A Galaxy Beyond Skilled Gaming FAQ
Below you will find the most frequently asked questions relating to our skilled gaming policy. We have split them up into sections to provide for better organization to assist you in finding your answers. If you do not find your answer please do not hesitate to contact our support team.
General Information
Note: Operator Applications are currently not available as of July 31, 2022.
There are a number of reasons you may not be able to access a Skill Gaming Region.
See the following to see if you meet all the requirements:
Only users that meet the criteria for Skill Gaming are permitted to access Skill Gaming
Regions and participate in Skill Gaming in A Galaxy Beyond. Participation is limited to
residents who meet the following criteria:
- Have current billing information on file
- Have an active payment method on file
- Are at least 19 years of age
- Do not reside in a prohibited state listed below
- Are not connecting from a prohibited state
Residents of states and or countries on our
prohibited states and countries list
may not participate in Skill Gaming in A Galaxy Beyond
No. Approved games of skill will be permitted on Skill Gaming Regions,
but this does not change our policy forbidding gambling
(wagering on games of chance) in A Galaxy Beyond.
No. Not all A Galaxy Beyond users will be able to access Skill Gaming Regions and we do
not want to block residents from accessing any region on the Mainland, so we do not plan
to permit the Skill Gaming Region designation for any portion of the Mainland at this time.
“Skill Game” refers to any game:
- whose outcome is determined by skill and is not contingent, in whole or in material part, upon chance;
- requires or permits the payment of Galaxy Dollars to play;
- provides a payout in Galaxy Dollars; and
- is legally authorized by applicable United States and international law.
No. Advertising Skill Gaming outside of A Galaxy Beyond is strictly prohibited.
In order to convert a region to a Skill Gaming Region, you must do the following:
- Submit a support ticket and pay the applicable maintenance fee.
- Skilled Gaming Regions are scheduled to roll out soon. A date will be announced shortly.
- Once your region has been designated a Skill Gaming Region, you will need to become an approved operator if you would like to operate games of skill on that region. For more details, please review the application.
- Skilled Gaming Regions cannot be adjacent to regular regions.
- The maintenance costs for these regions will be higher due to the greater degree of ongoing administrative work associated with administering our rules concerning Skill Gaming in these regions.
- Maintenance fees for Skill Gaming Regions will be $345/month. There shall be a $251 fee associated with the conversion of an existing Full Region to a Skill Gaming Region.
- Apply to become an approved operator.
- Due to processing and compliance-related costs associated with maintaining this program, there is a one-time nonrefundable application fee as well as a quarterly license fee for those designated as approved operators. We will maintain a public page of approved operators
- Do those games of skill require or permit Galaxy Dollars to participate and provides a payout in Galaxy Dollars? If yes, stop making, selling, or operating these games of skill. They have not been approved through the Skill Gaming application process and apply to become an approved creator. You may resume skill gaming activities, subject to our Skill Gaming Policy, upon approval of your application.
- Due to processing and compliance-related costs associated with maintaining this program, there is a one-time nonrefundable application fee as well as a quarterly license fee for those designated as approved creators. We will maintain a public page of approved creators.
- If the games of skill you're operating do not require or permit Galaxy Dollars to participate and provides a payout in Galaxy Dollars, then you are not subject to the Skill Gaming Policy.
- Stop operating games of skill that have not been approved through the Skill Gaming application process and apply to become an approved operator. You may resume skill gaming activities, subject to our Skill Gaming Policy, upon approval of your application.
- Due to processing and compliance-related costs associated with maintaining this program, there is a one-time nonrefundable application fee as well as a quarterly license fee for those designated as approved operators. We will maintain a public page of approved operators.
Yes. Additionally, each reasoned legal opinion submitted by an applicant must be
prepared by a credible licensed attorney whose identity, legal experience, and
standing to practice law are known to such applicant.
- Check the setting of the region to verify that it is a Skill Gaming Region.
- Skill Gaming Regions will appear in our Destination Guide (unless the owner requests its removal) and we will maintain a list of the approved operators (including their approved skill-based games).
We cannot provide legal advice or analysis of your activities under applicable law.
Our revised policy will become effective in A Galaxy Beyond on July 31, 2022.
When you attempt to enter a Skill Gaming Region, a check will occur behind the
scenes to confirm whether the activity is permitted in your jurisdiction and if
you meet the age requirements for this activity. You can check the list of prohibited
jurisdictions and age requirements here.
It is your responsibility to know which jurisdictions are prohibited and to refrain from
activity in a Skill Gaming Region if you fail to meet the requirements. Attempts to
circumvent our entry restrictions will be a violation of our Terms of Service and may
result in termination of your account in A Galaxy Beyond.
The easiest way is simply to attempt to enter a Skill Gaming Region.
You can check the list of prohibited jurisdictions and age requirements.
It is your responsibility to know which jurisdictions are prohibited
and to refrain from activity in a Skill Gaming Region if you fail to
meet the requirements.
No. If you have problems with an approved gaming machine, please
contact the creator and/or operator of the game
and then notify Virtual World Research Inc. by filing an abuse
report. As set out in our Terms of Service, Virtual World Research Inc. assumes
no liability for your activity in the Skill Gaming Regions.
Any approved game of skill that requires or permits Galaxy Dollars to participate
and provides a payout in Galaxy Dollars is subject to this policy. Any free play
skill game (not on the approved list of games of skill)
that does not require or permit Galaxy Dollars to participate and that offers
Galaxy Dollar payout is not subject to this policy.
No. Each ingalaxy object implementing a game of skill may only be owned by a single
approved operator; group ownership of such objects will not be allowed.
No. The resident whose account is listed in the “Created By” field of a skill game object
will be deemed the creator of the skill game. This resident will need to become an approved
creator through the Skill Gaming Program application process in order for such skill game to
become approved under the Skill Gaming Policy. This resident will also assume responsibility
for the work of any other resident who may have contributed elements to the skill game object
and shall supply a reasoned legal opinion for such skill games.
- Creators will need to update their games to comply with our revised policy. Accordingly, you should contact the applicable creator to find out how you can update to the approved versions of your games and apply to become an approved operator. Upon approval of both applications, you may begin operating only the approved versions of the games.
- Virtual World Research Inc. will not be responsible for reimbursing residents who have previously purchased games. If you have any questions about your previous purchases, you should contact the applicable creator directly.
If you have created a game of skill that requires or permits Galaxy Dollars
to participate and provides a payout in Galaxy Dollars, you are subject to this
policy. If you wish to operate or sell such a game in A Galaxy Beyond, you will
need to apply for approval.
If you would like to verify that a purchased game of skill has been approved by
Virtual World Research Inc., please check the
list of approved creators and their approved games of skill.
Subject to the requirements below, approved operators who wish to issue legitimate
refunds due to technical difficulties may place a scripted object (each a “Refund Object”)
in its Skill Gaming Region for the sole purpose of issuing such refunds. Each approved
operator who wishes to issue a legitimate refund through a Refund Object shall:
- Place the Refund Object in its designated Skill Gaming Region;
- Ensure that “[agbgaming-refund]” will be included as a prefix in the root object name field of each Refund Object;
- Ensure that the “llTransferGalaxyDollars” Galaxy Scripting Language function will be used for all outgoing Galaxy Dollar transactions for each Refund Object; and
- Ensure that the amount of each refund issued to a resident through a Refund Object shall correspond to the amount of a payment received from the same resident (i.e., multiple refunds to the same resident must be issued separately, each in the amount of the original payment).
Freeplay games, in which the sole payment required or permitted is a nominal
Galaxy Dollar payment for the sole purpose of triggering gameplay and is
immediately and automatically refunded without conditions of any kind, are
not within the scope of the Skill Gaming Policy.
A player can earn up to G$100 (max amount) during one play through of a freeplay Skill Game.
Operators are allowed to operate approved “freeplay” Skill Games outside of Skill Gaming regions. These “freeplay” Skill Games must abide by the Skill Gaming Terms of Service and are not to payout G$ as earnings. They can, however, payout Replay Credits and other items of value. If you're interested in doing this, please submit a Support Ticket with the following information:
- The name of the Skill Gaming region(s) where the freeplay games will be placed; and
- the list of freeplay Skill Games that you will be placing there.
Application Process
Note: Operator Applications are currently not available as of July 31, 2022.
-
The two part application process will include providing the following
information. For more details, please review the
Skill Gaming Policy
and the application.
- Basic account information, such as the information described here.
- A reasoned legal opinion from a credible attorney in good standing, which describes in detail the operation and legality of the games of skill you are submitting for approval;
-
A sworn affidavit or declaration that:
- certifies the facts set forth in the application and legal opinion; and
- attests compliance with Virtual World Research Inc.'s requirements.
- The information that you provide as part of the application process will be subject to our Privacy Policy.
- Basic account information, such as the information described here.
- A complete list of Skill Games that will be operated and all Skill Gaming Regions in which you wish to operate approved Skill Games.
-
An attestation that:
- You will comply with all game controls, parameters, and settings implemented by the creators of each Skill Game;
- the application contains a true and correct list of all Skill Games that you will operate (and will be updated as necessary to ensure it remains complete);
- the application includes a true and correct list of all Skill Gaming regions in which you intend to operate Skill Games; and
- you will comply with all Virtual World Research Inc. requirements, which shall include but is not limited to, the Skill Gaming Policy, Skill Game Guidelines, and applicable United States and international law.
There is a one-time nonrefundable application fee due to process and
compliance-related costs associated with maintaining this program.
There are administrative and compliance-related costs associated with
evaluating the applications and the ongoing management of this program
for approved creators and operators. Accordingly, fees will be required
for each type of participation.
No. The application fee is non-refundable.
A recurring quarterly fee will be charged due to processing and
compliance-related costs associated with maintaining this program.
Operators and Creators have 30 (thirty) days from the day they were billed,
to pay the quarterly fee in full or their Operator/Creator account could be
subject to removal from the Skill Gaming Program.
No. The application fee will be a one-time assessment.
No. The application fee will be a one-time assessment.
We will do our best to process applications expeditiously,
however we make no representations or guarantees about how
long a particular application may take. By supplying all of
the requested information in as clear and comprehensive a
format as possible, you can help us process your application
more quickly.
As Virtual World Research Inc. does not have full access to every game's operational
functions and does not exercise control over such games, we are unable
to provide an opinion of whether a specific game would be subject to our
Skill Gaming Policy. Each creator and operator of games will need to evaluate
whether their game(s) would be subject to, and, upon approval, in compliance
with, this policy. To the extent that a resident believes that their game(s)
would be subject to and, upon approval, in compliance with our Skill Gaming
Policy, such games (and all supporting documentation) will need to be submitted
to Virtual World Research Inc. for evaluation and approval through the Skill Gaming Program
application process. For more details, we recommend reviewing the
Skill Gaming Policy
and Skill Gaming Program Terms and Conditions.
No. Upon approval of each Creator or Operator application, Virtual World Research Inc.
will create new accounts with the proposed Creator and Operator Account
names submitted by the approved applicant through the Skill Gaming Program
application process. Each new Creator and Operator Account will be assigned
an [AGBSGC] or [AGBSGO] surname, as applicable.
Not surprisingly, skill games in A Galaxy Beyond are creative,
diverse and complex. We are proud of that variety, but it unfortunately
makes our job in assessing your legal opinions more difficult. For that
reason, we are providing some guidance as to what we expect each legal
opinion submitted in support of a skill game to include. If you already
have submitted a legal opinion that does not meet these criteria, please
supplement it accordingly and resubmit.
- Each opinion should include a discussion of both federal and state laws and their applicability to your games, including a state-by-state analysis of the legality of the operation of your games in each state from which a resident may access a Skill Gaming Region. Mere citation to statutory sections or excerpts of statutory language does not suffice.
- The opinion should include a detailed description of each game that is submitted for review. That description should include a step-by-step description of game progress or gameplay. Please explain each step individually and whether it involves any element of randomness, chance or any other variable not known to the player. Please also include a video or screen capture of each material step in progress of the game.
-
Your description of gameplay should make specific mention of
all features or tools that introduce elements of uncertainty to the game,
including (but not limited to):
- Random number generators; and
- “winks”, “toppers”, “sploders” or other multipliers.
Requests for additional Operator accounts for already approved Operators will
be denied unless there are extenuating circumstances, to which these requests
will be reviewed at Virtual World Research Inc.'s discretion.
We strongly recommend completing your application as soon as possible.
There is no official deadline set once the application process has started.
Please keep in mind, the faster you provide the information requested,
the faster the application process will be.
Skill Game Add-ons
No. however, you will need to abide by the Skill Gaming Policy and Skill Game Guidelines.
- have an outcome that is determined by skill and is not contingent, in whole or in material part, upon chance;
- include “[agbgaming-addon]” as a prefix in the root object name field;
- use “llTransferGalaxyDollars” Galaxy Scripting Language function for all outgoing Galaxy Dollar transactions;
- have programmatic controls implemented to ensure compatibility with an underlying game;
- include parameters that are set such that it is capable of being won by a reasonable proportion of skilled players;
- display all information needed by players to determine prize size and eligibility; and
- display all information needed by players to compete for the add-on prize effectively.
Because add-ons do not require express approval, Virtual World Research Inc. will not maintain a list.
Should you wish to use and add-on with your approved skill game,
it is your responsibility to review the add-on requirements set
forth in the Skill Game Guidelines.
As with any other ongoing Galaxy Dollar transactions on your approved
operator account, the recipient of such transactions will need to be
approved as an Associated Account.
Effective: July 31, 2022