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?
I received that message too from Bicky Burger and contacted him about it. He sounded like he really believes he has brought something very special in SL and wants to show the world. I mean he didn’t sound like a lame spammer. Reading his note I thought it was another stupid attempt to find a worthless loophole for the gambling ban. But after teleporting there and actually having a try, I must say I was amazed by the concept. It all looks decent and worked out well. I actually had fun on that slotmachines and video poker
And as he stated you actually can get your winnings payed in Linden Dollars because it actually is not gambling, but joining a sweepstakes drawing. Do we need it? Well I think that’s up to every individual to decide. I like it because I had fun in the casino’s in the past as well. Sweepstakes also exist in real life and are in fact very popular in US. Even big company’s like Mc Donalds use it for their promotional purposes. If the BickyBeans system is respecting the same rules, I don’t see why it would not be acceptable in SL. And if nobody needs it, it will have no market value and despite of the great work Bicky has done overthere, it will die in silence. But in my opinion I think such a creative project should get some support or at least a ’second chance’!