Second Life bans gambling

[KBCraig]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_hi_te/techbit_virtual_world_gambling;_ylt=AsKymRtM9y4g1tYytkfvhgOs0NUE

'Second Life' bans gambling

By RACHEL KONRAD, AP Technology Writer Thu Aug 2, 1:01 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - The virtual world "Second Life" has banned gambling, a cautious legal maneuver that could dent revenue and spark anger among fans.

Although "Second Life" is home to large corporations such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Intel Corp., which have virtual advertisements and marketing promotions, thousands of gambling shops dominate commerce. Virtual characters, known as "avatars," may compete at baccarat, poker, slots or other games.

San Francisco-based Linden Lab, which operates "Second Life," imposed the gambling ban last week, citing in a blog "conflicting gambling regulations around the world."

The company may remove violators' virtual equipment and may suspend or terminate accounts. Linden Labs also threatened to report user information to authorities.

"Second Life" executives refused to elaborate.

Numerous "Second Life" fans complained in message forums and on their blogs that the ban was a heavy-handed move to restrict freedom, and experts said the ban could crimp revenue.

"Second Life" has 8.5 million avatars, including 1.7 million logged on at least once in the past two months. Although creating an avatar is free, players may buy "Linden dollars," which can be cashed out for U.S. dollars at a variable rate. In the past 24 hours, players have spent $1.3 million on virtual clothes, real estate and other items.

Steve Nelson, chief strategy officer of Berkeley-based Clear Ink Inc., which provides virtual-world consulting services, said "Second Life" casino operators would be the hardest hit by the ban — but it could also result in an overall downturn in spending.

"It's a funny psychological thing, because even though for some people it's a small amount of real dollars, they are dollars that circulate in the SL economy," he said.

[J’raxis 270145]

Meh. Two things:—

• Second Life owns the servers the network runs on so they can do what they want with it. If this was a company responsible for some vital part of the Internet infrastructure trying to police or censor their users (e.g., Verizon doing this to their DSL subscribers), I'd be more concerned, but this is just an online game.
  
  
• Linden has said they're eventually going to open-source the game software, so people will be able to set up their own servers and do whatever they want within their own networks. The more Linden clamps down on sketchy activities on their own network (this isn't the first thing they've banned—they've gone after people engaging in various "adult" activities, too), the more people they're going to drive to set up their own networks the moment they can.

[error]

This isn't about Second Life doing what they want with their property. This is about Second Life being PREVENTED from doing what they want with their property, by the government, and by extension Second Life users suffer.

[lildog]

This isn't about Second Life doing what they want with their property. This is about Second Life being PREVENTED from doing what they want with their property, by the government, and by extension Second Life users suffer.

They may have caved to the pressure of the government but ultimately it was their choice to ban gambling.  They could have chosen to hold in and fight.

[Friday]

Wow, I am really surprised by this news.  It seems to me that the two most popular things in Second Life are 1) sex-related services and 2) gambling.  If they were going to start banning stuff, I would have guessed the sex would go. There are loads of casinos there.  This will change the whole landscape of Second Life.  I wonder what they think will replace all the gambling as a draw for their paying customers?

[J’raxis 270145]

Wow, I am really surprised by this news.  It seems to me that the two most popular things in Second Life are 1) sex-related services and 2) gambling.  If they were going to start banning stuff, I would have guessed the sex would go. There are loads of casinos there.  This will change the whole landscape of Second Life.  I wonder what they think will replace all the gambling as a draw for their paying customers?

They've already attacked but not outright banned adult activities within the game. And, predictably, the moral panic over "pedophilia" has spread to Second Life, too.