SkillGround

Infobox Company
company_name=SkillGround: Real Games. Real Money.
company_logo=
company_type=Private
foundation=2006
Genre= Game Platform
location=Online
industry=Interactive entertainment
products= UTour Golf, Warpath, CQC, LASR, , TOCA Race Driver 3
num_employees= unknown (2008)
homepage= [http://www1.skillground.com/ www.SkillGround.com]

'SkillGround' is an online skill-gaming platform created by Groove Media Inc. [ [http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2007/07/c8716.html CNW Group Press Report] ] . Players are able to complete for free, or wager for cash.

Free games are supported by advertising before and during gameplay; cash games are supported by collecting a rake on prizes, with no advertising displayed before the game begins [ [http://www.groovegames.com/press_release2.html Groove Media Press Release] ] .

Games

Six (6) games are currently offered through the service:

* WarPath – A futuristic first-person shooter
* Close Quarters Conflict (CQC) – A military first-person shooter
* L.A. Street Racer (LASR) – A modern racing game
* – A traditional side-scrolling martial arts fighter
* UTour Golf – An online golf simulator
* TOCA Race Driver 3 - Popular racing game distributed by Codemasters.

History

The SkillGround service was launched in December 2006. Four games were included at this time, and golf, their most popular title, was added nearly a year later in August 2007.

This service got off to a rocky start, with limited availability in its first week. This led to VH1 Game Break declaring it “idiot of the week” [ [http://www.vh1gamebreak.com/2006/12/game_break_idio.html Idiot of the Week] ] .

Service has since been improved, and has gained wide traction for its UTour Golf offering.

Rules

SkillGround is a gambling site. All wins are based on skill. As a result, this service is legal in the majority of the United States; whereas traditional gambling site has been banned since 2006.

Despite this, thirteen (13) states have still outlawed skill based gaming. The service is not available for cash play in [ [http://www1.skillground.com/help/policies.html SkilllGround Policies] ] :

* Arkansas
* Arizona
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Iowa
* Illinois
* Louisiana
* Maryland
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Vermont

SkillGround also forbids cheating. Players who violate this policy are banned from the site and their winnings are confiscated and awarded to those who would have otherwise won. Cheat detection is based on a proprietary, in-house technology.

See also

* [http://www.skillground.com/ SkillGround.com]
* [http://forums.skillground.com/ SkillGround Forums]

References