Gambling outlawed in Second Life virtual world
 July 26, 2007, 3:37 pm (1 year ago)The fallout from the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has continued with casinos in popular virtual world Second Life being shut down wholesale.
Linden Labs, which created the popular online game, has announced that all gambling activities in the virtual world have been shut down because of legal concerns.
It said that it will not be responsible for any monetary losses made by gamers who run the virtual casinos. Indeed, Linden Labs itself is likely to lose a substantial amount of income as gamers must pay rent and buy virtual currency to play the game.
The UIGEA, which was introduced last October, outlawed payment by bank or credit card companies to internet casinos, poker rooms and other online gambling companies.
The Second Life blog explained that Linden Labs will continue to monitor the legal situation and may change the status of gambling in Second Life “as we receive feedback from the community and from legal authorities, or as new regulations, industry practices and technology solutions come into effect”.
Second Life gambling came to the attention of the authorities early this year and in April Linden Labs invited the FBI to visit the casinos within the game.
There was some doubt as to whether the virtual gambling operations, some of which were making profits of about $1,500 per month, came under US gambling law. However, Linden Labs has opted for the cautious approach and all gambling activity on Second Life has now been stopped.
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