FBI checks gambling in Second Life

FBI checks gambling
in Second Life

April 5, 2007 - 4:29PM/ REUTERS

FBI investigators have visited Second Life's internet casinos at the invitation of the virtual world's creator Linden Lab, but the US government has not decided on the legality of virtual gambling.



"We have invited the FBI several times to take a look around in Second Life and raise any concerns they would like, and we know of at least one instance that federal agents did look around in a virtual casino," said Ginsu Yoon, until recently Linden Lab's general counsel and currently vice president for business affairs.

Second Life is a popular online virtual world with millions of registered users and its own economy and currency, known as the Linden dollar, which can be exchanged for U.S. dollars.

...more - http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/fbi-checks-gambling-in-second-life/2007/04/05/1175366394917.html

Anyone know whether they have any beatable games? ^_^

Not anymore. zg

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Second Life shuts down virtual world casinos

July 28, 2007 - 8:35AM

Second Life has cracked down on gambling in the wake of tightening rules regarding access to sex-themed locales in the popular virtual world.

Second Life creator Linden Lab on Wednesday instituted a ban on betting games that "rely on chance or random number generation to determine a winner, or rely on the outcome of real-life organized sporting events."

The ban includes casino games such as blackjack, Pai Gow, poker, roulette and slot machines, Linden spokeswoman Robin Harper said in a Second Life website posting announcing the new policy.

Because local laws regarding gambling may very depending on where Second Life's nearly 8.5 million members live, Linden "decided to take a broader approach by prohibiting all games" that meet its criteria, Harper wrote.

Linden threatens to punish in-world gambling operations by deleting offense-related content, suspending or terminating the accounts of those involved and possibly reporting them to real-world authorities.

"Im no fan of gambling, but I am a fan of freedom," Second Life resident Apollia Pirandello wrote in a chat forum linked to Harper's posting.

"I dont think people should be forbidden from gambling if they really want to waste their money on it."

Second Life, an online world in which people are represented by animated figures referred to as "avatars," last month began requiring members to have their ages verified before getting access to in-world sex spots.

Although Linden Labs maintains it is not an online gambling service, the company notes it must comply with federal and state laws regarding online gambling, even if both the in-world players and operators are outside the U.S. and not subject to U.S.-based gambling laws. Linden Labs attributes its ban to the wide variety of conflicting gambling regulations which can be applied to itself and its residents, and reserves the right to modify the policy as it receives feedback from both the Second Life community and legal authorities.

Resident reaction to the gambling ban has been mixed: while some laud the new policy as a way of ridding the world of unethical, predatory casino and gaming operators, others see it as unwarranted government (Archive copy) interference and an imposition on personal freedoms.

© 2006 AFP