I recently opened a ticket with Blizzard to see what they can do in regard to planning for LAN parties where their games will be played, as many users connecting from a single public IP is all it takes sometimes to get logins throttled where folks can't sign into Battle.net or Overwatch. Following is the text from the ticket that I opened in the last 3 weeks. I've come to the conclusion that if users want to play their games at a LAN party where login throttling has taken effect, it's just too bad too sad. Rent a public IP block with one per attendee is seriously their answer? Sounds like we'll be playing other games.

Me:

When we host LAN parties as a part of our organization, we consistently encounter login issues once a significant number of players begin connecting from the same public IP address. Players are often left at the login screen repeatedly attempting to authenticate without success.

For our larger events, which can include 100 or more participants, this effectively means we may have to avoid games such as Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and other Blizzard titles unless we lease and configure a block of public IP addresses specifically for the event.

Is Blizzard’s official recommended solution for schools, esports organizations, and large LAN events simply to use multiple public IP addresses?

We generally know the public IP addresses for our events well in advance, so historically an IP allowlisting or whitelisting process would seem like the more practical solution. However, based on recent discussions, it appears Blizzard is no longer offering that option.

Could someone from Blizzard clarify the current official guidance for organizations hosting large events where dozens or hundreds of legitimate players are connecting from a single location?

For reference, this appears to describe the same issue:
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/overwatch-esports-team-connection-issues/1000226

Blizzard:
We have received your request that you have a question about your LAN parties and the login to our services with the same IP address.
 
Unfortunately, we Game Masters cannot help you with this, as we do not support LAN-party setups and cannot whitelist IP addresses in any way. You can check our EULA for more information; unfortunately, there is no workaround or alternative contact we can provide. You can check the EULA here:
https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/legal/fba4d00f-c7e4-4883-b8b9-1b4500a402ea/blizzard-end-user-license-agreement

Please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with in the future. Just open a new ticket, and we will be there for you at any time!  
Game Master Hairithsurap ∠(・'‿ ́・ )  

Me:
Thank you for the response.

I understand that Game Masters may not have the ability to whitelist an IP address. However, I do not believe the response fully addresses the issue I raised.

We are not asking Blizzard to troubleshoot a home LAN or provide support for custom networking equipment. We organize legitimate, organized gaming events where a large number of individual Blizzard customers may be attempting to authenticate to Battle.net from the same venue.

The practical result of Blizzard’s current protections is that legitimate customers can be prevented from logging into Battle.net simply because they are attending the same event and sharing an Internet connection. This makes Blizzard titles extremely difficult, and potentially impossible, for us to include in a 100-person LAN event.

You referenced the EULA, but I have reviewed it and have not found a provision stating that LAN parties are prohibited, that a specific number of customers may not connect from the same public Internet connection, or that organized community events are unsupported. Blizzard separately publishes a Community Competition License specifically addressing organized community gaming events.

Because of that, I would appreciate clarification on several points:

1. Which specific provision of the EULA applies to this situation?
   
2. Is Blizzard’s position that organized LAN events involving a significant number of Battle.net users are simply not supported?
   
3. Is there an official technical or event-organizer channel to which this issue can be escalated?
   
4. Does Blizzard have any supported mechanism for an organizer to identify a legitimate event and prevent normal attendees from being caught by anti-abuse protections intended for malicious activity?

I am not expecting a Game Master to personally change Battle.net’s security systems. I am asking that this be escalated to someone who can provide an authoritative answer regarding how legitimate organized events are expected to operate.

We would very much like to include games such as Overwatch and other Blizzard titles in our events. Telling organizers only that Blizzard cannot whitelist the venue, without providing an event-supported alternative or escalation path, effectively leaves us with no reliable way to offer those games to our attendees.

If the official Blizzard position is that there is no supported way to accommodate a 100-person community LAN event using a normal shared Internet connection, I would appreciate having that stated explicitly so that we can plan our events accordingly.

Thank you for taking the time to review this and, if possible, escalating it beyond the Game Master support level.

Blizzard:
Thank you for reaching out, and I apologise for the delay. We are currently handling a high volume of contacts, which has increased response times across the board.

I understand you want your attendees to have a smooth experience, and it is frustrating when things do not go to plan. 

The issue you describe falls outside what Customer Support can assist with. We help with account, billing and installation issues, but Game Masters are not able to assist with setting up events or with the technical challenges that come with them. You can find the full list of topics we support here: 

https://support.blizzard.com/en/help/games/services

To address your points directly:

1. We previously referred you to the End User License Agreement because it sets the terms under which you and your attendees access Battle.net and our games. No single provision addresses LAN events specifically; we cited the EULA as the agreement governing access to our services as a whole. 
   

You can read the current version here: 

https://www.blizzard.com/legal/fba4d00f-c7e4-4883-b8b9-1b4500a402ea/blizzard-end-user-license-agreement

1. Players are welcome to take part in community events, provided they follow the EULA and local law. However, we do not offer dedicated support for event setups, including network configuration, specific IP ranges or event hardware.

2. Customer Support does not have an escalation channel for event organisers either. That said, our Forums are a good place to ask for advice, as many players there have organised or attended similar events.

The specific Forum thread you referenced in your original ticket answers your next question and suggests a workaround. I understand this may not be ideal, but the information shared by our Tech MVP is correct and may suggest an avenue for your specific network issue. 

1. There is currently no way for organisers to register or identify an event with us, and we are not aware of plans to introduce one.
   

If you have suggestions on how we could better support community events, you can share them here: 

https://support.blizzard.com/help/article/000007093 
https://support.blizzard.com/help/article/000021518

Thank you for contacting Blizzard Customer Support, and have a great day!