Responsible Social Gameplay Policy
Date of Last Update: 1 October 2024
ARB Gaming LLC, trading as ‘Modo.us’ (the “Company”) complies with the International Social Games Association’s (“ISGA”) Best Practice Principles (the “Principles”) as well as all relevant consumer protection, competition, advertising and privacy regulations.
Our pledge to our employees, our users, and the community is to make responsible social gaming an integral part of our daily operations. The ISGA’s Principles address, among other things, ratings and parental controls, virtual items and secondary markets, advertising and privacy.
We are not a gambling service, we do not take or place illegal bets, and we do not recommend or encourage illegal gambling. Instead, we offer entertaining online social casino games and related game promotions which do not trigger the prohibitions imposed by state and federal gambling laws. Gambling, whether in-person or online, is not legal in all areas. If you seek information regarding any illegal activity, you must leave Modo immediately and shall not attempt to use the Services. You agree not to use the Services if doing so would violate the laws of your state, province, or country. Please consult with your local authorities or legal advisors before participating in online gaming of any kind. It is your sole and absolute responsibility to comply with all applicable laws, and you assume all risk in using the Services. Nothing published on Modo shall be construed as legal advice on any issue. You assume all risk and responsibility for your use of the Services. We bear no responsibility for your use of the Services in connection with illegal gambling activities, and we do not condone illegal gambling. You understand and agree that the Services are for entertainment purposes only. We make no guarantee that the Services are legal in your jurisdiction.
The goal of this policy is to help you understand the potential risks associated with computer gameplay if you don't remain in control, as well as ways you can help manage your own social gameplay. As such, we have implemented policies and safeguards which help you control your social gameplay and we reserve the right to activate these measures unilaterally if we determine that they are necessary at our sole discretion.
Guidelines
● The Smart Mobile Gamers website is available at https://smartmobilegamers.org/. Smart Mobile Gamers offers tools and advice you need to have a positive gaming experience. The portal has information for users seeking to monitor their own or someone else’s spend or time. Information available on the portal includes:
o Basic information on what social games are and how you play them;
o Guidance on how to use the tools available to manage your game experience – including how to manage in-game spending purchases, turn off game notifications and use age ratings;
o Expert advice on how to deal with any difficulties you might encounter when playing mobile games – from unpleasant behavior from other players to how to moderate the time spent playing games;
o A directory of further online resources to turn to if you have a question or problem regarding mobile games
● Staying on top of purchases
o Regularly check your account to see what purchases have occurred
o Budget responsibly and stick to your budget; do not spend more than you had planned to spend
o Do not use Modo.us if your primary purpose is to pay debts using prizes you may win
o Familiarize yourself with the rules of the games on Modo.us
● Keeping Track of Time
o Playing computer games is a form of entertainment, but they should be played in moderation and not as a means to escape reality. Do not play games if:
▪ they interfere with your daily responsibilities,
▪ you are being treated or are recovering from any type of dependency or addiction, or
▪ you are under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicating substance.
o Install an app that can limit play time – such as browser add-ons that forcefully keep you within your pre-set limits.
o Recognize triggers - for some people, certain kinds of games are more likely to lead to “longer than intended” game play sessions. If a certain type of game has this effect on you, avoid those kinds of games.
o Find an accountability (or “success”) partner - Reaching out to a friend or an online support group (such as Project Know) for accountability can help increase your likelihood of success in sticking to your goals. Research has found that publicly committing to your goals gives you a 65% chance of completing them. Having a specific accountability partner increases this chance of success to 95%.
o Reach out to a culturally competent psychologist - Reaching out to a professional can help you discover what function social games are serving for you and develop new supports and strategies to help you find alternative activities that can help serve that same function. Many clinicians also offer free initial phone consultations. There are lots of resources available about how to find a professional in your area
● Make use of our gameplay management tools
o The Company maintains a self-limit policy and procedures that will allow users to request in writing the revocation of their privileges for specific services (e.g., access to games, ability to purchase Gold Coins, etc.)
o We encourage our customers to game responsibly, so we offer a variety of responsible social gameplay features.
o Set Purchase Limits - You can set daily, weekly or monthly purchase limits by going to My Profile and clicking on Purchase Limits.
o The Company reserves the right to exclude a user from using or accessing Modo.us without a request from the user.
● Preventing unauthorized access of your account
o Using a strong password and keeping the password safe is essential in preventing unauthorized use of your account, either by cybercriminals or family members (particularly minors).
o Never use personal information: Strong passwords shouldn’t include references to personal information such as names, birthdays, addresses, or phone numbers.
o Include a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols: Secure passwords include a variety of random characters, numbers, and letters to make the password more complex.
o Prioritize password length: Safe passwords should be at least 16 characters long to lessen the chances of falling victim to a data breach or cyberattack.
o Never repeat passwords: Reusing the same password for different accounts puts you at risk of credential stuffing attacks frequently used by cybercriminals.
o Avoid using real words: Hackers use malicious programs that can process every word found in a dictionary to crack passwords. Stay away from using proper nouns and other standalone dictionary words that could lead to an unsecure password.
o If you believe that another person has access to your password or your account, please contact us at support@modo.us and reset your password.
● Account Closure and Self-Exclusion
o Suspending your account for a period of time - If you want to suspend your account for a definite period of time, go to My Profile and under Responsible Gameplay click Self-Exclusion.
o Suspending your account indefinitely - If you want to suspend your account indefinitely, you can email your request to support@modo.us. The email must include your email address and account details in order for us to identify the appropriate account. When an indefinite suspension is applied, it will only be possible to reopen your account by making a written email request.
o Deleting your account - If you believe you need to stop using Modo.us, you may delete your account by contacting support@modo.us.
o Excluding yourself from signing up - If you want to pre-emptively exclude yourself from Modo.us so that you are unable to create an account with Modo.us in the future, you can email your request to support@modo.us. The email must include your full name, email address, residential address and date of birth to allow us to block you from registering and playing on the modo.us platform in the future.
o We will make reasonable efforts to apply the definite suspension, indefinite suspension, account deletion, or self-exclusion (as appropriate) as soon as practically possible, however, please note that this process takes a reasonable working period to implement. The measures will not come into effect until they have been fully implemented and this has been communicated to you. If after this you find that the measures have not taken effect, it is your responsibility to inform us immediately.
o Please note that we may also suspend or delete your account or exclude you from signing up at any time, for any reason, at our sole discretion. We have the right to terminate your membership at any time, and you will be responsible for all charges to your account at the time of termination. We are not responsible for preserving terminated account information which may be permanently deleted at our discretion.
o Once any of these measures is active, you will no longer receive any further marketing materials from us. We strongly recommend that you also seek exclusion from all other social gameplay platforms you have an active account with. If you use social media channels, you should take steps to ensure that you don’t receive our news or updates.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
If you think your or someone else’s computer gameplay is becoming problematic, then it may be handy to consider the self-assessment questions below.
● Do you often re-live gameplay experiences or think about future ones?
● Do you hide or lie about your gameplay?
● Do you get very angry when someone or something interrupts a game?
● Have you ever taken a break from gameplay and binged uncontrollably upon your return?
● When upset, do you soothe yourself with games or plans to game?
● Do you find yourself playing games in the early morning?
● Do you find ways to play games when away from home?
● Do you set limits with gameplay and then break them, playing hours longer than intended?
● Do you lose hours of sleep to gameplay?
● Have you called in sick or late to work or skipped classes to game?
● Have you sworn off a game, deleted your account, and later returned to it?
● Do you feel guilt and shame around your gameplay?
● Does your gameplay contribute to arguments in your relationships?
● Has your gameplay taken the place of any hobbies or sports you used to enjoy?
● Do you forget appointments, responsibilities or deadlines in work or school when playing online?
● Do you become irritated and defensive when people suggest you might be playing online too much?
● Have your hours spent playing online increased over time?
● Do you blow off social events to play online?
● Have you lost contact with friends and family since playing online?
● Do you have intense feelings (highs, lows, anger, fear) while playing online?
The more questions that you answer “yes” to, the more likely it is that you are having difficulties with your gameplay. To speak with someone who can give you advice and support, please contact the Support Organization referred to in 4.
SUPPORT
Reaching out to a professional can help you discover what function social games are serving for you and develop new supports and strategies to help you find alternative activities that can help serve that same function. Many clinicians also offer free initial phone consultations. There are lots of resources available about how to find a professional in your area
Online support groups can be useful resources and work well to supplement in-person treatment or to take the place of it when no in-person help is available. Some well-known and easily accessible online support groups for video game addictions include:
● On-Line Gamers Anonymous (OLGA) - https://www.olganon.org/home.
● Game Quitters - https://gamequitters.com/.
● Recovery.org - https://www.recovery.org/forums/categories/internet-gaming-social-media.
● Stop Gaming forum on Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/StopGaming/
● Computer Gaming Addicts Anonymous (CGAA.org) - http://cgaa.info/.
Please note that none of these support organizations are affiliated with Modo.us. Modo.us shall not represent and warrant the accuracy or helpfulness of any information or resources provided by these organizations. None of these organizations offer any customer support or dispute resolution services in relation to Modo.us. Should you wish to discuss any matter or complaint related to your account, you can do so by contacting us directly at support@modo.us.
PROTECTION OF MINORS
● Minors are prohibited from using Modo.us. Users whose devices are easily accessible to minors (such as users with children living in the same home) are advised to take extra care to ensure minors do not have access to the users’ Modo.us accounts.
● Please keep your account secure to prevent unauthorized access of your account by creating and safeguarding strong passwords, as outlined in this policy.
● Please do not leave your computer or device unattended when logged in
● Please do not use any password manager or save your password to Modo.us on any browser or device
● Please keep your bank cards and bank account details out of reach of minors
● Please do not allow any minors to participate in games on Modo.us
● If you share a device with other people, please restrict their access to Modo.us. There are third-party services available that may be able to assist with this, such as Netnanny.com, Cybersitter.com and Cyberpatrol.com.