Legal or illegal

Well i am not against gambling in SL thats to tell at first but for me as a German it is not easy to understand the Rules. So what is allowed or not. For example:
bet 20L$ for a chance to win 200L$- Chance 1 to 100. Is that legal or not. Sorry i don´t know so i ask you. Please help.

The chances are not the problem, the money is. No matter WHAT chances we're talking about, GAMBLING ISN'T ALLOWED if it involves money.


(Die Regel ist eigentlich ganz einfach-KEIN GLÜCKSSPIEL welcher Art auch immer, bei dem man Lindendollar gewinnen kann. die Chancen interessieren da keinen... )

Hi Emas. Gambling is no longer legal in SL. The device you describe is very much like the "Exploder" or "Sploder" balls that used to be very common in SL, where anyone who walked into a place could deposit 5L$ or so into a ball, and then the ball would "Explode" some time later, giving the entire pot to one or more people.

Sploders are now illegal. Here is a thread from quite a while ago where specific gambling machines are talked about as to whether they are legal or illegal. /327/79/203896/1.html

Basically, any game of chance where you give it money and it gives you back possibly More money is illegal. There are games of skill where you win prizes that ARE legal; others would have to describe those for you.

Anything that has those words in it is now illegal.

If you're not putting L$ (or something else of value) into it, it's ok. Or if there's no chance involved, it's ok. Anything that has both is not allowed.

the only way a 1 in 100 chance would be legal is that if it was set solidly on the 100th person placing money in the pot.

for example.

item X says pay L$5 . every 10th person wins L$40. its not gambling because its not based on random outcome. every 10th person wins. period. granted you dont know if your person 10 till after you pay. but its not considered gambling.

Sadly any form of using llFrand to determine how L$ is distributed is not allowed.

Meh, this is why I was upset that pay-in Texas Hold'em was removed. Definately wasn't a game by "random" luck, and involved almost completely skill. Still, was gambling because money was involved and changing hands. So I don't know...

Almost, eh? What's the part that's not skill? Is it random chance?

let's see... psychology, perhaps? Bluffing is almost an art form. Have to convince the other players you have the best cards and get them to lay down their hands. Same with drawing bets out when you DO have the top hand, except you have to feign weakness.

Hold 'em's almost completely about mindgames, reading the numbers and making the correct choices. Only the faintest sliver of luck remains in GOOD hold 'em play, and anyone who thinks otherwise stands to be absolutely fleeced if they try...

To tell you the truth I don't really play poker, but I know the rules. Tiberious you may be right in real life. But in Second Life all forms of meta communication is completetly voluntary. If I just stay silent you will have absolutely zero chance of knowing whether I have a good hand or a bad hand, you won't have a clue. And then it all boils down to luck. You mentioned that it's all psychology when it's played correctly. But if not? Should the Lindens say, ok, we allow poker to those who can show us they have a degree in psychology? If every player is some poker newbie, then you must agree it's mostly luck.

Thing is, even in online poker, there are several ways you can 'read' an opponent's hand and deduce what they're holding. you won't always get visual tells, but betting patterns make themselves known in a few hands. You can tell, usually, when someone's making a play for the pot, or when they're trying to lay down a 'here, kitty kitty!' bet...

Yes, I see that an experienced poker player can draw conclusions. But for a newbie poker is purely luck: he gets good hand he play, he gets bad hand, he folds. You can minimize your loss by folding early, because you realize that he has good hand (as a newbie he can't hide it in front of a pro), but he probably won't take your bluffing, because he won't understand what you're trying to hint at so for him it's mostly luck.

If i have a machine that allow bet and give money to the winner and wish play it with friends at my private home with security orb that only allow come inside some friends. Is it illegal? Of course the machine don't get a % of the money , give all to the winner. It's for have fun not for make money. I can understand if someone put a casino or game area with 100 machines etc for make money etc well i understand it.

But i don't see the police (in real life) coming inside your house because you are playing cards with friends and bet some cents of dollar. This is....

Can't i have a machine for play at home with my friends and bet some cents if we wish?

Is illegal sell a game machine that have the bet function deactivated but allow you active it if you wish play at home and have fun sometimes with your friends?

Regards

That's exactly why experienced poker players love newbies. You can join my (RL) table any time, just bring your money!

Like in RL, you can usually get away with doing illegal things in the privacy of your own home. (Heck, oral sex is illegal in many states!) However, I wouldn't advise selling a product that could be used for banned gambling. You'd be looking for trouble.

Now, you can make a game that simply keeps score (not using $L), and that would be legal. It's just keeping score. If folks at home agree to exchange money afterwords, based on the score, well, that's their problem not yours (as the vendor of the game).

And frankly, it could be fun. Even without any agreement to play $L per point. I recently played backgammon with a friend for US$1000 per point, and she now owes me $6000. Of course, next time we play, I'll probably end up owing her. Whee, some day one of us could be a millionaire! ... but only if the loser pays up ...