Monday, October 15, 2012

Entropia Universe and Gambling

I don't like when someone is using Entropia Universe and gambling, lottery or casino in one sentence, but here is something I found on the Internet that is about virtual worlds and online gambling:

Conversion between in-game and real-world currency has led to direct comparisons with other on-line games of chance as 'virtual winnings'. This is why gamers and companies engaged in this conversion, where it is permitted by a game, may fall under gambling legislation.

During an interview with Virtual World News, Alex Chapman of the British law firm Campbell Hooper stated: "Now we’ve spoken with the gambling commission, and they’ve said that MMOGs aren’t the reason for the [Gambling Act 2005], but they won’t say outright, and we’ve asked directly, that they won’t be covered. You can see how these would be ignored at first, but very soon they could be in trouble. It’s a risk, but a very easy risk to avoid." He suggested that compliance might require MMOGs and related traders to obtain a gambling license, which is not excessively difficult in the EU.

When queried about games where real-world transactions for in-game assets are not permitted, but there is an 'unofficial secondary market', Chapman responded: "Ultimately the point is whether the thing that you win has value in money or money’s worth. If it does have value, it could be gambling." So to avoid regulation by these laws, the "operator would need to take reasonable steps to ensure that the rewards they give do not have a monetary value" possibly by demonstrating enforcement of their Terms of Service prohibiting secondary markets.

1 comment:

  1. Great post! I agree you can't match the feeling of gambling with other people rather than thru the internet.
    Also I guess you know of Campione which allows you to have residence there, as long as you visit their casino once a year, very clever!

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