When Will Online Casino Gambling Come Back?
Just last month the virtual gaming world Second Life announced that online
casino gambling, and in fact any forms of gambling, are no longer legal within
the virtual world. This decision comes on the heels of investigations from the
U.S government into any businesses that may possibly violate the online casinos
ban in the U.S. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and other
gambling regulations in countries around the world have led Linden Labs, the
company behind Second Life to stop internet gambling in the virtual world – if
only for the time being.
Linden Labs is based out of California and thus well within the reach of U.S.
Department of Justice regulations and U.S. Attorney’s Office investigations.
Months ago when virtual online casinos gambling came onto the U.S. DoJ’s radar
the company chose to actively seek the advice of the U.S. government to ensure
that the company was operating within the law. And naturally the discussions
have led Second Life to err on the side of safety and stop online casino
activity within the virtual community until further notice.
Interestingly though the company did note in the message to Second Life gamers
that this new policy would be under review when new legislation or industry
technologies warrant possible revisions to the online casino ban. Could this be
a nod to the almost guaranteed neutralization of the UIGEA?
A key part of the decision to stop the online casinos in all of Second Life
comes from the lack of age controls and player identification built into the
virtual community without an effective method to monitor the age and identities
of players entering the virtual gambling sites the company could then not adhere
to any gambling regulations in any country, particularly the United States and
the UK. Because the Second Life community is hugely international (8.5 million
players from all around the world) and every country has different restrictions
on the game, Linden Lab has chosen to protect the company and the community by
backing out of this gray area until further notice.
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