I don't receive messages from people looking to perform online sex for in-game currency. Therefore, it's not as obviously rampant as people selling in-game currency for real-world hard cash. The latter I cannot go one day without receiving about a dozen spams of one sort or another, many advertising the same source.
I rankle at the thought of spending real-world money for fake world items. It's against Blizzard's end user license agreement. For a good reason, too - when you have a DEFINITE tie between currency in an online game and real-world cash, what you have found is (by some legal interpretations) ONLINE GAMBLING. Since Blizzard would have to turn away all minors playing WoW, and only allow the game to be played in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal, they cannot afford to let any kind of cash-for-game-gold transaction go unchallenged.
They will ban both the buyer and seller if they can prove the connection - and usually they have chat logs as evidence. There are certain transactions like an IP in Hong Kong trading an IP in the USA 5000 gold. Sure, there are people in the US with relatives in Chinese territories, and sometimes these family members "twink" gold in that kind of amount to each other, but generally speaking, this is a red flag.
The gold peddlers tend to have ways to circumvent automatic detection. What all they do I don't know - but trading incremental amounts and mailing small portions are a few methods.
Blizzard cannot control 3rd party websites or communications performed outside their servers, so all they need do is demonstrate due dilligence and be gambling lawsuit free.
Why aren't Linden Dollars considered gambling winnings? You'd have to take it up with Linden Labs - there's no doubt whatever they've had to face a little flak from that direction. Generally speaking though, you don't go around in SL earning L$ from killing computer controlled mobs.
The legality of online sex is another can of worms altogether. Basically, you need to verify that you have age of consent for both parties. Blizzard does not have proof of age of everybody at the keyboard in game. Therefore, "hot chat" could be construed as pedophilia or sexual harassment, but usually only if one of the involved parties' guardians discovers the act and objects.
I think terms of use specifically prohibit this kind of interchange, so parties carrying on in this fashion already are in breech of contract, so lawsuits along this line are probably really difficult to bring to trial, at least against Blizzard.
I could be wrong, but I get the impression that you are misinterpreting the story (although perhaps I am)...
My understanding is that she was trading REAL LIFE sex for IN-GAME currency. So in response to your other reply (above), the second thing she got other than the flying mount was that she got "laid" as per her (supposedly) own statements later on. This makes verifying the age of the parties pretty straightforward. It is still possible that it would be considered an act of prostitution, which is still illegal in most states I think (though I'm not sure). But in my opinion, prostitution should not be illegal... again this for me is an issue of Free Will. Pimping, sex-slave trading, and other similar forms of exploitation SHOULD be illegal, but if a man or woman of sound mind and judgment chooses to sell their body and sexuality for material wealth of some sort, even cash, then that to me is totally their choice, and they should have that right. I don't believe anything should be illegal unless there is sufficient evidence to believe that it has a negative impact on society, or if it violates the rights of any of the individuals involved... Two adults having consensual sex, where one gets paid for it and where both are fully knowledgeable of the expectation of payment and have a set and agreed upon price, does not to my knowledge stand against either of those principals.
In this particular case, the woman pimped herself out, she, and only she, was paid for the "transaction", the sex was consensual, the price was clear and agreed upon, and presumably both participants were of at least the legal age of consent.
As to gold and item farming... I fail to see how this could be legally considered "online gambling" by anyone but a lawyer... Of course, lawyers have a significant amount of influence over what is and isn't to be considered a "legal" definition, and quite often those definitions have little or nothing to do with reality or linguistics. Gambling necessarily (even in legal terms as far as I know), requires participation in a game of chance where money is paid to play, and money is the prize won. And even that is not the strictest legal interpretation because lottery drawings, for one reason or another, do not qualify.
Now if I pay real money in order to gain in-game currency, there is no game of chance played... I risk being scammed perhaps, but I risk being scammed when I spend real money to buy real-world items as well, especially if I buy from some internet site based in Morocco or something. This does not constitute "gambling" under any definition of the word that I know of or have seen in action in legal systems in the US.
Having a policy against the buying, selling, or trading of in-game items, currency, or characters has nothing to do with legality concerns, but rather is a concern over the negative impact that these activities have on the game-play experience of other players... in short, they "ruin the game" (as many players have complained of over the years in pretty much ALL MMO's).
Cyber-sex, on the other hand, is potentially a legal concern, and is definitely an issue of ethics, in so far as it has the potential to involve participants who are under age, even if they just happen to walk into the wrong back room of the game's local tavern. But restricting such activities is something that the server operators and original chat program designers cannot actually do (even if it is graphical like a game). They can have a policy where it is against the rules and thereby wash their hands of liability, but they cannot prevent it or regulate any further than that without drastically increasing their overhead. And legally, it is considered incumbent upon the chatters, not the server operators or programmers, to ensure that they are not participating in illegal or unethical activities.
I excel at reading things wrong. I have a minor in making up incorrect facts. Err, prevarification. OK, I lie.
I probably did read the ad wrong, but when I read where she knows how to role play and has an outfit for the occasion, I thought of specific game costume items and in-character(ish) speech.
Since Blizzard might be difficult if subpoenaed for evidence of an in-game cash transaction for reasons unknown, making money this way is relatively risk-free prostitution. What's a pimp going to do, PvP your character until you pay up?
I didn't address the issue of gambling. I may have prevaricated some of my information there. However, as a former employee of International Game Technology, IGT, of Reno, Nevada, and having been licensed by the Nevada State Gaming Control Board and officially cleared by the sheriff's department there and FBI, I was at least exposed in a vague sense to what is considered online gambling.
Generally speaking, online gambling is activity that would otherwise be handled by the vice squad if done between a house and patrons, as opposed to between friends getting together for a poker game or betting pool. There are legal poker rooms, and of course separate jurisdictions for Indian reservations.
Blizzard, by charging monthly fees, can be construed as "the house." People receive goods (in-game items and game currency) chiefly as a factor of random chance. There are some items that you can craft or obtain with precision accuracy, but generally speaking, the coveted items (epic and artifact level) are a function of random chance. Therefore, you have money risked - and here's the only weak link in the chain - real world money earned IF there's a definite, quantifiable link between game items and money. If suddenly server gold prices become something you can track with a commodities broker, this would cement the connection. Anything short of that and you'll need convincing evidence. Evidence that proves Blizzard intended to set themselves up as a gambling house. I really doubt they ever did. They wanted addictive success for their game, and succeeded - perhaps too well. (And I'm sure their design documents will NEVER contain the word "addiction," just "compelling," "fun," "engaging," "engrossing," and so on.)
Trading cards can be seen as a similar form of gambling. You buy 15 (or however many) cards sight unseen, with the promise there's some chance of getting a rare collectable card in that packet. CCGs aren't restricted to non-minors. Minors are most of their buying public. CCGs are investments, something not only legal, but vital to American economy.
CCGs give durable goods in exchange for money spent. There's no law against making stupid purchases. Buying in-game items however, there's cash going toward ethereal goods. Some bits on a hard drive somewhere that has a life expectancy only as long as the server stays operational. Or the management decides that game item needs a nerf!
Did you know lotteries are ILLEGAL in Nevada? You can buy a Keno ticket that doesn't have final results for as much as a full year later, but nowhere there can you get a typical scratch-off ticket.
Why is it illegal there? The given reason is that the Nevada legislature decided lotteries prey on the poor - offering them hopes to escape poverty, beckoning them from every grocery store and 7-11. I think I am not alone in believing the real reason was lotteries were too much competition for casinos. (Look at who tends to fund the anti-lottery campaigns in new jurisdictions.)
Video poker and slot machines ARE allowed in 7-11s in Nevada, grocery and liquor stores. They are required by law to be policed around the clock to make sure a minor does not operate them. "All pays and plays are void if used by a minor," the boilerplates say.
Just how a video poker machine offering $4000 is not as or more predatory toward a poor person with $1.25 to their name versus a lottery ticket is beyond me. But there's Nevada gaming laws for you.
Oh, and if that poor person has the $1.25 in pennies and the machine takes only quarters - the person assigned to police the spot against minors also makes change.
I rankle at the thought of spending real-world money for fake world items. It's against Blizzard's end user license agreement. For a good reason, too - when you have a DEFINITE tie between currency in an online game and real-world cash, what you have found is (by some legal interpretations) ONLINE GAMBLING. Since Blizzard would have to turn away all minors playing WoW, and only allow the game to be played in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal, they cannot afford to let any kind of cash-for-game-gold transaction go unchallenged.
They will ban both the buyer and seller if they can prove the connection - and usually they have chat logs as evidence. There are certain transactions like an IP in Hong Kong trading an IP in the USA 5000 gold. Sure, there are people in the US with relatives in Chinese territories, and sometimes these family members "twink" gold in that kind of amount to each other, but generally speaking, this is a red flag.
The gold peddlers tend to have ways to circumvent automatic detection. What all they do I don't know - but trading incremental amounts and mailing small portions are a few methods.
Blizzard cannot control 3rd party websites or communications performed outside their servers, so all they need do is demonstrate due dilligence and be gambling lawsuit free.
Why aren't Linden Dollars considered gambling winnings? You'd have to take it up with Linden Labs - there's no doubt whatever they've had to face a little flak from that direction. Generally speaking though, you don't go around in SL earning L$ from killing computer controlled mobs.
The legality of online sex is another can of worms altogether. Basically, you need to verify that you have age of consent for both parties. Blizzard does not have proof of age of everybody at the keyboard in game. Therefore, "hot chat" could be construed as pedophilia or sexual harassment, but usually only if one of the involved parties' guardians discovers the act and objects.
I think terms of use specifically prohibit this kind of interchange, so parties carrying on in this fashion already are in breech of contract, so lawsuits along this line are probably really difficult to bring to trial, at least against Blizzard.
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My understanding is that she was trading REAL LIFE sex for IN-GAME currency. So in response to your other reply (above), the second thing she got other than the flying mount was that she got "laid" as per her (supposedly) own statements later on. This makes verifying the age of the parties pretty straightforward. It is still possible that it would be considered an act of prostitution, which is still illegal in most states I think (though I'm not sure). But in my opinion, prostitution should not be illegal... again this for me is an issue of Free Will. Pimping, sex-slave trading, and other similar forms of exploitation SHOULD be illegal, but if a man or woman of sound mind and judgment chooses to sell their body and sexuality for material wealth of some sort, even cash, then that to me is totally their choice, and they should have that right. I don't believe anything should be illegal unless there is sufficient evidence to believe that it has a negative impact on society, or if it violates the rights of any of the individuals involved... Two adults having consensual sex, where one gets paid for it and where both are fully knowledgeable of the expectation of payment and have a set and agreed upon price, does not to my knowledge stand against either of those principals.
In this particular case, the woman pimped herself out, she, and only she, was paid for the "transaction", the sex was consensual, the price was clear and agreed upon, and presumably both participants were of at least the legal age of consent.
As to gold and item farming... I fail to see how this could be legally considered "online gambling" by anyone but a lawyer... Of course, lawyers have a significant amount of influence over what is and isn't to be considered a "legal" definition, and quite often those definitions have little or nothing to do with reality or linguistics. Gambling necessarily (even in legal terms as far as I know), requires participation in a game of chance where money is paid to play, and money is the prize won. And even that is not the strictest legal interpretation because lottery drawings, for one reason or another, do not qualify.
Now if I pay real money in order to gain in-game currency, there is no game of chance played... I risk being scammed perhaps, but I risk being scammed when I spend real money to buy real-world items as well, especially if I buy from some internet site based in Morocco or something. This does not constitute "gambling" under any definition of the word that I know of or have seen in action in legal systems in the US.
Having a policy against the buying, selling, or trading of in-game items, currency, or characters has nothing to do with legality concerns, but rather is a concern over the negative impact that these activities have on the game-play experience of other players... in short, they "ruin the game" (as many players have complained of over the years in pretty much ALL MMO's).
Cyber-sex, on the other hand, is potentially a legal concern, and is definitely an issue of ethics, in so far as it has the potential to involve participants who are under age, even if they just happen to walk into the wrong back room of the game's local tavern. But restricting such activities is something that the server operators and original chat program designers cannot actually do (even if it is graphical like a game). They can have a policy where it is against the rules and thereby wash their hands of liability, but they cannot prevent it or regulate any further than that without drastically increasing their overhead. And legally, it is considered incumbent upon the chatters, not the server operators or programmers, to ensure that they are not participating in illegal or unethical activities.
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I probably did read the ad wrong, but when I read where she knows how to role play and has an outfit for the occasion, I thought of specific game costume items and in-character(ish) speech.
I guess I'm too white and nerdy.
Since Blizzard might be difficult if subpoenaed for evidence of an in-game cash transaction for reasons unknown, making money this way is relatively risk-free prostitution. What's a pimp going to do, PvP your character until you pay up?
Reply
Generally speaking, online gambling is activity that would otherwise be handled by the vice squad if done between a house and patrons, as opposed to between friends getting together for a poker game or betting pool. There are legal poker rooms, and of course separate jurisdictions for Indian reservations.
Blizzard, by charging monthly fees, can be construed as "the house." People receive goods (in-game items and game currency) chiefly as a factor of random chance. There are some items that you can craft or obtain with precision accuracy, but generally speaking, the coveted items (epic and artifact level) are a function of random chance. Therefore, you have money risked - and here's the only weak link in the chain - real world money earned IF there's a definite, quantifiable link between game items and money. If suddenly server gold prices become something you can track with a commodities broker, this would cement the connection. Anything short of that and you'll need convincing evidence. Evidence that proves Blizzard intended to set themselves up as a gambling house. I really doubt they ever did. They wanted addictive success for their game, and succeeded - perhaps too well. (And I'm sure their design documents will NEVER contain the word "addiction," just "compelling," "fun," "engaging," "engrossing," and so on.)
Trading cards can be seen as a similar form of gambling. You buy 15 (or however many) cards sight unseen, with the promise there's some chance of getting a rare collectable card in that packet. CCGs aren't restricted to non-minors. Minors are most of their buying public. CCGs are investments, something not only legal, but vital to American economy.
CCGs give durable goods in exchange for money spent. There's no law against making stupid purchases. Buying in-game items however, there's cash going toward ethereal goods. Some bits on a hard drive somewhere that has a life expectancy only as long as the server stays operational. Or the management decides that game item needs a nerf!
Did you know lotteries are ILLEGAL in Nevada? You can buy a Keno ticket that doesn't have final results for as much as a full year later, but nowhere there can you get a typical scratch-off ticket.
Why is it illegal there? The given reason is that the Nevada legislature decided lotteries prey on the poor - offering them hopes to escape poverty, beckoning them from every grocery store and 7-11. I think I am not alone in believing the real reason was lotteries were too much competition for casinos. (Look at who tends to fund the anti-lottery campaigns in new jurisdictions.)
Video poker and slot machines ARE allowed in 7-11s in Nevada, grocery and liquor stores. They are required by law to be policed around the clock to make sure a minor does not operate them. "All pays and plays are void if used by a minor," the boilerplates say.
Just how a video poker machine offering $4000 is not as or more predatory toward a poor person with $1.25 to their name versus a lottery ticket is beyond me. But there's Nevada gaming laws for you.
Oh, and if that poor person has the $1.25 in pennies and the machine takes only quarters - the person assigned to police the spot against minors also makes change.
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