Terms of Service

What Laces Out is

A scoreboard. You make picks, we lock them at kickoff, pull the scores, and keep the standings honest. That is the product.

Laces Out is entertainment and record-keeping software, and it is for entertainment purposes only. It is a tool for running a pool the way a spreadsheet or a whiteboard is a tool, with the arithmetic done for you and the deadlines enforced. We operate no game of chance. We accept no wagers, we hold no stakes, and we award nothing of value to anybody.

What Laces Out is not

We are not a betting service and we never handle pool money. We do not take entry fees, we do not hold a pot, we do not escrow anything, and we do not pay anybody out. If your pool has money or a prize attached, that is an announcement typed in by whoever runs it. A line on a board, nothing more. Settling up happens between you and your crew, the same way it did before this app existed.

The commissioner pass buys software and nothing else. It is a licence to run pools in the app for a season, and it is the only thing anybody ever pays us. It is not an entry fee, it buys no chance at anything, and it has no bearing on who wins a pool. Playing is free and always has been, so no purchase is ever required to join a pool or to win one.

Which means the legality of your pool is yours to know. Contest and gambling rules differ from state to state, and we are not in a position to rule on yours. Before you attach money to a pool, make sure it is legal where you and your players are.

For bars and venues

A venue that puts a Laces Out board on its screens is displaying software, the same as a scoreboard app or a trivia app. We do not run a contest on your premises, we take no cut of anything, and nobody has to buy a thing to join a pool or to play.

Your licences and your regulator remain entirely yours. In Texas that means the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and every state has a body of its own. Nothing on this page is legal advice and nothing on this page is a defence. If you are not certain that a pool you are hosting is permitted where you are, ask your own lawyer before you host it rather than after.

You have to be 18

Accounts are for adults, 18 or older. If you are not, you cannot have one.

Your account

One person, one account. Use a real email address. It is how you get back in when you lose your password. What happens under your account is your responsibility, so keep the password to yourself. If you think somebody else is in there, change it and email us.

We can suspend or close an account for cheating, for running more than one account in the same pool, for harassing other players, or for trying to break the site. We would rather not, and we will usually ask first.

Picks lock at kickoff

When a game kicks off, the picks on it are final. That is enforced in the database itself rather than by a screen, so it binds everybody equally. Whoever runs the pool included. Us included. Late is late. Every pick change is logged with a timestamp, and that log settles any argument about who had what.

Scores

Scores come from a public feed. It is normally fast and normally right, but it is not ours. If a score lands late or lands wrong we will correct it when we see it or when you tell us, but we cannot promise a feed we do not run.

The commissioner pass

Playing is free, always. Running pools costs $25 for the season, and that covers every pool you run, all the way through the Super Bowl. One price, no tiers, no per-pool fee.

The pass is for one season and does not renew by itself. Because it unlocks the whole season the moment you buy it, we do not refund it as a rule. If a season falls apart in a way that is not your doing, email us. We would rather sort it out than have you feel robbed.

What we can change

This is a young product and it will keep moving. We may add, change, or remove features. If we ever have to shut the service down, you get notice and a chance to save your standings first.

The legal part

Laces Out is provided as it is. We work to keep it up, accurate, and fast, but we do not guarantee that it will run without interruption or that every score and standing will be perfect. To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability to you is capped at what you have actually paid us, which for most players is nothing and for a commissioner is $25.

Nothing on this page is legal advice, and nothing here takes away a right you have that cannot be signed away.

Which law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, and any dispute goes to the state or federal courts sitting in Texas.

Changes to these terms

Same rule as the privacy policy: the date at the top changes when the words do, and anything that materially changes the deal gets told to you before it takes effect.

Contact

hello@lacesoutpickem.com. A real person reads it.