Casinos - dead and gone w/ new policy?

So you pay for it twice, once with your tax money, once out of pocket. No thanks, I will keep my private insurance and low taxes.

Ok this is such horsedung it's not even funny! This is the ADULT GRID! I could see this if it were the teen grid but everyone here is supposed to be over 18 which IS THE LEGAL AGE FOR GAMBLING IN THE US! I can walk into any gambling institution in the us and have no issues with playing whatever I want to play, so why all of a sudden is it now Illegal?
Someone has been smoking crack is all I can think of, and I for one find this kind of attitude from the Lindens demeaning and just plain stupid. Considering that just about every sim I have seen has a gambling institution on it and I know there is serious money going on with them, I don't see how SL is going to enforce this. How can you ban gambling when I'd say about half the economy here in SL depends on them?

Oh, I'm sure that your capacity for insulting others is unmatched. Your tendancy to resort to profanity and name-calling almost immediately sets the bar pretty high right from the start, doesn't it? Your definition of remaining civil needs a lot more work, as well.


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Correction: you can walk into any **licenced** gambling institution in the us and gamble. LL is not a licenced gambling hall. Nor do I think it ever will be.

LOL! Why can't I rate posts here?

Gambling is not exactly legal in the US. Its legal, but heavily heavily heavily restricted as to where you can do it.

Children are inherently crafty--do we really want our sneaky, curious-minded children running around the adult grid...heck, just by creating a Teen Grid, this makes our kids more apt to try and explore the Adult Grid.

I'm not saying our system is perfect. And I know, unless your kid is Charlie Bucket, they are going to try and view adult content. So, you either have to have rules, make a different age verification process, or keep your child's computer in the living room for you to watch over 24/7.

Just because SL is geared towards adults, does not mean we should allow avatars to run around with huge penis attachments. It's just...wrong.

Can't we enjoy this beautiful technology, without sicko griefers ruining it?

It's not about freedom...America is damn free, but you can't run around with your penis out...why would you want to? It's disturbing.

LL knows it is in a bind - online gambling is being targeted by the Feds in a major and heavy-handed way, and the last thing LL needs as a business is to be defending something that is, unfortunately, illegal.

I don't care for gambling, never do it myself, agree with the folks complaining about sim lag from casinos, but wouldn't want it or any other business in SL to be banned - except when necessary to keep LL a viable business.

Long-term answer - when LL eventually opens the grid and allows people to plug their own servers into it for a price. Then the casinos will be on servers in Macao or Monaco, and out of everybody's hair except those who want to go to them.

Something smell badly here. Shops are business too and don't pay taxes too but only prohibit gambling and why don't close shops too? Hehe. Because sl ends if do this too lol. But basically have the same problem... I believe that someone have pressed to sl to do this.

Regards

That'll never happen. SL would fold like a house of cards immediately. They'd be liable to lawsuits for any kind of data loss, ban, or anything else that might cause an SL resident to lose in-world assets. If the government decides that virtual assets and SL "tokens" have genuine monetary value (so they can take a cut) then LL will pull themselves out of the loop and have everyone use paypal or some other similar service to transact between themselves. Then it will be each individual's responsiblity and LL would be out of the liability loop.

There is nothing in the wagering policy to support your thoughts though.

To those of you who think all Americans are jingoistic take a look at this clip on Youtube of American comedian Lewis Black commenting about how America isn't #1. A little humor to lighten up your day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc

Lucky chairs are fine. If they collected payment then it would be against the TOS.

The policy wasn't put in place because gambling is illegal for US residents. The policy was put in place is because it's illegal for LL's servers in the US to process gambling transactions.

Folks I really think the point of this ban by LL has nothing to do with gambling. Its about money.

Under the stupid law its illegal for companies like Visa and MasterCard to transfer money in and out via the internet.

One thing LL cannot afford is to lose its ability to take Credit Cards. That would really be the end of SL.

This is not a Vice Issue at all. It is an issue of LL trying to save its ability to do business at all.

You don't happen to run a hosting company eh?

That wouldn't make it legal. Where the servers are require an online gambling license.

I lived in the US my whole life. I don't see it as a free country, never have. I see it as "yet another country". We may have some rights that other countries don't have, but it's also vice versa (as you've all learned from this situation). We are no more free then everyone else. Power Corrupts. It's a fact of life. You start your own country, fight for it's freedom, grow old, hand it down to your kids, they tear it apart, and misuse it.

Anyway enough of that. I don't believe this law will really hurt much in SL. Sure it will dent the economy, causing people to have to lower their prices and such, because they aren't getting as much money as they once did from their sales because their customers can't gamble anymore. I'm sure within a month someone will have a workaround though. I don't have any doubts that someone has a plan as we speak. When someone enjoys what they do, they find a way to do it anyway.

I asked Robin Linden whether the issue was online gambling, unregulated gambling or a combination of the two and she didn't know. I'm sure someone knows but I haven't seen an official comment yet.

Did she give you a straight answer on sploders and slingo/tringo/yartsee/etc?

No, she didn't know that one either and I don't think it's fair to criticise her for that. She said she'd look into it but they can't know about every single game.

Well while I fully understand the need for Linden Labs to protect their interests with regard to legal liability due to the servers being housed in CA and TX, there is something terribly wrong with this picture.

Many people have invested huge amounts of 1st life money to purchase land on those servers and build and maintain business. And as previously stated, Linden Labs has been very happy to collect teir every month from these folks and the others who have totally unrelated businesses from clothing to prefabs and furniture and everything in between that are to some degree supported either directly or indirectly by the gambling industry in SL.

Its hardly ethical to write a policy that overnight shuts down an entire industry!!!

Truth is that everyone who produces a product, buys and sells land, or invests in the SL economy in some way or another, be it products or services, is in some way affected by this action and really not one of us has been given a adequate voice in possible solutions to the very real problem that exists with the known legal issues.

Was/ IS there a better solution? Could for example servers be located somewhere else where gambling is legal? Who knows- I certainly dont. But I do know that there are a lot of residents who contribute to the Sl economy that enjoy gaming. And, I do know that there are an even greater number that while they may not gamble or even like gambling that also benefit from the real money (not "play money"- the play money in SL is there because someone spent Real money to place it there) that this industry brings in.

You cannot simply eliminate an industry and not feel the shockwaves throughout every industry in the grid! Hello!!!

The real issue is that there needs to be more consideration by Linden Labs for the PEOPLE that support and contribute to this economy.

Overnight changes that affect all of us economically should not happen with out resident participation and collaboration in the process of change- these people should have been given an opportunity to make necessary changes to protect their assets and investments. In fact, all of us should have been given that opportunity. Its really not good to bite the hand that feeds.

It is wrong - no matter your opinion of gambling- it is wrong to shut down overnight what you have allowed for years and reaped much profit from allowing. To do so without the participation and collaboration of those affected in the solution process, and without making every effort to find an equitable solution for all, and without giving time to those who will be affected to make the necessary changes that they need to make to ensure the preservation of their initial investments is horrendous and really in my opinion should be an absolute outrage to everyone of us!

I don't know much about WoW, and this may seem far-fetched at first, but I would think if there's any element of chance (ie, gambling) involved, it's illegal for Blizzard to profit from that.

But, where does it stop? Is the stock market a form of gambling? Of course.

Hi everyone... I just found out about this ban and I tried to post an answer on the blog but it is impossible… comments aren’t allowed, and to me that speaks volumes… hum… “Land of the free” huh? I would’ve thought that by know the US had learned not to impose its will and views on the rest of the world…. Apparently I was too optimistic…

I live in Europe, and I deeply resent bible belt ultra conservative views being imposed on me… apparently the US laws make it illegal for me to put 2 cents into a sploder… and at the same time, the same body of laws allows people to legally buy military style automatic weapons… am I the only one to find this to be a bit surreal? … “Land of the free”? ... Ah well… another illusion shattered…

Oh god...read the whole thread before adding to it. You don't understand the ban and blaming the US for your gaming inconvenience isn't going to help matters.

It wasn't an inworld competition, it was a players can enter and post entries competition via the website. One was an art competition, I can't remember what the other was but it was considered a lottery and therefore only residents in a few countries could enter. However there was no wager, they didn't charge an entrance fee so I guess that gets around some gambling issues.