Sploder....yes or no? Anyone know?

It's not on LL's list and I've been hearing yes and no. Does anyone really know?

If sploders aren't history, plan to see (and hear) at least a dozen on every sim.

gah that sounds horrifying.

Lucy, lemme 'splode

You can mute them, I've found.

Sploder=
1) Pay in.
2) Random Number.
3) Pay out.

Which all that = LL's definition of wagering.

Many people have specifically asked LL about Sploders, Raffle Balls, SLingo and a few other games/items. Most specific to LL. I myself have a Ticket in on this and I know several Island Owners that have Concierage level Tickets in on this as well.

One club owner (who owns her own island) was told to place in this ticket and LL would look at each item to determine legitimacy. The reason for this is that anyone can name something anything in SL. So if they say SLingo is legal, an idiot could put up slot machines and name then "SLingo" to try to get around the ban.

With the amount of qustioning going on, I'm hoping LL does clarify a little, but I imagine this grid FUBAR has a ~bit~ higher priority atm *grins*

At the time, I would say that Sploders would be illegal, but may recieve a pardon. *shrugs* HAve to wait and see.

~Jessy

The loud/blingy ones can be annoying but I like 'sploders in general. I don't 'club' often but know a number of people with limited funds that are always happy to get a few extra random L$.

Though they do seem to meet the letter of the new law, I don't really see them as meeting the spirit of it. Maybe that's just my perspective as a non-gambler but if I had one, I wouldn't lose it until LL sent me a warning.

Has anybody gotten any warnings for the new law yet?

The policy doesn't really say that you will get a warning. They don't spell out exactly what will happen on a first infraction, or what, if any, threshold is required for confiscating everything and banning the account. If you have an active sploder at your place now, you are risking your whole account. I'd hope that warnings will be given, especially for things that aren't specifically in the new policy, but LL hasn't said yet.

I don't see the Sploder as gambling since the landowner doesn't profit from it. It just collects lindens and redistribute it.

Exactly, and this is why I believe they didn't specifically mention them. I get the sense that they are really concerning themselves more with establishments that have a "house" element to them which profits from the wagering. I really don't think there's going to be a problem if you want to use a 'sploder in your club or other recreational establishment, provided it isn't configured to pay the house a cut of the winnings.

That would also depend on the scripting of the 'sploder or raffle ball, I suppose. One could certainly script one so that it DID take a cut for 'the house'. But in every case that I am aware of where a club owner that I knew had a 'sploder, and therefore I had any insight into the finances behind them, the host usually paid in a large amount of their own money every time, while excluding themselves from payout, just to get the prize numbers up to where winning would be exciting and fun for the guests. I would personally not mind an exception for raffle balls and 'sploders, wher ethe scripting always paid out 100% of what was paid in as prizes each time, and the host did not get paid by them.

As the policy is written now, I would have to assume that anything that requires someone to pay money in and has a random chance of paying anything of value back out would be considered a gambling device, and therefore be banned - including raffle balls and 'sploders.

Personally, I hope the policy DOES ban slingo, tringo and other similar gaming parlors. I've lived marginally close to those resource hogs, and was tremendously glad when they finally went bankrupt or moved elsewhere.

Many Sploders keep a percentage of the lindens paid in for the owner. If that's not profit, I don't know what is.

I have a friend in-world who sold sploders and she got the official word from LL that sploders are out. She has since closed down her sploder sales.

It doesn't matter whether the sploder owner takes a cut or not. If people are required to pay into it in exchange for a random payout, it's banned.

So a Linden told someone, but not everyone? God, these people suck at communication.

Exactly. I was struggling to follow the "the landowner doesn't profit from it" argument. Most sploders pay the Owner a rake (usually between 1 and 10%). Some Sploders not only take a house rake but *also* pay the Creator a fixed sum (often $5L) per splode.

I have even seen a sploder where 3 people paid in $10L each, and each "won" $8L each..$6L disappearing into someone or others back pocket. Simple observation will reveal that the majority of sploders do *not* pay out a sum equal to the sum paid in by the players.

Only rarely, mostly in purely social groups, will the sploder genuinely pay out 100% of the sum paid in. Happy to say that my sploders are and have always been 100% Payout. The only exception being when we deducted a 3% rake and donated that to Relay for Life. All players were fully informed of this repeatedly thoughout the night, and the accounts for the night openly declared in a Group Notice the following day.

Personally, I love playing sploder as a fun social activity.

I haven't considered it "gambling" in that our sploders pay out 100% of the amount paid-in and merely re-distribute that sum amongst the players; the only random factor being, not who wins (because all players receive some pay back), but the percentage amount of the pot that will be received back. A winner is not being randomly determined, only the sum received back. I doubt, however, that this argument will hold much water in the long-term

The sploders are probably gambling

But I think they were added primarily as entertainment.

When Ive seen them in use it mainly just gives people something to talk about.

I like the word sploder. It is a funny word. Say it out loud. Sploder. Man, that's good stuff.

I agree, whoever invented the word Sploder deserves a cut of the action!!

Bummer.

Maybe somebody can come up with a method of issuing payouts that's both deterministic and very hard to game..

/me thinks they will give warnings, at least at first..

me thinks and hopes it too, but me aints gonna bets my land on it.

The only sploders I played repeatedly were 100% payouts. I didn't even realize that sploders did otherwise until later. I'm a bit bummed that they're gone, because they were a fun sort of social thing.

I suspect we may see a rise in things like trivia nights and best-in-black contests--ways to hand out prizes without randomness--so people can still get a few Lindens in the pocket and clubs can get traffic.

I'm afraid they DO fall Under LL's definition if a wagering machine quite Unambiguously. The problem is, you are assuming the Second something is banned in SL it will cease to exist completely. Not Really the Case. it could be Weeks, or Months before anyone gets around to shutting a Specific site down (Unless the site is ARed for TOS Violations).

LL Put it's Plicey in Place mainly to Stisfy Lgal Rquirements, and show they are not supporting or allowing internet gambling should any Fderal Athority investigate. I'm sure that they will Discipline a Few of the larger "Offenders" Just for Show, but i don't think they are going to dedicate a great deal of Effort investigating every casino, and gaming establishment, In fact, every pulic sim area, to see if games of Chance are being played there. Their legal butt is covered, and the only ones who stand to Get Prosecuted IF the Feds check into a Casino in SL are the Casino Owners Themselves. LL Just says, "It's against our rules, and had we been made aware of this illegal casino, we most certainly would have shut them down, See all the Others we have shut down?" and they walk away smelling of roses.

Angel.

I have been saying this since they announced the end of gambling devices

I would wager (if I could) that sploders are out, but any kind of prize ball or raffle ball that once doesn't have to pay into, would still be in