Virtual Gambling Not Allowed?

It is the subject of a current federal investigation, and people are waiting to see if virtual gambling will be considered illegal as well. Linden Lab’s Second Life has come under investigation because they allow virtual gambling in their online world. They offer other things as well, but it is the gambling that the government is so concerned with.

Those that are “residents” of Second Life have available to them all kinds of possibilities – retail stores, prostitution, homes, and yes, gambling. Some people could care less about the gambling, they are concerned with the fact that the prostitution industry has become the big moneymaker in the virtual world, which has been a public relations nightmare for the company as well.

But the US government is only interested in the online gambling. With online gambling illegal in the US, they want to know why it is legal to gamble in the Second Life world. They have dollars that are called Linden dollars, and people use these virtual dollars to gamble and purchase things within the online world.

The fact that they are virtual dollars does not seem to bother the government, they are more concerned with the fact that they are gambling and wagering “something of value” in this online world. Many people think that at some point the government is going to go on record as saying that virtual gambling is illegal as well – which is the same as saying you can’t even pretend to gamble.

Linden may find a way to keep the government happy, and it may mean that you won’t be able to gamble online either. This won’t make the company or its sponsors very happy, as there is a real chance of alienating potential sponsors if the gambling aspect of the world is eliminated. The question begs to be answered – how long will the industry allow the government to dictate what they can and cannot do in the name of the same people who don’t support their actions?

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