Welcome to Minority Rules. By creating an account or using the Minority Rules web application, mobile application, or any related services (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("you", "your", "participant") and Minority Rules ("we", "us", "our", "the platform").

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Service complies with all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to you in your jurisdiction. We do not make any representations or warranties regarding the legality of the Service in any particular jurisdiction.

2. Account Registration

To use the Service, you must create an account with a valid email address and password. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration
• Maintain and promptly update your account information
• Maintain the security and confidentiality of your login credentials
• Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account

You may only create and maintain one account per person. Creating multiple accounts, or using another person's account, is a violation of these Terms and may result in immediate termination of all associated accounts.

3. How the Service Works

Minority Rules is a prediction market in which participants select one of three cards each round. The card chosen by the fewest participants (the "minority card") wins. Winners share the total stakes in proportion to their stake, minus a platform fee. If two or more cards tie for fewest selections, there is no minority and insurance payouts apply.

The outcome of each round depends on the collective decisions of all participants. The platform does not determine, influence, or have advance knowledge of which card will be the minority card in any round.

4. Virtual Currency and Balances

The Service uses a virtual currency system denominated in dollars. Balances within the Service represent your virtual currency holdings and are subject to the following terms:

• Balances are maintained in your account and may be used to participate in markets (stake predictions, purchase insurance)
• The platform deducts a fee from winning payouts each round
• Balances may be added to your account through deposits (when available) or promotional credits
• Withdrawal of balances is subject to our withdrawal policies and may require identity verification
• We reserve the right to modify deposit and withdrawal policies at any time

Balances do not accrue interest. Balances are not insured by any government agency. We are not a bank or financial institution.

4A. Promotional Grants and the Pending Bonus

From time to time, we may run promotional campaigns in which we grant you a starting balance of real monetary value for use within the Service during a limited window. These grants are entirely at our discretion, and participation does not require any purchase, deposit, or exchange of consideration on your part. We may offer grants to some eligible users and not others.

When you receive a promotional grant, any existing virtual currency balance in your account may be reset to the grant amount for the duration of the campaign. Any grant funds you have not lost during gameplay at the end of the campaign window will be moved to a separate account balance called your Pending Bonus. Pending Bonus funds represent a promise by us to pay you the corresponding amount as real money at a future date, contingent on and following the launch of the Service's real-money mode.

The following terms apply to grants and Pending Bonus balances:

• Grant funds may only be used within the Service; they cannot be withdrawn or transferred while the campaign is active.
• Adding funds and converting other in-app assets (such as XP) into balance are disabled during a campaign, to keep each participant's exposure limited to the granted amount and any promotional supplements we offer during the campaign (such as a one-time "lifeline" credit).
• Real-money payouts of Pending Bonus funds are contingent on the launch of our real-money mode. We do not guarantee that real-money mode will launch. If we discontinue the Service or decide not to launch real-money mode, we may cancel outstanding Pending Bonus balances with reasonable prior notice.
• Pending Bonus payouts may be subject to identity verification, residency requirements, and applicable withholding, and may be reported to tax authorities. You are responsible for any tax obligations arising from Pending Bonus payments.

4B. No Purchase Necessary; Sweepstakes Compliance

Where we offer promotional grants under Section 4A, no purchase is necessary to receive a grant, and receiving a grant does not require you to spend money or provide any other consideration. Grants are offered on the same terms to all eligible users. Standard sweepstakes rules apply:

• You must be at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is greater) to receive a promotional grant.
• Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
• Employees, officers, directors, and immediate family members of Minority Rules are ineligible.
• We reserve the right to publish the general terms of each campaign, including grant amount, campaign duration, and total prize pool, in advance of or during the campaign.

For residents of jurisdictions that require additional disclosures for promotional sweepstakes (including but not limited to specific U.S. states), we will provide additional disclosures at the point of grant where applicable.

4C. Weekly and Lifetime Leaderboards

From time to time, we may operate the Service in Leaderboard Mode, during which participants play with promotional play-currency coins and compete on weekly and lifetime leaderboards for real cash prizes funded by us or by third-party sponsors. The following terms apply to Leaderboard Mode:

• Play currency, not real money. Coins used in Leaderboard Mode are promotional play-currency, not real money. Play-currency balances have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn, transferred, exchanged for real money, or redeemed for anything of value outside of the Service.
• Weekly grant. Each active participant receives a fixed weekly grant of play-currency coins on their first sign-in of each ISO calendar week. The grant amount, qualification thresholds, and other Leaderboard Mode parameters may be adjusted from time to time and are published in the Service.
• Free re-entry. During Leaderboard Mode, participants may top up their play-currency balance at any time at no cost, subject to a per-transaction cap published in the Service. Top-ups do not by themselves affect weekly leaderboard score; play-currency added but not staked is excluded from the score calculation, and amounts that are staked are treated the same as any other capital placed at risk.
• Weekly cash prizes. At the close of each ISO calendar week (Monday 00:00 America/New_York), qualified participants compete for a cash prize pool. The pool amount and any sponsor identification are published in the Service prior to or during each week. Distribution among top finishers may vary week to week at our discretion.
• Lifetime cash prizes and hall-of-fame badges. At the close of each calendar month, top lifetime-leaderboard finishers may receive real cash prizes and permanent hall-of-fame recognition displayed on their account.
• Qualification. To be eligible for a weekly cash prize, participants must play at least the published minimum number of rounds during that week. Analogous thresholds apply to the lifetime leaderboard.
• Bots. Automated participants ("bots") may appear on the current week's leaderboard. They are clearly labeled, are numbered in the standings alongside participants, and are never eligible for any cash prize. Weekly prizes are awarded by rank among participants only, so a bot placed above you does not reduce the prize you receive. Bots do not appear on the lifetime leaderboard or in past weeks' results.
• Identity verification required for payout. All real cash prize payouts require successful government-ID verification via our third-party identity provider before the payout is issued. Verification is performed once per account and is retained persistently.
• One person, one account. No individual may receive prize payouts to more than one account. We may use verified identity information to detect multi-accounting, cancel prize awards, block payouts, and permanently ban accounts found to be operated in violation of this rule.
• No purchase necessary. Participation in Leaderboard Mode does not require any purchase, deposit, or other consideration. Real cash prizes are available on the same terms to all qualifying participants.
• Void where prohibited. Leaderboard Mode and any associated real cash prizes are void where prohibited or restricted by law. We may exclude participation from specific jurisdictions.
• Tax reporting. Real cash prizes and other Service payments may be reported to applicable tax authorities. You are responsible for any tax obligations arising from prize payments.

Leaderboard Mode may be enabled, disabled, paused, or modified at any time at our discretion. Play-currency balances persist across Leaderboard Mode changes but have no cash value regardless of mode.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for its intended purpose and in compliance with these Terms. You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose
• Collude or coordinate with other participants to gain an unfair advantage (see Section 6)
• Use automated scripts, bots, or software to interact with the Service on your behalf
• Exploit bugs, glitches, or unintended features of the Service
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service, servers, or networks connected to the Service
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service or other users' accounts
• Engage in abusive, threatening, or harassing behavior toward other participants or staff
• Create multiple accounts or use another person's account
• Circumvent any security measures, bans, or restrictions placed on your account or device
• Share, sell, or transfer your account to another person

6. Fair Play and Anti-Collusion Policy

The integrity of the market depends on each participant making independent decisions. Collusion — any form of secret coordination between participants to gain an unfair advantage — is strictly prohibited.

6.1 What Constitutes Collusion

Collusion includes, but is not limited to:

• Coordinating card selections with one or more other participants before or during a round
• Sharing information about your card selection with other participants during an active round
• Agreeing with others to distribute selections across cards to guarantee a group member wins
• Agreeing with others to concentrate selections on the same card to manipulate which card becomes the minority
• Operating multiple accounts to simulate coordination (multi-accounting)
• Sharing accounts between multiple people to coordinate play
• Any arrangement where participants split winnings or compensate each other outside the platform

6.2 Detection Systems

We employ automated, multi-layered detection systems that continuously monitor gameplay for patterns inconsistent with independent play. These systems use statistical analysis, pairwise correlation testing, cumulative evidence accumulation, and other methods to identify coordinated behavior. Our detection methodology is described in detail in our Fairness & Collusion Prevention documentation.

You acknowledge that the platform monitors all gameplay data — including card selections, stake amounts, timing, and outcomes — for the purpose of detecting collusion and preserving market integrity.

6.3 Penalties for Collusion

When our detection systems identify collusion with sufficient confidence, the following penalties apply:

1. First offense — Session removal and warning. The participant is immediately removed from the active market and receives a formal warning that further violations will result in a permanent ban. The participant may rejoin future sessions.
2. Second offense — Permanent account ban. The participant's account is permanently terminated. The device used to access the Service is blocked from creating new accounts. All remaining balances in the account are forfeited.

We reserve the right to skip directly to a permanent ban for egregious or clearly intentional collusion.

6.4 Balance Forfeiture

If your account is permanently banned for collusion, all balances remaining in your account at the time of the ban are forfeited and are not eligible for withdrawal or refund. This includes any balances derived from deposits, winnings, promotional credits, promotional grants (as defined in Section 4A), and any Pending Bonus amounts awaiting real-money launch.

Forfeited balances are removed from circulation. They are not redistributed to other participants.

6.5 Appeals

If you believe your account was penalized in error, you may submit an appeal by contacting [email protected] within 30 days of the penalty. Appeals will be reviewed by a human operator. We will provide a written response within 14 business days.

During the appeal process, the penalty remains in effect. If the appeal is successful, your account and balances will be fully restored.

7. Platform Rights and Discretion

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion and without prior notice, to:

• Suspend or terminate any account for violation of these Terms
• Modify, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time
• Adjust platform fees, minimum stakes, market sizes, or other parameters
• Remove or restrict access to any content or feature
• Refuse service to anyone for any reason
• Investigate suspected violations and cooperate with law enforcement

We may cancel a promotional grant or Pending Bonus balance without notice if we reasonably conclude that the account has engaged in multi-accounting (as prohibited in Section 5), has been operated in material violation of these Terms, or was created or maintained through misrepresentation. Cancellation under this paragraph is separate from the collusion-specific procedure in Section 6 and does not require a prior warning.

8. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its design, code, graphics, logos, text, and all other content, is owned by Minority Rules and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works from any part of the Service without our prior written consent.

The name "Minority Rules," the MR logo, and associated branding are trademarks of Minority Rules. You may not use these marks without our prior written permission.

9. Disclaimers

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free
• Any particular outcome or return is achievable through use of the Service
• Defects in the Service will be corrected

Participation in markets involves risk. You may lose some or all of your balance. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. You are solely responsible for your participation decisions.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Minority Rules and its officers, directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of or inability to use the Service.

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising from or related to the Service shall not exceed the amount you deposited into your account in the 12 months preceding the claim, or $100, whichever is greater.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Minority Rules and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising out of or in any way connected with:

• Your use of the Service
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any rights of any third party
• Any content you submit through the Service

12. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall first be attempted to be resolved through informal negotiation by contacting [email protected].

If informal resolution is unsuccessful within 30 days, either party may pursue resolution through binding arbitration administered in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitration shall be conducted in English. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding.

You agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action.

13. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States, without regard to conflict of law principles. You consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in the state where Minority Rules is incorporated for any disputes not subject to arbitration.

14. Termination

You may terminate your account at any time by contacting [email protected]. Upon voluntary termination, you may request withdrawal of any eligible balance in accordance with our withdrawal policies.

We may terminate or suspend your account at any time for violation of these Terms, with or without notice. Upon termination for violation, you may forfeit any remaining balance as described in Section 6.

The following sections survive termination: Sections 6.4 (Balance Forfeiture), 8 (Intellectual Property), 9 (Disclaimers), 10 (Limitation of Liability), 11 (Indemnification), 12 (Dispute Resolution), and 13 (Governing Law).

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email or through the Service at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Service and may request account closure and withdrawal of eligible balances.

16. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

17. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Fairness & Collusion Prevention documentation, constitute the entire agreement between you and Minority Rules regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

18. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at [email protected].

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