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Please stop bringing country or state-bashing into this discussion. |
China6330 Posts
14/02: puCK confirms he can play in WCS without further issues.
http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/2vlcu1/please_blizzard_let_puck_play_in_wcs/
Today  puCK stated on his twitter account that due to law reasons he might not be able to play in WCS, long story short as he is from North Dakota, the state law there bans gambling/competition which on a wider sense includes progaming.
puCK is now applying residency for Minnesota.
Original WCS handbook wording below:
ADDITIONAL TOURNAMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS:
AND (D) WHO ARE NOT RESIDENTS OF THE US STATES OF ARIZONA, CONNECTICUT, NORTH DAKOTA, MARYLAND, VERMONT OR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, CANADA (THE “ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS).
Relative North Dakota State law via http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/2vlcu1/please_blizzard_let_puck_play_in_wcs/coisup7
North Dakota Century Code, Chapter 53-11 "Contest Prize Notices"
53-11-01 defines a prize as "an item or service of value that is offered or awarded to a participant in a real or purported contest, competition, sweepstakes, puzzle..."
53-11-02 says "a sponsor may not require a person to pay the sponsor money as a condition of awarding the person a prize..."
Because you have to pay for Starcraft 2 to play in the open qualifiers, the law prevents Blizzard from payouts. If SC2 had a business model from this decade instead of the 90s, this wouldn't be a problem.
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Wow this just sucks.
So was puck ok with the anti-gambling stuff before? Or did this become a problem with the new WCS rule book?
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wasn't the old EG house in arizona? I imagine they have a similar law as they're listed with ND so I'm confused as to how no one has run into this issue before.
Its terrible for puck though, he could make a pretty deep run in new WCS
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Canada16217 Posts
well that sucks :/ hopefully it can be sorted out
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I don't think it will matter. Blizzard has allowed people from these states to play in their tournaments for years. Back in WC3 my friend qualified for USA's Blizzcon tournament and Blizzard said it was fine. WCG also had the same rule and I have never had any problems playing in it.
Also can someone explain to me how Maryland can have gambling laws that prevent entry into these tournaments, but have multiple casinos?
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What a strange country. And by strange I mean fucking idiotic.
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On February 12 2015 15:24 ROOTiaguz wrote:
What a strange country. And by strange I mean fucking idiotic.
That's state's rights in action for you. The philosophy behind it is that each administrative region can customize its legal code to service its citizens' principles, but in practice, it kind of just adds to the bureaucracy and fuels a weird fantasy that some states are being held back by the others.
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On February 12 2015 15:21 duckk wrote:
I don't think it will matter. Blizzard has allowed people from these states to play in their tournaments for years. Back in WC3 my friend qualified for USA's Blizzcon tournament and Blizzard said it was fine. WCG also had the same rule and I have never had any problems playing in it.
Also can someone explain to me how Maryland can have gambling laws that prevent entry into these tournaments, but have multiple casinos?
This is the point, laws to prohibit lotteries are generally to protect the revenue base of the state's "official" gambling industry.
By the way, absent some legal precedent the argument that puck isn't allowed to play because being required to own a copy of SC2 to play in a tournament constitutes being forced to make a payment to receive the prize of the tournament sounds very far-fetched to me. These laws are clearly meant to prohibit paid-in lotteries and raffles, not skill competitions.
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Seeker
Where dat snitch at?37034 Posts
How has puCK been able to participate in WCS in previous years then?
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On February 12 2015 16:03 Seeker wrote:
How has puCK been able to participate in WCS in previous years then?
by breaking the law, probably.
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On February 12 2015 16:03 Seeker wrote:
How has puCK been able to participate in WCS in previous years then?
Because no one cares and would never actually prosecute a guy for playing a video game under a law designed to prohibit lotteries.
That said, it's true that the legalese 2015 handbook seems to say you can't participate in WCS if you're a resident of several states, including North Dakota (the language quoted in the OP). The 2014 handbook didn't have this language.
Edit: It also says players from Quebec can't participate... so I guess for example desRow can't either? He didn't make it into WCS this season but still. I wonder whether the legalese in that handbook was actually researched or some guy at Blizzard just copy/pasted it from some other document. Judging by the multiple typos and formatting errors I noticed from a casual look at the section I doubt anyone spent any significant time writing it.
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China6330 Posts
That's why you need to release rulebook of your tournament before the competition even starts, not the other way around. Tbh I don't really believe they will actually shut puck down but the whole annoyance and the pressure it puts on him shouldn't exist in the first place.
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United States33457 Posts
Given the selective and arbitrary nature with which Blizz has enforced its rules in the past, hopefully this won't be a problem.
On February 12 2015 15:24 ROOTiaguz wrote:
What a strange country. And by strange I mean fucking idiotic.
fuck you, at least we don't have to worry about being eaten by dropbears
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On February 12 2015 16:45 Waxangel wrote:Given the selective and arbitrary nature with which Blizz has enforced its rules in the past, hopefully this won't be a problem. Show nested quote +On February 12 2015 15:24 ROOTiaguz wrote:
What a strange country. And by strange I mean fucking idiotic. fuck you, at least we don't have to worry about being eaten by dropbears
But you kill yourself. And you kill more people around the world than every other country. So do not try to tell anyone (except for yourself) that you are not an idiotic country.
User was warned for this post
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On February 12 2015 17:02 Lappen.464 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 12 2015 16:45 Waxangel wrote:Given the selective and arbitrary nature with which Blizz has enforced its rules in the past, hopefully this won't be a problem. On February 12 2015 15:24 ROOTiaguz wrote:
What a strange country. And by strange I mean fucking idiotic. fuck you, at least we don't have to worry about being eaten by dropbears But you kill yourself. And you kill more people around the world than every other country. So do not try to tell anyone (except for yourself) that you are not an idiotic country.
Bashing America at a staff member, with 19 posts under your belt.
Natural selection in action.
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Wait a minute, does that mean that even sports earnings (football, tenis, etc..) are forbidden ?!
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On February 12 2015 17:02 Lappen.464 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 12 2015 16:45 Waxangel wrote:Given the selective and arbitrary nature with which Blizz has enforced its rules in the past, hopefully this won't be a problem. On February 12 2015 15:24 ROOTiaguz wrote:
What a strange country. And by strange I mean fucking idiotic. fuck you, at least we don't have to worry about being eaten by dropbears But you kill yourself. And you kill more people around the world than every other country. So do not try to tell anyone (except for yourself) that you are not an idiotic country.
Just cool it with the US hating, there's a lot going wrong everywhere and all things considered, the USA are one of the best places to live. Give it another five years and everything that's bad about the USA will apply to EU countries as well.
Also, saying bad things about America is the surest thing to get you banned here.
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wtf is this? screw north dakota... charlotte's other sports team arent band... WTF
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Nice excuses.
I know that countries and states like to prototect their right to restrict gambling/lotterie to effectivly just make it a tax for people who don't understand math.
But well neither Blizzard or anyone else would have cared unless he brought it up himself.
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On February 12 2015 16:45 Waxangel wrote:Given the selective and arbitrary nature with which Blizz has enforced its rules in the past, hopefully this won't be a problem. Show nested quote +On February 12 2015 15:24 ROOTiaguz wrote:
What a strange country. And by strange I mean fucking idiotic. fuck you, at least we don't have to worry about being eaten by dropbears
Dropbears don't kill you to eat you mate. They just do it because it's fun. That half second of sheer terror as the neck cranes upwards and the scream is aborted halfway beneath 80 pounds of condensed fuzzy murder, THAT my friend is what a Dropbear lives for.
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EPT
