US Congress Discussing Ban on Internet Gambling

If I remember right the ToS states the L$ has no actual cash value, just like Chuck E Cheese tokens. This gets around all these laws more or less. You buy the tokens, play the game, and get tickets redemable for things. Chuck E Cheese does not apply for a state gaming license and is not subject to state gambling regulations. Same goes for SL. I wouldn't worry.

I'm not so sure, Kerian. At most casinos, you have to buy chips which have no redeemable value outside the casino. This aspect has been thoroughly debated in other threads already. How such a law, if passed, would affect the gambling institutions in SL remains to be seen. However, the practice of exchanging your RL currency for a token currency (in this case L$) and back again isn't a million miles from the practice of buying and using chips at a casino. No doubt LL will get their lawyers to analyse the ramifications. If they're able to convince a jury that black is white, then there's nothing to worry about. Otherwise we may soon be seeing the departure of gambling from SL.

The casino chip analysis is fair enough. However the casinos declair a cash value for the chips. To my knowledge this is what sets them apart. The linden dollar technically has no value set by linden lab. However, if it ever reaches court, I'd be interested in following it.

In this case, it's more like a casino allowing players to bid on chips, buying and selling to them based on their bids, and taking a cut each time someone makes an exchange.

Do you know the IRS Code imposes a tax upon forms of imputed income throughout the Code? The US government is interested in "income from any source derived," which quite clearly does not require a greenback to qualify.

Whatever form the representation of the income takes, whether it be an imputed income, a token, scrip, a claim of right, or perhaps a right to a cause of action, Uncle Sam is lookign at it.