'For Entertainment Only' Disclaimers: Do They Protect Your Account?
A for entertainment purposes only psychic disclaimer helps with underwriting and chargebacks. Learn where to place it and which claims undercut it.
Photo: Pixabay
On this page 6 sections
- Why Psychic Businesses Use "For Entertainment Purposes Only" Disclaimers
- How Underwriters and Issuers Read Your Disclaimer
- Where to Place It: Website, Booking Flow, Chat Start and Receipts
- Marketing Claims That Undercut Your Disclaimer
- Pairing Your Disclaimer With Psychic Terms of Service
- Tarot Reading Disclaimer Checklist to Review With Counsel
A "for entertainment purposes only" psychic disclaimer helps protect your merchant account, but only partly. It tells underwriters and card issuers that you sell an interpretive service with no promised outcome. What it cannot do is cancel a promise you make somewhere else. When an issuer reviews a chargeback, a banner reading "guaranteed to reunite you with your soulmate" will count for more than the fine print in your footer.
So treat the disclaimer as one piece of evidence. Your sales pages and checkout have to say the same thing it does, and so do your pricing and refund terms. When they agree, the disclaimer earns its place. If they contradict it, the disclaimer is close to worthless, and it may even show that you knew what customers were expecting.
Why Psychic Businesses Use "For Entertainment Purposes Only" Disclaimers
For a reader or a tarot shop, the disclaimer does three separate jobs.
Legal positioning. Many states and cities still have fortune-telling laws on the books, and some require a local license or permit. Some of these statutes treat readings offered for entertainment or amusement differently from readings that claim real predictive power. The disclaimer places your business on the entertainment side of that line. Jurisdictions differ a great deal here, and some cities regulate fortune telling directly. Our guide to fortune telling laws and the licenses processors may ask for covers what to gather.
Dispute evidence. When a customer files a chargeback saying the reading was wrong or worthless, you need to show what they were told they were buying. A disclaimer they accepted before paying documents that they agreed to an interpretive service with no promised outcome.
Underwriting comfort. Processors generally class psychic services as high risk, because dissatisfaction disputes are common and outcome-based marketing is widespread in the industry. A clear, prominent disclaimer is one of the first things a reviewer looks for, since it signals that you understand that risk. High-risk classification also shapes what you pay, which we break down in how psychic processing fees and reserves work.
What "Entertainment Purposes Only" Means Legally
Many owners treat "entertainment purposes only" as legal magic words. Whether the phrase protects you depends on your state and local law and on how you actually run and market the business, because a court or regulator looks at the whole picture. Treat everything here as general information, and confirm your position with an attorney who knows your state.
How Underwriters and Issuers Read Your Disclaimer
Underwriters read your disclaimer before you ever take a payment. Issuers read it months later, when a customer disputes a charge. Each is looking for something different.
An underwriter at a processor or acquiring bank reviews your website before approval and often again after you go live. Presence alone doesn't impress them. What they check is whether the rest of the site agrees with the disclaimer. Service pages should describe guidance and interpretation instead of outcomes. Prices should be visible before purchase. Refund terms and contact details should be easy to find.
A disclaimer sitting under a page of guarantees tells the reviewer the business is relying on fine print. That mismatch is one reason readers get declined, which we cover in why psychic merchant accounts get declined and how to apply.
Issuers come to the disclaimer much later, as part of your response to a dispute. Their question is whether the cardholder received what was described. Pay attention to that last word. The description includes your ads and the reader's profile, plus anything said in the session, not only your terms.
A Worked Example: Same Disclaimer, Different Outcomes
This example is illustrative. Assume two readers sell the same video tarot session at the same price, and both use identical disclaimer text. In each case the customer later files a chargeback saying the reading "was inaccurate and didn't help."
| Reader A | Reader B | |
|---|---|---|
| Service page language | "Guidance and interpretation of your cards" | "Get clear answers and guaranteed results" |
| Disclaimer placement | Checkbox at checkout plus a session-start message | Footer link only |
| Proof of delivery | Session log with timestamped checkbox acceptance | Payment record only |
| Refund policy | Credit for dropped connections, stated before purchase | "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back," not honored |
Nobody can promise how an issuer will rule, because each case is decided on its own record. Still, Reader A's response packet holds together. Their customer agreed to an interpretive service and received the full session after seeing the refund terms.
Reader B's packet contradicts itself. The customer can point to "guaranteed results" and to a money-back promise that wasn't kept, and a footer disclaimer explains neither. The real exposure for Reader B is the guarantee, which no disclaimer can fix.
Where to Place It: Website, Booking Flow, Chat Start and Receipts
A disclaimer only counts if the customer clearly saw it before paying, so put it at every point where the customer makes a decision.
Website and Service Pages
Give the full text its own page and link it in the footer. Put a short version on every service page and reader profile as well, next to the price. A footer link alone is easy to argue the customer never saw.
Booking and Checkout Flow
Your strongest placement is an unchecked box at checkout that the customer must tick, with text like "I understand readings are for entertainment purposes only." Log the timestamp and keep the record. A pre-checked box proves very little.
Before the Meter Starts on Live Sessions
For per-minute chat and phone readings, show or play a short disclaimer before the meter starts, and do the same at the opening of video sessions. Recorded phone greetings and automated chat openers work well because they create a consistent record across every reader on your platform.
Receipts and Keyed Phone Orders
Repeat the disclaimer in the confirmation email and on receipts, along with the price and refund terms. If you take card numbers over the phone and key them into a virtual terminal for phone and mail orders, send the customer a link to your terms before you charge the card. If that isn't practical, read a short script and note in the order record that you did. For in-person readings, post the disclaimer where customers can see it and include it on any intake form they sign.
Marketing Claims That Undercut Your Disclaimer
Most disclaimers fail because of claims made somewhere else. Consumer protection regulators and card issuers generally judge the overall impression a customer was given, so one contradiction can outweigh several pages of careful terms. These claims cause the most trouble:
- Outcome guarantees such as "guaranteed results" or "always accurate"
- Specific predictions used as ad copy, like reuniting a couple or naming a date for a pregnancy or job offer
- Curse or spell removal sold as a fix, especially with escalating add-on fees
- Claims that touch money or health, like predicting lottery numbers or replacing a doctor's advice
- Testimonials that imply results ("She told me he'd come back and he did!")
- Fear-based urgency ("dark energy is blocking you; book now")
On a platform with multiple readers, each reader's bio counts as your marketing, and so does every affiliate ad. Review them on a schedule. Our checklist of website pages and claims processors flag goes page by page.
Pairing Your Disclaimer With Psychic Terms of Service
Your disclaimer sets expectations about what a reading is. Your psychic terms of service set expectations about money. Many disputes in this industry involve billing surprises, so the two documents need to work together.
Show per-minute rates before the session starts and a running balance during it. If you offer introductory minutes, state in plain numbers the rate that applies afterward. Auto-reload and subscriptions need explicit consent plus an easy way to cancel. Check that your billing descriptor matches the business name customers know, so the charge doesn't look unfamiliar on a statement.
A "no refunds" policy doesn't stop chargebacks, because cardholders can still dispute and the issuer decides. A narrow, honest policy usually does better: credits for dropped calls and technical failures, stated before purchase and applied consistently. Some businesses add a one-time satisfaction credit on top. Refunding a small session yourself typically costs less than losing the dispute, which usually adds a chargeback fee and counts toward your dispute ratio. For building response packets, see how to win "the reading was wrong" chargebacks.
Tarot Reading Disclaimer Checklist to Review With Counsel
Here is a psychic disclaimer example to start from. It is illustrative only and is not legal advice:
Readings are provided for entertainment purposes only. [Business name] and its readers do not guarantee any outcome or the accuracy of any prediction. Readings do not replace advice from a licensed professional in any field. You must be [minimum age] or older to purchase. By booking, you agree to our pricing and refund terms.
An astrology or tarot reading disclaimer can follow the same structure. Bring this list to your attorney:
- Confirm the "entertainment" language fits your state and city fortune-telling laws, and find out whether you need a local license.
- Check that the text disclaims guaranteed outcomes and accuracy in plain words.
- Make sure it points customers to licensed professionals for anything involving health or money.
- State the age requirement and enforce it at booking.
- Capture acceptance with an unchecked box and store the timestamp.
- Link to your pricing and refund terms, including any auto-reload or subscription rules.
- Audit all marketing against it, from service pages to affiliate ads, and remove every guarantee.
- Repeat the core terms in confirmation emails and in your phone-order script.
Before you apply or reapply for an account, read your own site the way an underwriter would and remove every claim the disclaimer contradicts. Once your site and checkout agree with your terms, you can explore high-risk merchant accounts or request a free processing quote. A MannyPay specialist responds within one business day, and approval still depends on underwriting.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.
