READER SURVEY: WHY DID THE LINDENS END GAMBLING IN SECOND LIFE NOW?

Opinion Polls & Market Research

I was busy preparing for a metaverse think tank event, when the Lindens up and eliminated an entire industry from the metaverse.  Namely, casinos and gambling:

But why now?  Unlike May's age verification announcement, which occurred after a rash of controversy, this move seems unexpected; indeed, a visit from the FBI in April set no clear legal prohibitions against wagering in SL.  Robin Linden cites "a variety of conflicting gambling regulations around the world" as a reason; many Residents have suggested other motives at play. So once again, I put the question up to the wisdom of the crowds-- you have until August 4th, to be a part of it.

Comments

[larryr]

"I was busy preparing for a metaverse think tank event, when the Lindens up and eliminated an entire industry from the metaverse."

how small your "metaverse" think tanking is;)

fact check- gambling to be eliminated from a single companies product on the internet..

dateline: june 2009- Wired magazine -blog reported- un edited-unverified cover story---- lots of gambling on world wide 3d net "aka -the metaverse 4.0"
new mediaverse pundits of AMCME vr worlds claim it the next big thing!...

fact checks asside--how about a little less hyperbole.:)

[Hamlet Au]

Fair enough! Though I suspect other online worlds with similar content (if they exist) will follow suit.

[larryr]

okay doke:)

there are tons of 3d gambling casinos all over the net.....most yes are 3d as in rendered backgrounds today..lol
but they will all be immersive and realtime in no time....as the fashion of rt 3d continues to grow and on offshore servers -catering to all the globe..except the poor old us of a...lol

hey.. no more gambling in sl?.. what to Do? Why not come and make fun of old b sci fi/horror movies...we're having a 24 hour sci fi /horror marathon at the newly built SKY CINEMA Fly IN in SL.....search SL for it...:) theres a press release and slurl out there somewhere in the blogosphere..;)

The Sky Cinema is the retro past we never had meets the future we never got.....:)

best
c3

[dandellion]

I don't know. Many things Lindens do are without reasonable explanation.

[Geuis Dassin]

Its pretty straight forward. In addition to running Mannea, LLC, I work full time at a San Francisco-based tv network. We broadcast in the US, UK, and Ireland, so we are subject to the laws of each country that we operate in. Our legal department has to be on top of everything we do, for our own protection. For example, I sent an email via our internal general email list the other day asking if anyone knew of a location to get free stock footage to download for a machinima project I want to do. I almost immediately got 3 emails from legal just giving me a friendly reminder that any kind of video has to be cleared through them before it can go on-air. So even though what I was asking about wasn't for anything dealing with a company project, they still covered our butts.

So when we look at Linden Lab, here's a company that operates globally. While its possible to be sued by a foreign government, its still a tricky process for our government to enforce decisions by foreign judicial systems on a U.S. based company. Even putting that aside, right now online gambling is basically banned in the U.S., though there are bills working their way through Congress right now that will make it legal again.

So, think about the amount of money lawyers get paid. Law is not cheap. So for Linden Lab, it comes down to a matter of economics, plus the threat of punitive damages later on. Its just much simpler from an organizational standpoint to completely ban gambling in any form than it is to try and allow grey areas where some forms can exist and some can't.

I would hedge my bets on one thing though, and thats if the U.S. Congress does indeed make online gambling legal again, Linden Lab might very well reverse their current policies.

We'll all just have to wait and see.

[dandellion]

About legal reasons: they called feds inworld couple of monthe ago, right? And feds haven't said there is a problem with gambling. So? What is the problem?

[Paul Raven (aka Isambard Portsmouth)]

I'm inclined to think it's a pre-emptive ass-covering move; the lawsuits that could come from a fraud investigation or a nation-state deciding LL are in infraction of local legislation could be hugely damaging to both reputation and bank balance ...

Bit of a double-edged sword, really. Sure, it's going to be a blow to the SL economy, but I'm inclined to think it's robust enough to recover. And while I consider myself to be a small-'l' libertarian, and as such am unopposed to people doing whatever the hell they want with their money and time as long as it harms no one else, I think I'll find wandering the mainland much more palatable without masses of crass blingy casinos cluttering the place up. The overwhelming presence of casinos and strip clubs &c does little to improve the public perception of SL as a playground for idle perverts with more money than sense ... but it's the freedom of possibility that allowed such things to exist that makes SL the incredible place it is.

We'll just have to wait and see - but my money is on SL being more than able to survive without gambling. ;)

[Laetizia Coronet]

My latest blog is a talk with 12 Oh, formerly of 12Monkeys. It offers some insight in earnings - it's a bit aside of the topic but I don't think I have ever seen any such numbers before. An interesting sidenote at least.
(Hamlet, erase when you think it's too far off the mark here)

[Nexii Malthus]

I would love to know how gambling addicts form part of the SL Economy as the money does not go back into economy except the pockets of the casino owners who trade it back into $.

[dandellion]

casino owners pay tiers, maybe make new places, new machines.... that is putting back into economy. Though I do agree that lot of that money is going out of the world.

[Shep Korvin]

California State Penal Code:

"330a. Every person ... who permits to be placed, maintained or kept, in any room, space, inclosure or building owned, leased or occupied by him, or under his management or control, any ... appliance or mechanical device, upon the result of action of which money or other valuable thing is staked or hazarded ... is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by a fine ... or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

My best guess is, Phil doesn't fancy six months in the pen :)

[george]

i heard they banned it because its illegal to gamble online in the US. SL was being used to bypass this

[Ananda]

Can you point me to anywhere that the FBI or other government agency actually suggested that gambling in SL was okay? All the article you linked to suggests is that they have so far refrained from issuing any official statement on the matter.

I think this is a CYA move, pure and simple, because, as the article also suggests, Linden Lab would very likely be on the hook for any gambling activity because they run the money exchange. If Linden Lab had never gotten into the money-changing business I doubt they'd be worried about the otherwise nebulous question of gambling with game-world money.

[WEWDRURLSKETS]

Since A-Rod tested positive for 'roids will he be suspended for the upcoming year? or part of it?

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