Chumba World denied by Kickstarter
NO to Chumba World

Casino gambling seems to be unwelcome on the online fundraising site.

Giving a strange new meaning to its name, Kickstarter decided to kick out Chumba World from its site, after only four days of collecting pledges towards a $50,000 funding goal.

In development by Aussie startup Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), Chumba World is a free MMO platform allowing players to build and customize their own casinos, including the games as well as visit each other’s virtual establishments.

While it is essentially a casino-themed social game, complete with the opportunity to play poker, bet on the roulette or stop by at Blackjack casinos online – using virtual chips purchased for real money – Chumba World will also have a profit sharing model based on the traffic that players generate through their own games.

Kickstarter declined to elaborate on the details of the decision, so the only guidance is the site’s T&C. It states that any project may be removed if it “violates or acts inconsistently with the letter or spirit of the site’s guidelines or Terms of Use; materially changes the stated use of funds; makes unverifiable claims; or exhibits actions that are more closely associated with fraudulent or high-risk activity.”

It is unclear, which if any of these terms VGW may have breached. We can only speculate that any project even remotely related to online or mobile casino games could be considered a “high risk” activity.

In a statement released following the decision VGW remarked: “We are extremely disappointed at Kickstarter’s inconsistent and opaque approach to our project. In our view, the community of backers should decide whether a project succeeds or fails. Kickstarter should not be able to make arbitrary decisions with no explanation and no recourse.”

Supporters who have pledged funds for Chumba World in return for expected in-game benefits have been similarly disappointed by the decision.

Having had significant success in earlier venture capital fundraising, VGW will again turn to investors for the $50,000 needed for late stage development.