Regulations and code of conduct

Regulations

Updated: 3 June 2026

1. The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2017, the ABF Tournament Regulations and the ABF Modifications to Laws and Regulations for online bridge apply as modified by these regulations.
2. The Director must be summoned electronically for any irregularity. Once the Director has been summoned, all play and bidding shall cease until the Director authorises its continuation.
3. Non Audio Video sessions
   Alerts (including Announcements) are made by the player making the call. An alerted call should be accompanied by an explanation. Players are required to alert any call the meaning of which may not be readily understood by the opponents. Bids which would be regarded as “Self-Alerted” in Face-2-Face bridge must still be alerted. Requests for clarification should be addressed to the player who gave the original explanation.
   Audio Video sessions
   Alerts and Announcements are done verbally, the same as in Face-2-Face bridge. The partner says “ALERT” or Announces the 1C & 1NT opening bids. Any further explanations, when asked for, are given by the partner of the person who made the bid.
4. Any player may request information concerning an opponent’s methods. Enquiries must be made using Private Chat and should be directed to the player who made the call. Replies to these enquiries must likewise be given in Private Chat.
5. Players have the ability to set 20 different variations of system cards. It is necessary to edit the library card to match your system used. Players are expected to play according to their displayed system card. Failure to do so, may result in a disadvantage in respect to misinformation rulings. In addition, players must display their name in the Identity field.
6. The only approved systems on StepBridge are Green, Blue & Red for Open sessions and Green & Blue for Novice & Restricted sessions. Brown sticker conventions and Yellow (HUM) systems are banned from StepBridge.
7. In general, calls and plays made within 10 seconds of the previous call or play are considered to be in tempo.
8. Unintended calls or plays may be rectified as per the Laws of Duplicate Bridge. A contestant who makes an unintended call or play should summon the Director immediately. Undos are permitted only upon instruction of the Director.
9. If play continues after an opponent’s claim or concession is rejected, the result of the board will stand as played. Alternatively, instead of rejecting the claim or concession, the Director may be summoned to adjudicate a result.
10. A hand that is partially completed when time expires, may either be allowed to be completed or adjudicated as equitably as possible to both sides by the Tournament Director.
11. A player’s table chat is authorised information for the opponents and unauthorised information for partner.
12. No player, kibitzer, director, or spectator may use any StepBridge tournament, event, table chat, private chat, player profile, or other tournament-related communication channel for the purpose of advertising, soliciting, promoting, or marketing any business, commercial enterprise, product, service, website, coaching activity, or competing bridge platform without the prior written approval of StepBridge Australia.
13. Players may not consult their own system card or other system notes while any hand is in progress.
14. It is illegal for a partnership to communicate during a hand via any means other than chat to the full table.
15. The use of external aids to memory is illegal. This includes, but is not limited to, the inspection of one’s own system notes and the recording on paper of the cards played.
16. Any attempt to gain advance knowledge of a deal (e.g. by communicating with a kibitzer during the game; by playing simultaneously in an event using multiple accounts or; by using a third-party account) is strictly prohibited.
17. Allegations of misbehaviour or suspicious activity should, in the first instance, be made to either the Director of the event or StepBridge administration (support@stepbridge.com.au).
18. Situations deemed worthy of further examination will be submitted for investigation. Not only will the session in question be scrutinised, but other sessions involving the same player/pair will also be examined.
19. Players, pairs or teams who are subsequently found to have engaged in illicit or unauthorised communication will be the subject of disciplinary action.
20. If complaints are made and preliminary investigations find that it is extremely likely Unauthorised Information has been used, the following disciplinary action will be taken: The player, pair or team will be immediately suspended from StepBridge. If this conclusion is disputed by the player, pair or team, the matter will be referred to the Unauthorised Information Officer (UIO) for full investigation and determination. The provisional closure of entrance and participation to StepBridge will remain in place until the judgement of the UIO is known.

Player Code of Conduct

Approved by the Committee on 25 August 2025. Developed in conjunction with the StepBridge Australia Bridge Club Inc. Constitution.

Background

StepBridge has the goals of:

• Providing an online bridge experience for players from all over the world.
• Providing sessions, where possible, for all levels of all players (Novice, Restricted and Open) with regular session times advertised well in advance.
• Providing a cost-effective structure, so that players can afford to play multiple times each day/week.
• Zero tolerance for bad behaviour and adhere to all ABF rules, regulations and guidelines (2017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGE and MODIFICATIONS TO THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS FOR ONLINE BRIDGE). In particular, LAW 74 – CONDUCT AND ETIQUETTE applies, ensuring that our players are comfortable in a pleasant club environment.

Behaviours expected

• Courtesy – in interactions and play
• In-tempo play (within 10 seconds)
• Honesty – in bidding, play and communications
• Acceptance of the Tournament Director’s ruling (there are rights for appeal through the normal channels – email support@stepbridge.com.au for consideration)

Who investigates breaches of this code

• Initially the TD, at the table
• The Head TD via tournament reporting structure
• The TD Review Board may be asked to comment and adjudicate, leading to the extreme cases being forwarded to the President and being presented to the Committee for further action.
• The TD involved will be advised of the decision by the Head TD.

Sanctions arising from behaviour deemed unacceptable

The committee has a range of sanctions to draw upon after investigating breaches of this code.

Minor

Examples

• Slow play for no reason
• Incorrect or incomplete alerting
• Inconsiderate behaviour (i.e. leaving the table for an extended period of time for no good reason)
• Telling Partner/Opponents how they should have bid/played the hand without being asked (if this causes distress to the player)

Procedure / Who
TD speaks (via message or phone) to the ‘at fault’ player. TD to highly consider adding a note to the TD Report Form (just to keep a record in case this becomes a pattern of behaviour).

Sanctions
Warning at the time from the TD

Time frame
Immediate

Moderate

Examples

• Repeated minor offences in the same session
• Harassment (one-off) via private or table chat that have upset another player
• Behaviour deemed by the TD to be of a more serious nature but not yet in the Severe category

Procedure / Who

• TD warns the player that they are to stop the behaviour immediately.
• TD warns the player that his/her behaviour contravenes the Code of Conduct and will be reported.
• TD uses the TD Report Form to record the incident (copy/paste all relevant log interactions and identify the board(s) and opponents).

Sanctions
Written warning and/or Suspension for 2-4 weeks (first-time offenders will not be subject to a 4-week suspension). For cases where this is a further incidence of previous behaviour that has already incurred a suspension, the penalty could be 4 weeks.

Time frame
Immediate from the TD. Head TD and or committee review the incident to determine severity or sanction. As detailed in the constitution.

Severe

Examples

• Behaviour that could cause distress to more than one player or is reported by more than one player
• Harassment more than once
• Trying to intimidate a player as judged by the TD
• Swearing of any kind
• Derogatory comment(s)
• Insulting comments

Procedure / Who

• TD warns the player that his/her behaviour contravenes the Code of Conduct and will be reported.
• TD further warns the player that they are to stop immediately such behaviour.
• TD uses the TD Report Form to record the incident (copy/paste the log interactions)
• TD considers removing player from the tournament thereby forfeiting their right to reimbursement.

Sanctions
Written warning and suspension for up to 3 months. For cases where this is a further incidence of previous behaviour that has already incurred sanction(s), the penalty will edge closer to the 3 months.

Time frame
Immediate from the TD. Head TD and/or committee review the incident to determine severity and/or sanction, as detailed in the constitution.

What to do if you are sanctioned by the TD or committee

1. Apologise to the person ‘harmed’ at the table via a private chat or a public message.
2. Apologise to the committee in writing as soon as possible (but within 14 days).
3. Admit the action was ill-advised and caused distress.
4. Serve out the suspension without complaint.
5. When (if) allowed back, do not display repeated behaviours that earned the initial suspension.

Conclusion

Bridge is a game of ethics and strategy. It is played around the world in an honest and considerate manner. StepBridge Australia has zero tolerance for bad behaviour and takes this very seriously. If a player is unable to behave in an acceptable manner, there could be severe consequences so that the game can be free of harassment and enjoyable to others.

References

• StepBridge Australia Bridge Club Inc. Constitution (Revised October 2023)
• 2017 Laws of Duplicate Bridge
• Modifications to the Laws and Regulations for online bridge (January 30, 2023)