Gambling Banned in Second Life

Banz0red!

Well, it's long overdue. You have this virtual world, and part of its Terms of Service, from the very beginning, included, "You can't do stuff that's illegal in the real world in our virtual world."

For four years, Linden Lab's standard response to, "Why isn't unregulated gambling banned in Second Life?" is "They're playing for L$, and L$ don't have value." Gee, the chips in the casinos at Las Vegas aren't legal tender either, but just like L$, they can be traded for US$ fairly easily and quickly.

Considering gambling games have blighted every club and show up randomly any time any resident feels they can ignore the law and make some easy L$. There was no regard for the lag they generated with their flashy machines, no regard for standards and certification, no regard for how out of place they felt when you want to go to a club and enjoy socializing.

Some reasons why unregulated gambling in Second Life is problematic. Reuters also illustrates why even non-chance based investments should be subject to regulation, too. Then again, after the disgraceful publicity scam that LukeConnell pulled by exploiting thousands of dead America's lives to sell office space next to his unregulated stock exchange, I feel no pity for his theft whatsoever.

Hey, Scripts are Dangerous

You wouldn't run unknown software on your computer, would you? (Seriously, you would? Scary.) So many people in Second Life are naively trusting of scripts that they use in-world. When something asks for money permissions, BEWARE!

Personally, I've built up three years of street cred with my vendor system, I've open sourced it, and anyone can see what it does and that it's not a trojan. But you read stories like people wearing gambling HUDs, and that's just asking for trouble.

I think it goes to a larger issue - new users in Second Life are used to MMOGs that are made by one company, where all the elements are controlled and verified by one company. There's an impression that "whatever's in Second Life must be safe else Linden Lab would have gotten rid of it" or even, "Linden Lab makes Second Life and stuff in it".

No, no, this is the Internet in 3-D. This is the Wild West. The precious freedom Linden Lab allows us to script nearly whatever we'd like means that scripts can be very dangerous, which Linden Lab has committed to deal with in the numerous grid crashes, etc. Second Life is not a game; it's not a MMOG; it's an extension of the Internet.

Economic Fallout?

So naturally, as any good tabloid would, the SL Herald's article takes a negative tone and fears that SL is in for a recession. Meh, not really. The Herald has previously reported that up to 80% of transactions in Second Life are gambling-related, indicating that the US$ figure representing "Transactions in-world" that Linden Lab touts on their main Secondlife.com homepage may also be 80% inflated. My prediction is that this number will plummet, and head down more closely around the area.

Here's today's stats:
US$ Spent Last 24h: $2,083,621
LindeX Activity Last 24h:$261,886

After the ban, that first number will be easily less than half, however, I think the LindeX activity will not drop noticeably . I'll check back and update this entry as it does.

UPDATE: nearly 1 week later:
US$ Spent Last 24h:$801,625
LindeX Activity Last 24h: $169,766

Well, I was right about the US$ spent, but it looks like the LindeX has taken a hit. I will keep monitoring it, but this could mean that 25 - 35% of the money coming into Second Life LindeX was gambling related. I don't think this will have widespread effects on the SL economy as a whole, though certainly the already overpriced high-demand land market may slide and be slightly-less-in-demand. Big deal.

Great Exodus?

No.

Look at it this way: If you're a person looking for a gamble online, do you go to Second Life? No, you go to another online gambling site. Second Life gambling was, at most, a tertiary attraction. I've met throngs of SL users, and they are interested in customizing their look, having property, doing things in groups, sports, parties, but no one says, "I'm here for the gambling."

And frankly, anyone whose main / sole reason to stay in Second Life is gambling - well, they have a problem and should be seeking addiction support.

Good riddance from SL, unregulated gambling! Perhaps one day gambling commissions will be let into Second Life and safer, controlled, regulated gambling will be permitted.