General Terms and Conditions

Section 1 Scope and contracting parties

(1) These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “Terms”) govern the contractual relationship between Kersten Lorenz (sole trader), Lübecker Str. 34, 44135 Dortmund (hereinafter “Provider” or “Bettles”) and the users (hereinafter “you” or “User”) regarding the use of the platform accessible at bettl.es and all associated applications (together the “Platform”).

(2) These Terms apply exclusively. Deviating, conflicting or supplementary conditions of the User do not become part of the contract unless the Provider has expressly agreed to their validity in writing.

(3) For participation in individual public competitions organised by the Provider itself (in particular those held in the club “Bettle One”), the respective terms of participation apply in addition.

Section 2 Provider and contact

The responsible provider is Kersten Lorenz (sole trader), Lübecker Str. 34, 44135 Dortmund. Further details pursuant to Section 5 of the German Digital Services Act (DDG) can be found in the legal notice. Contact: [email protected].

Section 3 Description of services

(1) Bettles is an online platform for social sports tipping. The Platform enables Users to join together in groups (“clubs”) and to run prediction games (“bettles”) on real sporting events within these clubs.

(2) The Platform provides in particular the following functions:

• management of clubs and memberships, including invitation and application functions,
• creation and management of bettles with a defined game mode, playing period, tip options and virtual starting balance,
• placing and managing tips on real sporting events,
• provision of odds from real bookmakers to evaluate the tips,
• automatic evaluation of the tips on the basis of official match results as well as keeping rankings within the respective bettle,
• tracking the payment status of members in bettles with an optional stake (see Section 10).

(3) Game success within a bettle is based on the continuous, active tipping performance of the Users over the entire playing period (selection of tips, allocation of the stake in Bettle Coins, timing and strategy) and thus essentially on the participants’ knowledge, skill and activity.

(4) The Provider is neither a gambling operator nor a bookmaker, neither an intermediary of sports bets nor a payment service provider within the meaning of the relevant laws. A more detailed clarification is provided in Section 4.

Section 4 What Bettles is expressly not

(1) Bettles is not gambling within the meaning of Section 3(1) of the German Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV). In particular, no stake of monetary value within the meaning of the GlüStV is agreed or processed via the Platform:

• All scores moved within a bettle are kept in a virtual in-game currency (default unit “Bettle Coins”, freely selectable per bettle) that has no monetary value and cannot be exchanged back into legal tender or paid out (see Section 9).
• Insofar as members of a private club agree on a real stake among themselves, this takes place exclusively between the members. The Provider is in no way involved in this and neither processes nor holds these payments (see Section 10).
• Public competitions organised by the Provider itself in the club “Bettle One” are free prediction games conducted by way of a public promise of reward within the meaning of Section 657 of the German Civil Code (BGB) without any stake by the participants.

(2) The outcome of a bettle is not predominantly determined by chance. Decisive for game success are the tipping performance, knowledge and strategic decisions (allocation of stake, market and odds selection, timing) provided over the entire playing period; merely participating without active performance does not lead to success.

(3) Bettles is not a bookmaker. The Provider does not create its own odds and does not accept bets. The odds displayed on the Platform originate from real, licensed bookmakers and are used unchanged to calculate game results within the virtual Bettle Coins mechanism.

(4) Bettles is not a payment service provider. No transmission or holding of real money takes place via the Platform.

Section 5 Conclusion of contract and registration

(1) Use of the Platform requires free registration. Upon completion of registration, a usage contract for the provision of the Platform on the present Terms is concluded between the User and the Provider.

(2) The User must provide truthful information during registration, including their full legal name, and keep it up to date. Within private clubs, the legal names of all members are mutually visible; this serves identifiability and is part of the social character of private clubs. In clubs of the types “Managed”, “Partner” and “Public”, the visibility of names is governed by the rules applicable there. Multiple registrations by a natural person are not permitted.

(3) The Provider is entitled to reject a registration request if there are concrete indications of a breach of these Terms (in particular if multiple registration is suspected or if an existing ban exists). The Provider may temporarily block an existing account or terminate the contract without notice if there is good cause — in particular a breach of these Terms, multiple registration or abusive behaviour towards other Users.

Section 6 Information on the conclusion of the contract (Section 312i BGB)

(1) The contract text (these Terms and the respective applicable terms of participation) is stored by the Provider after conclusion of the contract and can be viewed at any time via the Platform. The User can also print out or save the contract text locally using the respective page.

(2) German and English are available for the conclusion of the contract.

(3) Before binding submission of the registration, the User can change or correct their entries at any time. The individual technical steps for concluding the contract (entry of data, acceptance of the Terms, submission of the registration) are displayed to them during the registration process.

(4) Codes of conduct or supplementary technical standards to which the Provider has subjected itself do not exist.

Section 7 Right of withdrawal

(1) Registration and use of the Platform are free of charge. For contracts free of charge, there is no statutory right of withdrawal under Sections 312g, 355 BGB. However, the User can terminate the usage contract at any time pursuant to Section 19.

(2) If the Provider offers paid functions in the future, the User, as a consumer, has a fourteen-day right of withdrawal when booking them in distance selling in accordance with Sections 312g, 355 BGB. For this purpose, the Provider provides a separate withdrawal instruction and a model withdrawal form before conclusion of the contract and points out any conditions for the early expiry of the right of withdrawal (Section 356 BGB).

Section 8 Age requirements

(1) Use of the Platform generally requires having reached the age of 18. In clubs of the types “Managed”, “Partner” and “Public”, participation is permitted exclusively to persons of legal age.

(2) Minors aged at least 14 can participate in bettles in private clubs without real stakes, provided that

• a) they join exclusively at the invitation of an adult club admin,
• b) written consent from the legal guardians is available, which the Provider can verify in a suitable form,
• c) they do not themselves found clubs and do not participate in any bettles with real stakes.

(3) The age is stated by self-declaration of the User. Anyone who provides incorrect age information breaches these Terms and can be banned.

Section 9 Virtual in-game currency and units

(1) Within each bettle, play takes place with a purely virtual in-game currency issued by Bettles. The in-game currency serves exclusively to represent the score within the respective bettle.

(2) The in-game currency is displayed under a unit freely selectable per bettle. The default is “VBC” (Virtual Bettle Coin, also “Bettle Coins”); instead, the club admin can choose another, purely cosmetic label (e.g. points, seconds, metres, watt-hours, litres, grams, trees, push-ups, beer or beetlebugs). The choice of unit is purely cosmetic and changes neither the calculation nor the legal character of the in-game currency; the system treats all amounts equally regardless of their label.

(3) Regardless of the chosen label, the in-game currency constitutes neither legal tender nor electronic money nor any other asset of value. It cannot be exchanged back into legal tender, paid out, transferred or redeemed for goods or services. There is no claim to payout or reimbursement.

(4) The in-game currency has no market value and is not tradeable. It exists only within the respective bettle and expires when the bettle ends.

(5) If a chosen label alludes to an action outside the Platform (e.g. “push-ups” or “trees”), this does not establish any obligation processed via the Platform or enforceable by the Provider. Any real meaning that members attribute to a unit is solely a matter between the members (see Section 10).

Section 10 Private bettles and stakes between members

(1) Members of a private club can agree among themselves to stake a real sum of money within a bettle. In clubs of the types “Managed”, “Partner” and “Public”, real stakes are excluded. This agreement is a legal relationship exclusively between the members involved and arises independently of the Platform.

(2) The Provider is not involved in such an agreement, receives no stakes, manages no escrow assets and makes no payouts. The Platform merely offers an optional tracking with which the members themselves can document whether an agreed stake has already been made.

(3) Disputes between members about real stakes are to be settled exclusively between the members. The Provider assumes no liability in this respect and does not participate in mediation.

(4) The members are obliged to observe the relevant legal provisions (in particular of tax, gambling and consumer law) on their own responsibility. A prior assessment of the legal admissibility of a stake is a matter for the members involved.

Section 11 User obligations and rules of conduct

(1) The User undertakes to use the Platform only within the framework of applicable laws and these Terms. In particular, it is prohibited:

• to use the Platform for unlawful purposes,
• to publish content that violates applicable law or the rights of third parties (in particular insulting, discriminatory or copyright-infringing content),
• to impersonate another person or misuse the identity of other Users,
• to circumvent or manipulate security mechanisms of the Platform,
• to use automated scripts (“bots”) without the express consent of the Provider,
• to use multiple accounts,
• to use the Platform or parts thereof for commercial purposes without the express consent of the Provider.

(2) In the event of a breach of these obligations, the Provider is entitled to block the User’s account temporarily or permanently and to terminate the contractual relationship without notice. Further claims for damages remain unaffected.

Section 12 User-generated content, usage rights and indemnification

(1) The User can post content within the Platform (e.g. club names, profile information, profile pictures, tips and messages; together “User Content”). They remain the owner of their rights to the User Content.

(2) The User grants the Provider a simple, free, geographically unrestricted right, limited to the purpose and duration of the contract, to store, reproduce, technically edit (e.g. format adjustment) and display the User Content to the respectively authorised Users to the extent necessary to provide the Platform service.

(3) The User warrants that they have the rights required to post their User Content and that it does not infringe any rights of third parties or any statutory provisions.

(4) The User indemnifies the Provider against all justified claims by third parties asserted against the Provider due to an infringement of rights attributable to the User through their User Content or any other unlawful use of the Platform, including reasonable costs of legal defence. This does not apply insofar as the User is not responsible for the infringement.

Section 13 Provider’s intellectual property rights

(1) All rights to the Platform, the underlying software, the databases, the design and the marks “Bettles” and “Bettle One” belong to the Provider or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark and competition law.

(2) The Provider is not obliged to provide the User with the source code of the Platform or to grant access to it. Any exploitation beyond contractual use — in particular reproduction, distribution, editing or reverse engineering outside the cases mandatorily permitted by law (Sections 69d, 69e of the German Copyright Act (UrhG)) — is not permitted.

Section 14 Notice and complaint procedure (Digital Services Act)

(1) The Provider designates the email address stated in Section 2 as the central point of contact within the meaning of Articles 11 and 12 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act — DSA). Communication is possible in German and English.

(2) Users and third parties can report allegedly unlawful content on the Platform via this point of contact (notice and action procedure under Article 16 DSA). The report should contain a sufficiently substantiated explanation, the exact electronic location (e.g. URL) and contact details of the reporting party.

(3) The Provider reviews incoming reports, takes measures where necessary (e.g. removal or blocking of content or accounts) and informs the reporting party and the affected User of its decision and its essential reasons, insofar as the respective contact details are available (Articles 16, 17 DSA).

Section 15 Availability and updating of the Platform

(1) The Provider endeavours to keep the Platform available without interruption. However, there is no claim to uninterrupted availability.

(2) Maintenance work, technical problems at third parties (in particular odds suppliers and result data services) or force majeure can lead to temporary restrictions. The Provider endeavours to keep such restrictions as short as possible.

(3) The Provider expressly points out that technical disruptions, system failures or data losses can occur at any time. As a result, all game data belonging to a bettle (including tips, scores, rankings and Bettle Coins) can be lost in whole or in part without prior notice. There is no claim by the User to the restoration of lost game data or to compensation in Bettle Coins, virtual or real values, insofar as the loss is not based on a breach of essential contractual obligations by the Provider. Liability under Section 17 remains unaffected.

(4) The Provider is entitled, for good cause — in particular in the event of technical disruptions, missing result or odds data, suspicion of manipulation or legal obstacles — to end or suspend individual bettles prematurely or to abort them without evaluation. There is no claim by the User to the continuation or regular evaluation of an aborted bettle. Liability under Section 17 as well as any provisions on real stakes between members (Section 10) remain unaffected.

(5) Insofar as the Platform constitutes a digital product within the meaning of Sections 327 et seq. BGB, the Provider provides the User during the contract term with the updates necessary to maintain the conformity of the Platform (in particular security and functional updates) and informs about this in a suitable manner (Section 327f BGB).

Section 16 Changes to the Platform and these Terms

(1) The Provider can change or further develop the Platform at any time insofar as this is necessary to maintain conformity. Changes beyond this are permissible if there is a valid reason for them (in particular technical further development, change in the legal situation or adaptation to market conditions), the change is made for the User at no additional cost and does not unreasonably impair them (Section 327r BGB). If such a change impairs access to or the usability of the Platform more than insignificantly, the Provider informs the User about this appropriately in advance; in this case the User has the right to terminate the contract free of charge.

(2) Changes to these Terms are communicated to the User in text form. They become effective if the User expressly agrees to them — in particular by actively confirming at the next login to the Platform. If the User does not agree to a change, the previous Terms continue to apply unchanged for them; in this case the Provider can terminate the contractual relationship by ordinary notice with a reasonable notice period.

Section 17 Limitation of liability

(1) The Provider is liable without limitation for damages arising from injury to life, body or health that are based on a negligent breach of duty by the Provider or an intentional or negligent breach of duty by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the Provider.

(2) The Provider is also liable without limitation for other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the Provider or on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the Provider.

(3) For the slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations (so-called cardinal obligations), the Provider is liable limited in amount to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract.

(4) Otherwise, the Provider’s liability is excluded.

(5) The Provider is not liable for damages incurred by the User from an agreement on a real stake between members of a club (see Section 10).

(6) The Provider is not liable for the accuracy or timeliness of the data supplied by third parties (in particular bookmakers and result data services), insofar as this data is adopted unchanged into the Platform.

Section 18 Data protection

Information on the Provider’s handling of personal data can be found in the privacy policy.

Section 19 Contract term and termination

(1) The usage contract is concluded for an indefinite period. Both parties can terminate the contract at any time without notice in text form or by deleting the account via the Platform.

(2) The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected.

(3) Upon termination of the contract, all in-game currency balances of the User (Bettle Coins or the respective chosen unit) in bettles still running expire. There is no claim to compensation for the value.

Section 20 Dispute resolution

The Provider is not willing and not obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board under the German Act on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Consumer Matters (VSBG).

Section 21 Final provisions

(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies exclusively to all legal relationships between the Provider and the User, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For consumers, this choice of law only applies insofar as the consumer is not thereby deprived of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of their state of habitual residence.

(2) If the User is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes is the Provider’s registered office.

(3) Should individual provisions of these Terms be or become invalid or unenforceable, this does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms.

Current version: v1.0.0 · effective 4 June 2026 · Permalink