A method performed by a programmed verification server and associated memory remote from player video game consoles and remote from a game server running an on-line video game played on the consoles, the verification server, consoles and game server connected via a network, the method comprising: a. maintaining records of players; b. receiving inputs from players desiring to play a competitive game against each other on game consoles starting at a particular time; c. after the game has been played, independently of the verification server, using the game consoles and game server, automatically receiving by the verification server information indicating results of the game sufficient to determine which player won the game; d. storing in a memory data indicating the winner of the game; and e. granting the winner an award, wherein the information is received from the game server without player involvement and the verification server automatically detects the winner of the game based on the information, characterized in that the method further comprises: i. receiving an e-mail from the game server by the verification server containing information about the game, the information comprising players' identifications, game identification, time of the game, and results of the game; ii. automatically parsing the e-mail to detect the contents of the e-mail by the verification server to determine that the game played is a particular game scheduled for play by one of the players based on the players' identifications, game identification and time of the game contained in the e-mail; iii. detecting the results of the game from the parsed e-mail; and iv. storing the results in a memory and making the results available for viewing on a website. a. maintaining records of players; b. receiving inputs from players desiring to play a competitive game against each other on game consoles starting at a particular time; c. after the game has been played, independently of the verification server, using the game consoles and game server, automatically receiving by the verification server information indicating results of the game sufficient to determine which player won the game; d. storing in a memory data indicating the winner of the game; and e. granting the winner an award, wherein the information is received from the game server without player involvement and the verification server automatically detects the winner of the game based on the information, characterized in that the method further comprises: i. receiving an e-mail from the game server by the verification server containing information about the game, the information comprising players' identifications, game identification, time of the game, and results of the game; ii. automatically parsing the e-mail to detect the contents of the e-mail by the verification server to determine that the game played is a particular game scheduled for play by one of the players based on the players' identifications, game identification and time of the game contained in the e-mail; iii. detecting the results of the game from the parsed e-mail; and iv. storing the results in a memory and making the results available for viewing on a website. i. receiving an e-mail from the game server by the verification server containing information about the game, the information comprising players' identifications, game identification, time of the game, and results of the game; ii. automatically parsing the e-mail to detect the contents of the e-mail by the verification server to determine that the game played is a particular game scheduled for play by one of the players based on the players' identifications, game identification and time of the game contained in the e-mail; iii. detecting the results of the game from the parsed e-mail; and iv. storing the results in a memory and making the results available for viewing on a website. iii. detecting the results of the game from the parsed e-mail; and iv. storing the results in a memory and making the results available for viewing on a website.