Second Life

Gambling Returns to Second Life

I was spammed along with half the Grid by what I took to be one of those ‘come camp with me’ come-ons, announcing a Linden-approved den of gambling and assorted wagers and pursuits. Now Digiosity gives the BickyBeans Palace a going-over.

First, the spam:

“The BickyBeans Palace games are all operating within a big sweepstakes drawing which makes them really legal !No need to buy chips or anything. You get BickyBeans for FREE from the sponsor. BUT if you win, you can exchange your winnings to L$ !! This brings your favorite games back !Joining is simple; no need for a HUD, you just come over, get your beans and start playing ! Simple, fun and legal ;-)”

So looks like the hook is the bypass gambling by setting themselves up as a sweepstakes. But as Digiosity points out, if it walks like a duck, it probably is:

I don’t know about you but I consider gambling to be:

* Locations that have slot machines
* Locations with poker tables
* Locations that have some form of chips that you can exchange for currency

I’d to say it but it honestly looks like Bicky’s is a virtual casino. The location has chips that you can turn into currency and they have slot machines all over the place. If Bicky had decided on a promotion like turning your Bicky Beans into Second Life Land, jewelry, or gift cards from any of the shops inside Second Life then I would have believed that it was not a casino.

The system has the approval of the Lab:
Regarding the virtual world “Second Life”, the owning company Linden Labs(r) has investigated all elements of this system and their legal department as well as their “Governance team” has approved it to be operated in their virtual world “Second Life” as the only allowed system and concept in its nature.

The system is unique and was developed specifically for virtual worlds, and has submitted patents to protect its model. It employs a configuration of legal maneuvers to bypass restrictions on gambling.

Now, the question is: do we really NEED gambling (or sweepstakes, or whatever it’s disguised as) in the first place?

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