate in any contest you must:

• Be at least eighteen (18) years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is greater).
• Have full legal capacity to enter into a binding contract.
• Not be a resident of, or physically located in, a jurisdiction in which use of the Service is prohibited or restricted (see Section 2).
• Not be the subject of any economic or trade sanctions administered or enforced by any governmental authority (including OFAC, EU, UN, or HMT sanctions lists), and not be located in or a national of any country subject to comprehensive sanctions.
• Not have been previously suspended or removed from the Service.

Before you enter a USDC contest, we may require you to confirm your age and location and may use IP-based location checks to verify eligibility. We may also request information or documentation to verify your identity, location, age, source of funds, or beneficial ownership. Failure to provide such information promptly may result in suspension or termination of your account and forfeiture of related entries.

2. Geographic Restrictions

The Service is offered only where it is lawful. USDC league entries are open for public and invite-only leagues in every country except those under comprehensive sanctions, and are not available in certain US states and Canadian provinces. Free leagues are available everywhere. Countries under comprehensive sanctions, where USDC entry is refused outright, are: Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria. U.S. and Canadian entries remain subject to the state and province restrictions below.

USDC entry contests are not available in any of the following:

• United Kingdom / Great Britain, unless and until we determine that offering the relevant contest is lawful without a licence or under an applicable permission.
• U.S. states: Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Louisiana, Arizona, Iowa, New York, Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois.
• U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Canadian provinces: Ontario, Alberta.
• Any country or region subject to comprehensive U.S., EU, UK, UN, or other applicable sanctions.

We may restrict, suspend or withdraw the availability of USDC entry contests in any country, state, province or territory where we determine that legal, regulatory or compliance considerations require it, and we may do so without prior notice where the circumstances require. The eligibility description above and the entry checks applied to your account reflect the restrictions in force at the time of your entry.

Free contests are available in all jurisdictions in which the Service is lawfully accessible. Access from a restricted location, including via VPN or other circumvention, is a material breach of these Terms and grounds for immediate termination and forfeiture.

You represent and warrant, each time you participate in a USDC entry contest, that you are not physically located in a restricted jurisdiction at the time of entry.

3. Account Registration & Security

You agree to: (a) provide accurate, current, and complete information; (b) maintain and promptly update that information; (c) maintain the security of your account credentials, passkeys, and any wallet recovery factors; and (d) accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account, whether or not authorized by you, except as required by law.

One account per person. Creating multiple accounts, sharing accounts, or registering on behalf of another person is prohibited and grounds for immediate termination and forfeiture of all entries and prizes.

You must notify us promptly at legal@playgaffer.xyz of any unauthorized use of your account or any other suspected breach of security. We are not liable for any loss arising from your failure to comply with this section.

4. Contests of Skill

Fantasy contests on Gaffer are contests of skill, not contests of chance. Outcomes are determined by participants’ knowledge, judgment, and strategy in selecting lineups, applying rules, and managing teams across multiple events. Entry into any contest is voluntary.

We make no representation that any contest qualifies as a “fantasy contest” under any specific statute in your jurisdiction. Where local law requires licensure, registration, age limits, deposit limits, or other restrictions, we reserve the right to limit or refuse service. Where we offer USDC entry contests, we do so only in jurisdictions we permit at the time of entry and any additional terms disclosed at the point of entry control.

5. Entries, Fees, and Prize Pools

By entering a USDC contest you agree to all rules disclosed for that contest, including squad size, scoring rules, transfer limits, chip availability, deadlines, refund cutoffs, and the prize distribution structure.

Gaffer’s role. Gaffer provides software, scoring, escrow/payment instructions, and administration tooling. Users may create their own leagues, and Gaffer may create, configure, or administer official or closed-alpha leagues. Creating or administering a league does not make Gaffer a participant, bookmaker, or counterparty to any user’s entry. Gaffer does not enter contests against users.

Service fee. A platform service fee is collected at the time of entry, either separately from the entry deposit or deducted from the gross amount you pay before determining the prize pool. The service fee compensates Gaffer for operating the platform, calculating scores, securing funds, and providing tooling. The fee amount or percentage is disclosed at entry and may vary by league size, security model, infrastructure cost, or other operational factors. It is not a cut of any prize pool and is not refundable, including in the events described in Section 6.

Prize pool. The prize pool for a USDC contest is the sum of all entry deposits after service fees. Prize pools are distributed strictly in accordance with the prize distribution structure disclosed at entry. Distribution occurs on-chain following the conclusion of the contest and verification of final standings.

USDC only. All deposits, fees, and prize distributions are denominated and settled in USDC on the Starknet network. You are responsible for understanding USDC, Starknet, transaction fees (which Gaffer may sponsor in certain cases), and the risks of using public blockchain infrastructure (see Section 11).

Closed alpha escrow. USDC entry contests use the LeagueVault smart contract for entry deposits unless a separate written notice is shown before entry. Alpha support and operations may remain hands-on, but entry funds are not routed through a separate alpha payment flow.

6. Refunds & Cancellations

Entries may be refundable before lock. Contest-specific rules may allow you to back out before the league locks, starts, or reaches the disclosed refund cutoff. If so, you receive the entry amount minus the disclosed service fee. Once that cutoff passes, the entry is locked until the contest settles in accordance with the disclosed rules.

Service fees are not refundable. Any platform service fee, network fee, on-ramp fee, or third-party fee remains nonrefundable unless we expressly state otherwise at the point of entry or applicable law requires otherwise.

If you are removed for breach of these Terms, are unable to access the Service, fail to set a lineup, or change your mind after the refund cutoff, you are not entitled to a refund. If you are the only remaining participant at the deadline, the contest will be settled according to the disclosed rules using the remaining funds in escrow.

We may, in our sole discretion, cancel a contest that has not yet locked and return net entry amounts to participants. Once a contest is locked, cancellation is at our sole discretion and any return of funds, if made, is on a best-efforts basis.

7. Acceptable Use

You agree not to, and not to attempt to:

• Use bots, scripts, automation, or any other software to enter contests, set lineups, or interact with the Service except through interfaces we explicitly authorize.
• Collude with other participants, coordinate lineups, share account access, or create multiple accounts.
• Exploit bugs, glitches, scoring errors, latency, or any vulnerability in the Service or its underlying smart contracts for unfair advantage. You agree to report any such issue promptly to security@playgaffer.xyz.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive source code from the Service except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law.
• Use the Service to engage in money laundering, terrorism financing, tax evasion, or any unlawful activity.
• Submit false or misleading information about your identity, age, location, or eligibility.
• Post, transmit, or share content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, threatening, infringing, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service, including by introducing malware or by attempting to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service.
• Use the Service to scrape, harvest, or otherwise collect data about other participants.

We may investigate suspected violations using any reasonable means. Confirmed violations are grounds for, without limitation, account suspension, account termination, forfeiture of entries and prizes, recovery of funds disbursed in error, reversal of transactions where technically possible, and reporting to law enforcement.

8. User Content & License

You retain ownership of content you create or post on the Service (including league names, descriptions, rule sets, invitations, and submissions) (“User Content”).

By submitting User Content you grant Gaffer a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, display, perform, modify, and distribute that content as reasonably necessary to operate, promote, and improve the Service. This license terminates when you delete the content, except that we may retain copies as required by law, for backup, or to comply with our legitimate business records.

You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to grant the foregoing license and that your User Content does not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.

9. Intellectual Property

The Service, including all software, source code, smart contracts, designs, graphics, logos, copy, and the “Gaffer” name and marks, is owned by us or our licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes in accordance with these Terms. No other rights are granted.

Player names, statistics, fixtures, and team information are sourced from third-party data providers and are used for the limited purpose of operating fantasy contests. We do not claim affiliation with or endorsement by any sports league, team, governing body, or player. All such marks are the property of their respective owners.

10. Third-Party Services & Wallets

The Service integrates third-party services including, without limitation, Starknet network infrastructure, Privy (embedded wallet provider), Swapper.finance (fiat on-ramp where available), Supabase (data storage), API-Football (sports data), Resend (email), and PostHog and Google Analytics (analytics). We are not responsible for the acts, omissions, availability, security, or content of any third-party service. Your use of any third-party service is subject to its own terms.

You are solely responsible for the security of your wallet, your recovery factors (passkeys, seed phrases, backup keys), and any device or browser you use to access the Service. Loss or compromise of your wallet may result in irrevocable loss of funds. Gaffer cannot recover, reverse, or refund any transaction broadcast to a public blockchain.

11. Risks of Blockchain Transactions

You acknowledge and accept that blockchain transactions are inherently risky, irreversible, and outside Gaffer’s control. Risks include, without limitation: network congestion or downtime; smart contract bugs (including in contracts deployed by Gaffer); changes in protocol consensus rules; loss of access to wallets, passkeys, or recovery factors; fluctuations in the value of USDC or other digital assets; regulatory action against the Starknet network, USDC, or related services; phishing and social engineering attacks; and bridge or exchange failures affecting on-ramp or off-ramp.

Gaffer does not provide investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. Decisions to deposit, hold, or withdraw any digital asset are solely your own.

12. Suspension & Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account, or restrict access to any part of the Service, at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including:

• Suspected or confirmed breach of these Terms.
• Suspected fraud, abuse, collusion, money laundering, or other unlawful activity.
• Compliance with a legal request, court order, or regulatory inquiry.
• Risk to other users or to the integrity of the Service.
• Discontinuation of all or part of the Service.

You may close your account at any time from your settings page. Closure does not entitle you to a refund of any service fees or deposited entry funds that are subject to ongoing contests. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18) will survive.

13. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Gaffer, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your access to or use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any applicable law or third-party right; or (e) any dispute between you and another user. We reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with our defense.

14. Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. GAFFER, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, GAFFER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; THAT SCORING WILL BE ACCURATE OR TIMELY; THAT THIRD-PARTY DATA WILL BE COMPLETE OR CORRECT; OR THAT SMART CONTRACTS WILL OPERATE AS INTENDED. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES; IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMERS APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

15. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL GAFFER, ITS AFFILIATES, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, LICENSORS, OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, USE, OR DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF GAFFER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, GAFFER’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO GAFFER IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100). YOU AGREE THAT THIS CAP IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN YOU AND GAFFER, AND THAT GAFFER WOULD NOT PROVIDE THE SERVICE WITHOUT IT.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

16. Binding Arbitration; Class Action Waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

You and Gaffer agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Service, or your use of the Service (each, a “Dispute”) will be resolved by binding individual arbitration and not in a court of law, except that either party may bring an individual action in small claims court if it qualifies.

Informal resolution first. Before initiating arbitration, you agree to first contact us at legal@playgaffer.xyz with a written description of the Dispute and any supporting documentation. The parties will attempt in good faith to resolve the Dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days from the date of receipt before initiating arbitration.

Arbitration rules. Arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, except as modified here. Arbitration will be conducted in English by a single arbitrator. The seat of arbitration will be Wilmington, Delaware; the arbitrator may permit telephonic or video hearings. The arbitrator’s decision will be final and binding, and judgment may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Fees. Each party will bear its own attorneys’ fees unless the arbitrator awards otherwise. AAA filing and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Consumer Rules.

CLASS ACTION WAIVER. YOU AND GAFFER AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S CLAIMS AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A REPRESENTATIVE OR CLASS PROCEEDING. IF THIS CLASS ACTION WAIVER IS FOUND UNENFORCEABLE, THE ENTIRETY OF THIS SECTION 16 WILL BE NULL AND VOID.

30-day opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to legal@playgaffer.xyz within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. Notice must state “Arbitration Opt-Out”, include your full name, address, and email, and be signed by you. Opting out will not affect any other part of these Terms.

Injunctive relief. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property, confidential information, or smart contract or wallet security pending resolution of an arbitration.

17. Governing Law; Venue

These Terms and any Dispute will be governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, U.S.A., without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Subject to Section 16, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Wilmington, Delaware for any matter not subject to arbitration (including actions to enforce an arbitration award).

18. Force Majeure

Gaffer is not liable for any failure or delay in performance arising from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, civil disturbance, labor disputes, governmental action, regulatory action, pandemic, cyberattack, internet outage, blockchain network failure or congestion, third-party service failure (including Privy, Swapper.finance, Supabase, Starknet RPC, API-Football, Resend), or smart contract bug or exploit attributable to a third party.

19. Modifications

We may modify these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email and surface the change in-app before it takes effect, with a reasonable opportunity for you to review and (where required by law) reject the change by closing your account. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of a change constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

20. Assignment

You may not assign, delegate, or transfer these Terms or any rights or obligations hereunder, by operation of law or otherwise, without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms freely, including to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets.

21. Severability; Waiver; Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of that right or provision. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any contest-specific rules disclosed at entry, constitute the entire agreement between you and Gaffer concerning the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications.

22. Notices

We will give you notices by posting them on the Service or by sending them to the email address associated with your account. You agree to receive electronic notices and that electronic notices satisfy any legal requirement of written notice. You may give us notice at legal@playgaffer.xyz.

23. Contact

General: hello@playgaffer.xyz
Legal: legal@playgaffer.xyz
Security: security@playgaffer.xyz