Terms and Conditions

Click here for USP Footy Terms and Conditions

Entries

1. To enter the Competition, each entrant (“Punter”) must register their personal details and select an athlete, team, country or horse to win each event from a predetermined list of sporting events included in the Ultimate Sports Punter (“USP”) Competition, using the online Entry Form that is published on the website www.ultimatesportspunter.com.au (“USP Website”), during the “Entry Period” of when Entry Forms are released from Tuesday 12pm 5 March 2024 to when entry forms closes at Wednesday 11:59pm 20 March 2024 (“Competition Deadline”).

2. USP will take no responsibility whatsoever for lost, late or misdirected entries whether caused by personal error, system failure or otherwise. No late entries will be accepted. Entry Forms can only be submitted via the online Entry Form available from the USP website. No other means of Entry Form submission will be accepted.

3. All times and dates in these Terms and Conditions are times and dates in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) which may be AEST of AEDST depending on the relevant date.

4. The list of selections made by the Punter, completed on the Official USP Entry Form is known as an "Entry" into the USP competition. Points are allocated for correct associated winning selections and the punter that accumulates the most points at the end of the year is deemed the winner (and the "Ultimate Sports Punter"). See also the sections Scoring Points and Degree of Difficulty to further understand how the scoring works.

5. A punter can only submit 1 (one) Entry Form into the USP competition which is distinguished by a unique email address. If a punter submits multiple Entry Forms, the last Entry Form submitted prior to the Competition Deadline will be judged as their official Entry Form.

6. Any Entry becomes the property of USP. Any information provided will be used by USP to conduct and promote this Competition.

7. It is the responsibility of the Punter to ensure that their selections within the Entry Form are accurate, final and eligible.

8. A punter must be over the age of 18 years old prior to the entry deadline (12 February 2023) to enter the USP Competition. The winner of Ultimate Sports Punter must provide proof of age prior to the distribution of prizemoney. Failure to provide proof of age will see the Punter eliminated from the competition.

9. Syndicate Entries are permitted, but they must name one representative responsible for the Entry.

10. Entries that conform to the above conditions will be classified as a valid submission. Any Entry that does not conform to the above conditions will be considered a null and void submission and removed from the USP Competition.

11. All Entries that are submitted will receive an email confirming receipt of Entry Form, along with a copy of the selections from their Entry Form. This does not consider the Entry Form as confirmation of a validated Entry Form. Only valid Entries will be uploaded onto the USP Website once all Entries are validated. Punters with Entry Forms that are not validated, will not be informed by USP.

12. All Entries opting into the Referral Promotion will receive a confirmation email which will also be sent to the Referrer’s email address as provided by the Punter.

Personal Details

13. A Punter must submit their correct personal details into the Entry Form.

14. Australian residents must provide their correct Name, Surname, Email Address, Age bracket, Gender and Postcode.

15. Internationals must provide their correct Name, Surname, Email Address, Age bracket, Gender and Country of Residence.

16. The provision of a mobile contact number is optional. USP may from time-to-time use mobile contact numbers to issue messages related to the Competition.

17. A Punter must provide a unique Username on the Entry Form, which will be used to identify their Entry on the USP Website.

Selections and Lifelines

18. A Punter's Entry consists of a list of selections for Events. These events are listed on the Official USP Events List. Selections are to be chosen on the Official USP Entry Form prior to submission.

Lifelines

19. As well as normal selections, Punters have access to 2 (two) lifelines to use during the USP competition. Each Lifeline can only be used once. The use of each Lifeline is mandatory. These are:

"The Wildcard"

This Lifeline gives the Punter the maximum score (5 points) for this event, regardless of the outcome of this event. The use of this Lifeline must be made on the Official Entry Form by selecting an Event from the list titled “Wildcard Choice”, and this action will supersede the previous selection made for said Event. (i.e. the Punters original selection for the Event that they have used their Wildcard on will become null and void when Entries are validated).

"The Joker"

This Lifeline gives the Punter the opportunity to receive double points (10 points) for the event, although they must pick the winner of the event. Zero points are awarded for second and third placed selections. The use of this Lifeline must be made on the Official Entry Form by selecting an Event from the list titled “Joker Choice”.

20. A punter cannot use their "Joker" or "Wildcard" in conjunction with each other. If an event is abandoned, the Lifeline will be lost, and zero points will be awarded. (See Special Circumstances Section)

The Gamblers

21. There are 5 (five) head-to-head events during the USP competition. Each Punter must make a selection for these Events prior to submitting their Entry Form. In 2023 these events are:

a). AFL - ANZAC Day - Collingwood vs Essendon

b). Cricket - The Ashes Winner (Men) - Australia vs England

c). Cricket - Boxing Day Test - Australia vs Pakistan

d). Golf - Ryder Cup - Europe vs United States of America

e). NRL - State of Origin Series - New South Wales vs Queensland

22. Prior to these events, a Punter may choose to wager 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 points on the result in an attempt to win these points. However, the punter will have those points deducted from their score if the selection is wrong. A punter may choose to "pass" and not make a selection and they will neither win additional points nor lose existing points. In the event of a draw, as per the other events, both selections will be considered winners and the points will be awarded to those punters who made a selection of either team, while those punters who chose to "pass" will receive zero additional points.

23. With regards to “Cricket - The Ashes Winner (Men) - Australia vs England” event, as Australia are the current holders of “The Ashes”, if the Series ends in a draw, Australia will retain “The Ashes” and points will be awarded to those that selected Australia.

24. Each Punter can change their selection for each Gambler Event in the 7 (seven) days leading into each respective Gambler Event by submitting their change through the “Gambler Update Form” via the USP Website. This form will be available from the USP Website from 7 (seven) days prior to the Event starting. This change must be submitted the day before the Event begins. Each Punter can elect to change the team and/or points wagered or elect to “pass” for each Gambler. A Punter may choose not to change their selection.

25. If a Punter submits multiple changes to their Gambler selection via the USP website, the last submission for change submitted prior to the Competition Deadline will be judged as their selection change.

26. Each Punter’s Gambler selections will be uploaded to the USP website no later than two days after the respective event starts, allowing time for each entry to be validated prior to uploading.

Scoring Points

27. At the conclusion of each event a punter will be awarded 5 (five) points if their selection has finished 1st (first) in the competition, 3 (three) points if the selection has finished 2nd (second) and 1 (one) point if the selection has finished 3rd (third). No points will be awarded if the selection finished further back in the order of results.

28. The final placing of the events will be taken from the official table of results for each particular event.

29. For some knockout events (which may not have an official table) the champion (winner of the final match) will be considered to have placed 1st, the runner-up (loser of the final match) will be considered to have placed 2nd, and the 2 (two) semi-finalists (losers of the penultimate round) will both be considered to have placed 3rd.

Example - French Open Tennis:

Selection of the winner earns 5 points
Selection of the runner-up earns 3 points
Selection of either losing semi-finalist earns 1 point

30. For some knockout events, however, there is a 3rd place playoff (bronze medal/consolation match) between the losing semi-finalists. In this situation, 1 point will be awarded only for selection of the winner of the 3rd place playoff.

Example - FIBA World Cup:

Selection of the winner earns 5 points
Selection of the runner-up earns 3 points
Selection of the winner of the 3rd place playoff earns 1 point
Selection of the loser of the 3rd place playoff does not receive any points.

If there is a tie in an event the points will be adjusted as follows:

In a 2-way tie for 1st place, 5 points will be awarded for both 1st place getters and 1 point will be awarded for the 3rd place getter(s). No other points will be awarded.
In a 3-or-more-way tie for 1st place, 5 points will be awarded for all 1st place getters. No other points will be awarded.
In a 2-or-more-way tie for 2nd place, 3 points will be awarded for all 2nd place getters. Points will be awarded as normal for 1st place and no other points will be awarded.
In a 2-or-more-way tie for 3rd place, 1 point will be awarded for all 3rd place getters. Points will be awarded as normal for 1st and 2nd places.

31. The above scoring system only applies to the final and official results of an event. If a sport has its own system to break a tie (i.e., Golf playoff, Golden Goal, Overtime, Replay, etc.) then this will be taken into account in the official results before the USP scoring system is applied.

32. For the purposes of USP, the terms "tie" and "draw" will be seen as interchangeable terms, indicating a "deadlocked" result, with no clearly definable winner. USP recognises that these terms can carry different meanings across different sports, but equally result in an inability to identify one of the two teams as a winner.

33. The aim of each punter is to accrue as many points as possible with the Entry selections. During the USP competition, these points will be tabled and available for viewing on the USP website. These points will be declared official within 1 (one) week of the conclusion of the last event on the USP calendar and should only be used as a guide until declared so.

Degree of Difficulty

34. In addition to scoring points, punters Entries also accrue a Degree of Difficulty (or "DD") that is used in the final USP rankings to differentiate between equal point scores.

35. DD is accrued for each scoring selection in an Entry, excluding “Wildcard” selections and “pass” selections for Gamblers.

36. DD is calculated as the fraction of Entries with a differing selection for the same event, displayed as a decimal percentage. In simpler terms, it is the percentage of people who didn’t make the same selection for that event.

37. The DD points (not percentage breakdown) are rounded to the nearest number (down between .001 to .499 and up for .5 to .999) and can never be 100. If one punter has a unique selection, the DD is rounded to 99. If every punter has the same selection, the DD is 0 (zero).

38. While “Wildcard” selections and “pass” selections for Gamblers do not accrue DD points, the percentage breakdown for these selections remain valid with regards to how DD points are allocated among the other ‘normal’ selections.

Consider the following example for the NBA last season when the Warriors beat the Celtics:

Team	No. of Selections	Percentage Breakdown	DD Points
Golden State Warriors	2620	53%	47
Boston Celtics	1170	24%	76
Brooklyn Nets	530	11%	89
Milwaukee Bucks	450	9%	91
Denver Nuggets	120	2%	98
Wildcard	40	1%	0
Atlanta Hawks	20	1%	99
Philadelphia 76ers	10	1%	99

Punters that selected the Warriors, who finished 1st would receive 5 points and have 47 (100-53) credited to their DD.
Punters that selected the Celtics, who finished 2nd would receive 3 points and have 76 (100-24) credited to their DD.
Punters that selected the Bucks, who finished equal 3rd would receive 1 point and have 91 (100-9) credited to their DD.
Zero DD points are allocated to the Wildcard choice.

39. The aim of DD is to create a secondary scoring system to differentiate Entries at the end the season on the same number of points. It does this by rewarding punters who make scoring selections that differ from other punters. In this vein it is similar to "Percentage" in the AFL or "Goal Difference" in many major Association Football leagues.

40. While DD may be displayed on the USP website during the season, DD is primarily used as a secondary ranking method at the end of the competition. Example - If an Entry finishes the USP season with 100 points and 95 DD it will be ranked above an Entry that scored 99 points and 150 DD. The points are not combined.

41. The “Joker” DD is calculated at the normal rate (i.e. It is not doubled) as it cannot exceed 100.

Winners

42. All monetary amounts are in Australian Dollars (AUD).

43. Maximum total prize pool value for the USP Competition is up to $3,500. A right to receive a prize is not transferable or exchangeable. If there is a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, USP reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine the identity of the entrant.

44. The winner of the Ultimate Sports Punter competition will win $2,500. There are no prizes for placings, outside the winner.

45. In the event of a tie (equal points and DD), the prize will be equally divided between the winners.

46. The cash prizes will be provided to the winner/s within thirty (30) days of the completion of the USP Competition.

47. The winner will be responsible for providing the appropriate bank details to facilitate prize money payment.

48. It is a condition of entering the USP Competition that the winner/s agrees to be interviewed, photographed and/or filmed by USP or its agents for a story or feature on this Competition and/or Ultimate Sports Punter generally. These stories could be featured on any media platforms (including websites and social media platforms) of USP or our Partners without any remuneration or other compensation to the winner.

49. No judge, or their partners are eligible to win the cash prize. Should a judge finish on top of the standings at the end of the competition, the prize will be awarded to the highest eligible Punter.

Referral Promotion

50. USP is offering a $1,000 cash bonus to the person who wins the USP Competition, if they referred at least two new Entrants to the 2024 USP Competition. To be eligible for the Referral Promotion prize:

a). At least two entrants must provide the correct full name and email address of the Referrer when submitting their Entry Form prior to the Competition Deadline.
b). At least two entrants must not have submitted an entry form into the 2023 USP Competition.
c). Referrer must have a valid Entry in the USP Competition prior to the Competition Deadline and until the conclusion of the USP Competition.
d). At least two entrants have a valid Entry in the USP Competition prior to the Competition Deadline and until the conclusion of the USP Competition.
e). Entrants and the Referrer cannot refer each other.

51. There are no limits to the number of referrals that a person can refer. A Punter may choose not to list a Referrer.

52. The winner of the Ultimate Sports Punter Referral Promotion will win $1,000.

53. In the event of a tie (equal points and DD) in determining the winning of the USP Competition, the “Referral Promotion” bonus will be equally split between the eligible referrers, aligned to the proportion of prizemoney. So if there are two winners and only one eligible for the “referral promotion”, the eligible winner will receive 50% of the maximum bonus (i.e. $500).

54. The cash bonus will be provided to the winner/s within thirty (30) days of the completion of the USP Competition.

55. The winner of the Referral Promotion will be responsible for providing the appropriate bank details to facilitate payment.

56. It is a condition of entering the USP Competition that the winner/s of the Referral Promotion agrees to be interviewed, photographed and/or filmed by USP or its agents for a story or feature on this Competition and/or Ultimate Sports Punter generally. These stories could be featured on any media platforms (including websites and social media platforms) of USP or our Partners without any remuneration or other compensation to the winner.

57. If the winner of the USP Competition did not refer at least two new entrants into the 2024 USP Competition, or the Punters referral was ineligible, no “Referral Promotion” bonus will be awarded.

Special Circumstances

58. Postponed/Abandoned event

If an event is postponed, it will remain as part of the competition, and points will be awarded as normal, as long as it is completed (or an official winner announced by the presiding body) before the final scheduled USP event ends. If it is not completed before this date, the Event will be considered "abandoned" and no points will be awarded for the event, provided it does not fall into the special circumstances as listed below. If an Event is abandoned, all Jokers and Wildcards will be forfeited for said Event.

59. Event abandoned in concluding stages

If an event is abandoned in the concluding (point determining) stages of a multi-event sport (such as the ICC World Cup Final) due to special circumstances (i.e. severe weather, unsafe conditions, terrorist attack, pandemic, etc) and the event is not rescheduled to be finished, or is rescheduled to be finished after the final listed USP event, the judges reserve the right to declare the event a “tie” and award winning points to both competitors if, in the opinion of the judges, it is clear and fair that both teams be awarded equal standing. In these circumstances, a decision will be made after first taking into account the stance of the presiding sporting body.

60. Disqualifications

In the event of disqualification (e.g. drug taking in the Tour de France), the point allocation will be amended to reflect the presiding body's official results, provided that these results are amended before the conclusion of the final scheduled USP event.

The official results at the conclusion of the final scheduled USP event are deemed to be the official Ultimate Sports Punter results and will not be amended after this date. For example, if the winner of the Tour de France is disqualified in January 2024, no changes to the USP results will be made.

61. Unforeseen Situations

In the case of unforeseen situations, the USP judges reserve the right to make decisions at their own discretion. These decisions must be based on logic, common sense and fairness.

If the USP Competition is not capable of being conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any circumstance beyond the reasonable control of USP, including but not limited to a pandemic, epidemic, public health emergency, technical difficulties, unauthorised intervention, fraud or a change of law, USP reserves the right to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the Competition at their discretion.

Judges

62. The judges of the USP competition are Anthony Macali, Drew Parkinson, Gerard Smith and Liam Smith.

63. The judges reserve the right to make any rulings they see as fair and proper in the interest of the competition. They reserve the right to make amendments to the rules of the competition at any point in time. They will notify competitors of this via the USP website. The judges' decision is final. Common sense and fairness will prevail.

64. The judges reserve the right to limit the number of total entries into the competition to a manageable amount.

65. The judges reserve the right to remove an Event from the competition without explanation.

66. The judges cannot add an Event to the competition once the first valid Entry Form is submitted.

67. The judges reserve the right to refuse to accept an entry prior to the competition commencing without explanation.

68. The Judges reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and eligibility of entrants and in its absolute and sole discretion, to remove any Punter from the USP Competition who is believed to have breached any of these Terms and Conditions, tampered with the entry process or engaged in any unlawful, objectionable, offensive or other improper misconduct related to the conduct of the USP Competition or other conduct which USP regards as interfering with or jeopardising the fair and proper conduct of the USP Competition.

Complaints and Appeals

69. Any complaints and appeals should be directed to the competition judges via admin@ultimatesportspunter.com.au as soon as possible. The judges will investigate the situation and respond within a timely manner (typically 7-10 working days).

70. USP accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any system or connection problems that might affect any end user during this Competition.

71. USP is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participants or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation in or downloading any materials in this Competition.

Correspondence

72. Punters are required to remain contactable via email. Any change in email address should be reported at first convenience to admin@ultimatesportspunter.com.au. Punters are also responsible for keeping updated with the competition via the USP website.