Refund Policy

Milestone 2 Final Draft v1.2

Last Updated: 16 September 2026

1. PURPOSE

This Refund Policy explains when a Participation Amount may be returned in connection with a VersusArena Competition and distinguishes a Competition refund from later movement of assets already available in a User-Controlled Wallet.

This Policy should be read together with the Terms of Use and Competition Rules. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given in those documents. A user must accept the then-current Refund Policy together with the Competition Rules before first paid participation, and VersusArena may require renewed acceptance of a materially updated Policy before further paid participation.

2. COMPETITION REFUNDS AND WALLET TRANSFERS

A Competition refund is the return of a Participation Amount under the Competition Rules, Competition Parameters, fixed smart-contract logic or mandatory applicable law. The standard refund state is the predefined Void/Refund Outcome.

A later transfer of assets already available in a User-Controlled Wallet is different. Once Settlement has credited assets to a User-Controlled Wallet, subsequent movement of those assets is a wallet transaction controlled through the applicable wallet-provider process and is not a Competition refund merely because the user wishes to move the assets elsewhere.

Post-Settlement movement from a User-Controlled Wallet is authorised through the applicable wallet-provider process. VersusArena does not treat that movement as a Competition refund or as a payout request that VersusArena manually approves.

3. WHEN A REFUND IS GENERALLY AVAILABLE

Subject to mandatory applicable law, a Participation Amount is returnable only where the Competition Rules, Competition Parameters or fixed smart-contract logic provide for a return. This normally occurs through the predefined Void/Refund Outcome. Circumstances that may lead to that Outcome include:

(a) a Competition is cancelled in circumstances where the Competition Rules require Void/Refund;

(b) no reliable Competition result can reasonably be determined and the applicable Final Outcome is Void/Refund;

(c) a material technical or integrity event prevents fair or reliable completion and, under the Competition Rules, the proper Final Outcome is Void/Refund;

(d) another event expressly defined in the Competition Rules or Competition Parameters results in the Void/Refund Outcome; or

(e) mandatory applicable law requires a return.

4. VOID COMPETITIONS

Where the predefined Competition Outcome is Void/Refund, the Tournament Smart Contract automatically returns the relevant Participation Amounts to the original Funding Wallets or original payers according to the refund logic fixed when the Competition was funded.

No Platform Fee is charged for a Competition that is treated as Void.

A Void is not the same as losing a Competition, being disqualified, abandoning a match or failing to appear.

5. WHEN A REFUND IS GENERALLY NOT AVAILABLE

Except where applicable law requires otherwise, a refund is generally not available merely because:

(a) a Participant loses a Competition;

(b) a Participant changes their mind after a Competition has been funded and the applicable cancellation right, if any, has expired;

(c) a Participant experiences an individual device, internet or connection problem that does not result in the Void/Refund Outcome under the Competition Rules;

(d) a blockchain network fee, gas cost or third-party charge has already been incurred and cannot be recovered by VersusArena;

(e) assets already settled to a User-Controlled Wallet are subsequently restricted by Circle or another infrastructure provider under its own lawful compliance or security controls.

No-show, voluntary abandonment, cheating, collusion, match-fixing and disqualification do not have a universal refund consequence under this Policy. Their monetary treatment depends on the predefined Outcome permitted by the Competition Rules, the Competition Parameters disclosed before funding and the fixed smart-contract logic for the relevant circumstances. VersusArena cannot create a new payout or refund path after funding.

A Participant does not obtain a refund merely by intentionally disconnecting, abandoning play, failing to use an available reporting or pause mechanism, or continuing after knowingly accepting an obvious pre-match setting and later disputing that setting. Any such circumstances are assessed under the Competition Rules, including the actual competitive effect, evidence and any mandatory applicable right.

6. CANCELLATION BEFORE START

Before funding, no Competition refund is required because no Participation Amount has yet been transferred into the Tournament Smart Contract. After funding, a Participant or Payer may cancel only where a cancellation option is expressly made available for that Competition or where mandatory law requires otherwise.

If all required Participation Amounts are not confirmed by the Funding Deadline, the Competition expires or is cancelled and must not start. Any Participation Amount already confirmed must be returned to the applicable Original Payer through the predefined pre-start refund logic, and no Platform Fee is charged. Where no match has started, this return does not need to be described as a competitive Void result solely because funding was incomplete.

Any other post-funding cancellation option, including its cut-off time and refund consequence, must be displayed through the Platform or Competition Parameters before it is applied.

If post-funding cancellation is permitted, the return must use the predefined Competition logic applicable to that funded Competition. VersusArena does not use a discretionary manual transfer to implement such a cancellation. No Platform Fee is charged where the Competition is cancelled with a full return or settled as Void/Refund.

7. TECHNICAL FAILURE

A technical issue does not automatically create a right to a refund.

Depending on the circumstances, VersusArena may allow a result to stand, resume or restart the match, order a rematch, or declare the Competition Void.

A refund is available only where the Competition is treated as refundable or Void under the Competition Rules.

Reconnect periods, rematch conditions and any technical-failure rules that may affect the Competition Outcome must be disclosed through the Platform or applicable Competition Parameters. An individual connection problem does not by itself require a refund.

8. DISPUTES

Submitting a Competition dispute does not itself create a right to a refund. A Participant should report a known result, technical, rule or integrity issue without undue delay where a reasonable reporting method is available, and any evidence submitted must relate to the relevant Competition and must not be fabricated, materially altered or knowingly misleading.

Where a timely Competition result review is pending before on-chain Settlement, VersusArena may delay submission of the Final Outcome while it examines Official Match Data and other relevant evidence. The authorised reviewer is limited to selecting one of the predefined Outcomes supported by the funded Competition and cannot manually specify a payout address or amount.

If the Final Outcome after review is Void/Refund, the Tournament Smart Contract returns the applicable Participation Amounts to the original Funding Wallets or original payers according to the fixed refund logic.

If Team A Wins or Team B Wins is the Final Outcome, Settlement proceeds according to the Competition Rules and fixed smart-contract logic. A Participant does not obtain a refund merely because a result review was requested.

9. CHEATING, COLLUSION AND FRAUD

Where a Participant is reasonably suspected of cheating, collusion, match-fixing, fraud or unlawful activity before Final Outcome submission, VersusArena may delay finalisation and submission of the predefined Outcome while the matter is investigated, to the extent permitted by the Competition Rules and technical architecture.

Any monetary consequence of cheating, collusion, match-fixing, fraud or disqualification must be expressed through a predefined Outcome supported by the funded Competition and must comply with the Competition Rules, Terms of Use and applicable law. VersusArena does not have or rely on an unrestricted general right to confiscate, redirect or manually redistribute Participant funds.

Where a confirmed integrity violation affects the Competition result, the applicable monetary consequence must be one of the predefined Outcomes supported by the funded Competition and must correspond to the Competition Rules or Competition Parameters disclosed before funding.

10. COMPLIANCE HOLDS

Before a Final Outcome is submitted on-chain, VersusArena may delay result finalisation or a Void/Refund trigger where reasonably necessary to complete an identity, sanctions, PEP, fraud, wallet, source-of-funds or other risk-based review. After assets reach a User-Controlled Wallet, Circle or another infrastructure provider may independently apply its own transaction or wallet restrictions.

A delay caused by a legitimate compliance review does not automatically convert the underlying amount into a refundable Competition entry.

Where the underlying Competition is independently refundable, the return may still be subject to provider or legal restrictions affecting the relevant wallet or transaction.

11. NETWORK AND THIRD-PARTY FEES

The Platform Fee is not charged for a Void Competition.

Blockchain network fees, gas costs and third-party provider charges are separate. A cost already paid to a blockchain network or third-party provider may be non-refundable where VersusArena cannot recover it.

Where VersusArena sponsors gas or network fees, the user is not charged that sponsored amount unless expressly stated before the transaction.

12. REFUND DESTINATION

Refunds are returned to the applicable Original Payer through the predefined Competition refund logic. In a captain-funded team Competition, this means the team captain receives the return for the Participation Amounts that captain actually funded, even if the selected winning-payout mode would have distributed a winning payout among other Participants.

VersusArena cannot use the Tournament Smart Contract to redirect a refund to an arbitrary third-party wallet. The confirmed emergency path is likewise limited to returning the applicable Participation Amounts to the original Funding Wallets or original payers.

13. TIMING

Where the Final Outcome is Void/Refund, the Tournament Smart Contract executes the return to the original Funding Wallets or original payers according to the applicable fixed refund logic, subject to blockchain execution and any applicable provider controls.

Blockchain confirmation times and third-party review periods may vary. VersusArena cannot guarantee a specific blockchain confirmation time.

If an automated refund transaction fails for a technical reason, VersusArena may investigate and coordinate a technically and legally available remediation with the relevant infrastructure provider. Any remediation must preserve the applicable refund entitlement and must not be used to redirect funds to an arbitrary destination.

14. HOW TO REPORT A REFUND ISSUE

If you believe a refundable amount has not been returned correctly, contact VersusArena through the support method designated on the Platform and provide:

(a) your account identifier;

(b) the Competition identifier;

(c) the relevant wallet address or transaction reference where applicable; and

(d) a short description of the issue.

Do not send private keys, seed phrases or wallet authentication secrets to VersusArena support.

15. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may update this Refund Policy from time to time.

Changes to this Policy apply prospectively and do not alter the Participation Amount, payout formula, Platform Fee or refund logic fixed for a Competition that has already been funded. If law or a serious security issue requires action in relation to an already funded Competition, VersusArena must use the functions available under the pre-agreed Competition logic or another lawful remedy and should not retroactively rewrite the funded Competition parameters. VersusArena may require acceptance of a materially updated Refund Policy before the user next enters or funds a paid Competition.

16. MANDATORY CONSUMER RIGHTS / EEA

Nothing in this Refund Policy excludes or limits any refund, cancellation or consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded or waived under mandatory applicable law.

For consumers in the EEA, certain Competitions that constitute services related to leisure activities and are provided for a specific date or period may fall within an exception to the statutory right of withdrawal. VersusArena does not assume that this exception applies to every Competition format. Where a statutory withdrawal right may otherwise apply and the paid Competition service is to begin during the withdrawal period, VersusArena will require, where applicable, the consumer before funding to expressly request immediate performance and acknowledge that the withdrawal right will be lost once the service has been fully performed.

If mandatory law permits withdrawal before full performance, the consumer may be responsible for a proportionate amount for the service provided up to the time of withdrawal, and any legally required return will be handled in accordance with mandatory applicable law. Nothing in this Policy treats the contractual no-cancellation rule as overriding a non-waivable statutory right.