• Early Mass Effect 3 Winners face Federal and State charges for trying to raffle off the game.
    38 replies, posted
[img]http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17et5m0rv5wxhjpg/original.jpg[/img] [quote]The two men who won an early copy of Mass Effect 3 this weekend may have broken both state and federal laws by trying to raffle it off. Two weeks ago, publisher Electronic Arts took copies of the sci-fi role-playing game and launched them into space on weather balloons. GPS devices were attached to each balloon, so dedicated fans could track down landing points and get their paws on early copies of the highly-anticipated game, which comes out for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on March 6. This past weekend, videomakers Michael Davis and Miguel Droz uncovered a copy of the game in the Arizona desert. On Sunday, they decided to raffle it off. Interested gamers could pay $5 for a ticket and a chance to get the winning number, as determined by a random generator. Davis and Droz said that 30% of the proceeds would go to the Child's Play charity organization — and that the rest would go to the video game company they hope to open. But by choosing to raffle off the game and keep some of the proceeds, Davis and Droz may be subject to "potential criminal penalties" that may include jail time and a very large fine, says attorney Mark Methenitis. According to state law in Nevada, where the pair say they are based, lotteries are only legal if all of the funds go to charity. "They're running an illegal lottery which subjects them to potential criminal penalties." "You can pretty much never rely on a charitable gaming exemption unless 100% of the money goes to a charity (though you can often use part of the funds to cover event costs, ie dealers at a charity casino night)," Methenitis said in an e-mail to Kotaku. "Diverting the funds here is about as clear cut as you can get; they're using the funds for personal gain." Though Methenitis does not practice in Nevada, he says he has experience with similar laws in other states. In addition, since Davis and Droz are accepting entries across U.S. state lines, Methenitis says it's both a state and a federal issue. "In short, they're running an illegal lottery which subjects them to potential criminal penalties," Methenitis said. "I would imagine that Child's Play, if they knew what was going on, would not want to be involved. I won't even get into the issues with the IRS that could come up here." Although Davis and Droz say they will match whatever they earn by donating that amount to Child's Play at some point within the next few years, Methenitis says that's irrelevant. The raffle is still illegal. "It's often a felony, which usually means something like 1-10 years in prison and/or a fine (usually in the thousands to tens of thousands range)," Methenitis said. Kotaku has reached out to both Child's Play and Electronic Arts for comment. Update: On Monday afternoon, Droz e-mailed a statement to Kotaku: We were actually unaware of the legal ramifications before we started this. At first we actually thought it would be a great idea for a great cause. Just because of that, and us not wanting to get into any hot water, we'll be giving all of the donations to Childs Play. Update 2: Droz sent over another statement: So as of now we are officially cancelling this entire thing, and refunding everyone's money through PayPal. Sorry about that, we should have done our homework first, but in the rush to get this done, hopefully do something cool for charity and get ourselves a kickstart to start our company, we just didn't do our due diligence. Again, we super apologize for wasting anyone's time. Update 3: Child's Play's Jamie Dillion has also responded to Kotaku's request for comment: Although we can't stop anyone from donating to Child's Play, this group reached out to us over the weekend and we had not yet been able to decline the offer to participate. As a policy, we only promote fundraisers that benefit Child's Play 100%. Otherwise, we run the risk of partnering with fundraisers that look to leverage the charity for their own personal gain. We encourage anyone with fundraising questions to get in touch - [email]jdillion@childsplaycharity.org[/email].[/quote] [url]http://kotaku.com/5888619/early-mass-effect-3-winners-may-have-jumped-into-legal-hot-water[/url] Pretty harsh response for two guys who were donating to charity and wanting to start up their own gaming company. Not like they were secretly hiding their ambitions.
so basically if they can't get 100% of the earnings they don't want any of it i mean i understand where they're coming from in regards to people using it for personal gain, but what...?
I understand that there are illegal lottery laws in place and why are they there, but this is a shame. They put 30% and want to use the rest to start a business. If I was the judge, I would consider the good intent and the fact that it's a sort of one-time opportunity, and not attempt to casually run illegal lottery.
so glad they stopped those villains that were endangering society
The system works gentlemen.
[QUOTE]Two weeks ago, publisher Electronic Arts took copies of the sci-fi role-playing game and launched them into space on weather balloons. GPS devices were attached to each balloon, so dedicated fans could track down landing points and get their paws on early copies of the highly-anticipated game, which comes out for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on March 6.[/QUOTE] Hadn't heard about this, interesting publicity stunt. Would have been fucking hilarious to watch a video of 50+ nerds trying to grab one copy as it slowly falls down to earth. [editline]28th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE][B]As a policy, we only promote fundraisers that benefit Child's Play 100%[/B]. Otherwise, we run the risk of partnering with fundraisers that look to leverage the charity for their own personal gain. [/QUOTE] Wait, what? Then how the fuck do they get a spot on the Humble Bundles? They don't give 100% of profits to them.
[QUOTE=latin_geek;34905168]Wait, what? Then how the fuck do they get a spot on the Humble Bundles? They don't give 100% of profits to them.[/QUOTE] Because it works differently.
How much did they make?
[QUOTE=Sickle;34905250]How much did they make?[/QUOTE] 3-5 years
Lethal injection
Good thing they got set straight. The whole balloon plan was just so people could play the game early, not have some fuckwats immediately make a profit on it, no matter how legit they try to make the offer.
This world is fucked up. "OHMAGAWD! NIGGERSoCIALIST GAMBLING AND FAGGOTRY!?!?!??!?!" Meanwhile half the world is starving to death. Somethings are really fucked up. Especially when you put a far out perspective on it.
[QUOTE=MIPS;34905361]Good thing they got set straight. The whole balloon plan was just so people could play the game early, not have some fuckwats immediately make a profit on it, no matter how legit they try to make the offer.[/QUOTE] Didn't Bioware say whoever got the early copy can do whatever they want with it?
This has nothing to do with Bioware. This has everything to do with Nevada state law. [editline]27th February 2012[/editline] They'd probably be able to do this in a state like Florida. Of course, there would probably be taxes and such they'd be legally obligated to account for. [quote]...accepting entries across U.S. state lines...[/quote] ...and that compounds even more [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotteries_in_the_United_States]legal shit[/url] into it.
I came in here expecting this to be Bioware filing charges against them but I'm glad that's not the case. That really is too bad for the guys though.
Yeah, it sucks but it's also a bit of an asshole move on their part.
[QUOTE=stupid07er;34905815]I came in here expecting this to be Bioware filing charges against them but I'm glad that's not the case. That really is too bad for the guys though.[/QUOTE] Not really... I would agree with you if the guys were running an auction and were going to give ALL the money to charity. But that's not the case. These guys were going to profit off of this. They were taking advantage of people and stealing their money for illegal gambling. Serves them right.
The better thing to have done is just eBay it. That way it doesn't count as a lottery. [editline]28th February 2012[/editline] Or at least some sort of auction.
The judge was just jealous that they found the copy.
[QUOTE=latin_geek;34905168] Wait, what? Then how the fuck do they get a spot on the Humble Bundles? They don't give 100% of profits to them.[/QUOTE] The Humble Indie Bundles are not lotteries and they are not even technically fundraisers. Just people selling games, willing to donate to Child's Play if the buyer so wishes.
[QUOTE=monkey11;34906007]The Humble Indie Bundles are not lotteries and they are not even technically fundraisers. Just people selling games, willing to donate to Child's Play if the buyer so wishes.[/QUOTE] Also, it says that Child's Play won't advertise for those who don't give 100%, but that they can't stop anyone from donating anyway. I haven't seen them advertising the HIB
Why are lotteries illegal?
They should do this with Half Life 3. I bet people will try to intercept the weatherballoon while it's still in space.
[QUOTE=Mister Royzo;34906948]They should do this with Half Life 3. I bet people will try to intercept the weatherballoon while it's still in space.[/QUOTE] I bet it'll be shot down before it's even 100m off the ground.
[QUOTE=God of Ashes;34905951]Not really... I would agree with you if the guys were running an auction and were going to give ALL the money to charity. But that's not the case. These guys were going to profit off of this. They were taking advantage of people and stealing their money for illegal gambling. Serves them right.[/QUOTE] I know ignorance isn't an excuse for breaking the law, but they weren't stealing. People were willingly buying raffle tickets. The two guys had no idea what they were doing was illegal, and it sounds like when they found out they were horrified, called it all off, and gave back the money.
[QUOTE=Zet;34905656]Didn't Bioware say whoever got the early copy can do whatever they want with it?[/QUOTE] I would break my early copy and stream the whole process online just to watch thousands of nerds rage :v:
[QUOTE=squids_eye;34906775]Why are lotteries illegal?[/QUOTE] Moral guardians campaigned against it way the fuck back (think Civil War and earlier) and not enough people are into it for it to have ever been successfully legalized. It doesn't help that it's illegal on a constitutional level in some states and in others, the state directly makes money off small legalized setups, and thus have an incentive to make sure there isn't any competition.
That's p. childish of the guys pressing charges. [editline]28th February 2012[/editline] EA's legal team I can only assume.
[QUOTE=squids_eye;34906775]Why are lotteries illegal?[/QUOTE] It's a form of gambling so the legality depends on state laws. [QUOTE=mac338;34912492]That's p. childish of the guys pressing charges. [editline]28th February 2012[/editline] EA's legal team I can only assume.[/QUOTE] No
Thank god you own the stuff you get, right?
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