Community Poll: Should EA Be Required to Clearly State the Reason for Any Ban & How to Remove It?

Too many of us have experienced bans from the Auction House, Marketplace, or other game features — without ever being told why. 

Enough is enough. We’re not asking for special treatment — we’re asking for transparency and accountability.

Vote below and let EA know that the community deserves:

✅ A clear explanation for any in-game ban or restriction
✅ A defined process for how to appeal or remove bans
✅ Fair treatment for players who follow the rules

Comment below if you’ve been banned without explanation or had a similar experience. The more voices we have, the more pressure we apply. Let’s stand together.

lol someone voted no

A few years back i bought the set pieces to an UL and sold him for a 100k profit 10x. All buys and sells at the average price and the next day i’m “permanently banned” from the AH and millions of coins wiped. Took over 2 weeks of back and forth to get unbanned. They simply dgaf about their customers what so ever. Just make an algorithm that bans anyone buying and selling to many cards for profit and put it on them to prove their innocence. The next year those geniuses lowered the price of TVPs so it would always be big profit then banned everyone who made coins off their mistake. It’s only going to get worse over the years. Their greed has no limit

googanaba said:

lol someone voted no

This right here is exactly why players aren't taken seriously by the developers.

Every time the community gets a chance to unite and demand real change, a handful of people turn it into a joke — using it as their personal entertainment rather than supporting the larger message. And when that happens, the momentum dies, and nothing gets fixed.

I’ve personally had the discipline to stop buying the same copy-and-paste version of Madden — I walked away for nearly a decade. But others keep supporting it, hoping things will improve, only to deal with the same recycled issues year after year.

Truth is, I just don’t have the time to waste anymore.

NJJETS9 said:

A few years back i bought the set pieces to an UL and sold him for a 100k profit 10x. All buys and sells at the average price and the next day i’m “permanently banned” from the AH and millions of coins wiped. Took over 2 weeks of back and forth to get unbanned. They simply dgaf about their customers what so ever. Just make an algorithm that bans anyone buying and selling to many cards for profit and put it on them to prove their innocence. The next year those geniuses lowered the price of TVPs so it would always be big profit then banned everyone who made coins off their mistake. It’s only going to get worse over the years. Their greed has no limit

Last year, I stumbled onto something that really opened my eyes to how EA manages the market — and it ended up costing me.

It was around 4:00 AM. I was hunting for Stocking Stuffers to complete the Upgrade Token set. At the time, the 87 OVR cards were selling for about 33K (on PC), and the 83s required to build them were going for around 7K.

Out of nowhere, a flood of 83s — (all the same card), all listed below 3K — hit the Auction House. I jumped on the opportunity, buying up around 30 of them and used them to build the 87's I was missing to finish the set.

The next day, I log in, and boom — Auction House access disabled. This happened just days before presents were opened, so I missed out completely on the experience.

Why? Because I took advantage of a good deal — something that should be part of the game’s core economy. Someone listed cards at their chosen price, and I bought them. Isn't this how a free market is supposed to work?

But EA doesn’t want a free market. They want you to buy high and sell low, and if you catch a break or spot a window of opportunity they didn’t script, suddenly you’re the problem and you must be stopped and made an example of.

All I did was play smart — and EA punished me for it.  I just want them to know that's not cool.

Mythomaniac said:

This right here is exactly why players aren't taken seriously by the developers.

Every time the community gets a chance to unite and demand real change, a handful of people turn it into a joke — using it as their personal entertainment rather than supporting the larger message. And when that happens, the momentum dies, and nothing gets fixed.

I’ve personally had the discipline to stop buying the same copy-and-paste version of Madden — I walked away for nearly a decade. But others keep supporting it, hoping things will improve, only to deal with the same recycled issues year after year.

Truth is, I just don’t have the time to waste anymore.

Someone voting No is not the reason. The reason nothing changes is that people keep buying the product.

phatalerror said:

Someone voting No is not the reason. The reason nothing changes is that people keep buying the product.

I don't disagree.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/01/23/Gaming/best-selling-games-2024/

I figured that since devs didn't care to make the game better, the players would, but apparently they've come to terms with it.

It is what it is.

Mythomaniac said:

Too many of us have experienced bans from the Auction House, Marketplace, or other game features — without ever being told why. 

Enough is enough. We’re not asking for special treatment — we’re asking for transparency and accountability.

Vote below and let EA know that the community deserves:

✅ A clear explanation for any in-game ban or restriction
✅ A defined process for how to appeal or remove bans
✅ Fair treatment for players who follow the rules

Comment below if you’ve been banned without explanation or had a similar experience. The more voices we have, the more pressure we apply. Let’s stand together.

Clearly the answer is a resounding YES, but none of this ultimately matters -- we all are forced to basically sign away our lives (and rights) before we agree to enter any game of Madden (or really any modern video game title).  Those Terms of Service we're forced to sign should not be legal.

And yes, i've been banned numerous times, accused of "coin distrubution" when i've clearly never participated in any type of coin purchases, despite how prevalent they are and remain.  You basically cannot watch any popular streamer or content creator without getting blasted in the face with various sketchy coin resellers.

We'll never get transparency, nor accountability -- they've structured things in a way to ensure they have complete (i.e. monopolistic) powers for "simulation" NFL video games.  Oh so sad.

Mythomaniac said:

I don't disagree.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/01/23/Gaming/best-selling-games-2024/

I figured that since devs didn't care to make the game better, the players would, but apparently they've come to terms with it.

It is what it is.

I have my doubts if this will repeat with CFB26.  The what, 10-15 year long break surely helped juice sales figures.  Perhaps i'm wrong, but i'm not convinced the fatball video game space has room for multiple titles annually.  College seems to thrive off the lull between Madden versions, when the game has basically finished and we've got a ~month, or more to wait until next cycle launches.

Because of the popularity of college football, it seems they're trying to turn Madden into a clone of CFB, hoping the sales success will persist.  I'm trying to do my part, by not pre-ordering M26.  One month to go, let's hope i make it.

Absolutely spot on—and YES, the answer is obvious. 

But the reality is, none of it truly matters in the current landscape. We're all strong-armed into clicking "Accept" on these mile-long Terms of Service agreements just to play the game we paid for. 

I've been banned myself.  Yet, I’ve never once bought or sold a single coin. Meanwhile, actual coin-selling operations are thriving openly. Just check any major streamer’s comments or affiliate links—it’s saturated with coin resellers. It's laughable how blatant it all is, and yet, we’re the ones being punished.

What makes it even worse? The judges who hear these TOS disputes in court don’t play these games. They don’t understand the ecosystem. They don’t see how real-world money is converted into “Madden Points,” then used in a closed-loop system that deliberately avoids being classified as currency under financial regulations. 

It’s all built to trap money in. You can put it in, but there’s no way to get it back out. And with the forced arbitration baked into the TOS, there’s really no way to fight it legally either.

To most of us, it's an obvious scheme; give me your cash in exchange for this "in-game currency," and if you have any left over, we can't (won't) buy it back from you, so you're shit out of luck.  Where else is this other than in video games?

But yeah, keep fighting the good fight. 

These systems are broken, and people need to keep calling them out, or shut up and play, one or the other.

peatrick said:

I have my doubts if this will repeat with CFB26.  The what, 10-15 year long break surely helped juice sales figures.  Perhaps i'm wrong, but i'm not convinced the fatball video game space has room for multiple titles annually.  College seems to thrive off the lull between Madden versions, when the game has basically finished and we've got a ~month, or more to wait until next cycle launches.

Because of the popularity of college football, it seems they're trying to turn Madden into a clone of CFB, hoping the sales success will persist.  I'm trying to do my part, by not pre-ordering M26.  One month to go, let's hope i make it.

You will make it, otherwise you wouldn't have told us all your intentions :)

No one will judge you either way; we're all on the same boat, headed towards the same destination, some get on the boat earlier than others, but it's the same boat nonetheless.

I was wrongfully banned 3 years ago, for heavily using the companion app to snipe cards at low prices. EA’s algorithm thought I was a bot. Took me dozens of e-mail messages and a month or two to un-ban me.

banned this year on Easter— for just selling like a madman in the companion app—something will never do again. Ea kept telling me coin distribution? Over 7 emails, finally after u disputed it,  they admitted they were wrong and apologized via email.. took me out of the game for 2 months, no offer of compensation just a Sorry you were right  email.   The emails were automated , all of them. With the layoffs Ea has done,  they have left it to bots sadly

I think it's simple. I'm in business so I'll use numbers to explain.

250x1,000,000 = $250M - That is lower end of how much EA banks yearly on the game (revenue).

My math? Assumes $50 to buy the game and $200 on average on micro transactions over a million copies. Rinse and repeat. By November, December - EA meets its financial targets and recycles the product. Their executives look at their numbers and say there is no problem because people are still consuming the product. NFL doesn't care, the money is good.

I say all this to say, Nothing will change. there is no incentive for them to change behavior. Frankly, if i'm banking funds like this, i wouldn't change a thing either lol. Its hopeless folks.

1 person at a time, reduce your $$ transactions with them, and they will start to pay attention.

Its funny cos i picked up the free copy (EA Play) a month ago. there are like 30 packs in the store and only like 4 you can use actual coins to purchase. everything is points (LOL) smh.