Collecting winnings on internet games

[tsspanky]

I have played an internet game http://www.Jackpot.com which is a free site and won 4 cordless phones, $30 in cash and a trip to Italy. All valued at $4,230.00 (according to them). They said they had technical difficulties therefore they will not honor my win. I have screen prints of the winning combinations with the prize table indicating what prize I won and the date. 15 minutes - 1/2 hour after I e-mailed them listing the above prizes I had won and wanting confirmation the game site crashed and I had to restart my computer. When I brought it up again they had changed the 3 items I had told them I won on the prize guide. I have the before and after screen prints dated the same days proving they changed them after I notified them. Do I have a case? Can I take them to small claims court - they are in CA and I am in ME. Thank you.

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information , not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

Under a contract theory, they offered prizes if you played and won. you played and won so...,if they dont honor it, is a breach of contract. And you can get oh so much more.

BUt the issue now is one of: is this enforceable? Is this something like internet gambling? If it is, then no. If it is more like a sweepstakes, then yes.


So...I say locate their corporate information via who is under networksolutions.com and go from there.

 

[tsspanky]

Lawrat - more information

Please disregard previous posting. I checked this company's rules and they repeatedly refer to themselves as a sweepstakes. What would you suggest for my next course of action? Would an attorney take this on based on a contingency fee as I really cannot afford one. This is a matter of principle and unfair business practices and I really would like to pursue this. Thanks again for your help.