Gambling on Second Life
The FBI has been invited to look at the gambling going on in Second Life. Numerous virtual casinos have popped up in the virtual reality world, offering games of chance ranging from blackjack to slot machines.
I'm very interested in the outcome of this investigation, at least philosophically. It's not a simple decision, either. Virtual gambling for real money should probably be regulated, but what about virtual gambling for virtual money? Or for that matter, real (meaning "physical") gambling for virtual money? As the FBI continues to crack down on online casinos, virtual worlds like Second Life are a perfect alternative for the next generation of gambling dens. Why? Because virtual currency will probably turn out to be a way around federal law and virtual currency is worthless without a virtual world to spend it in. This could turn out to be a great future cash cow for the burgeoning world creation business.
Posted on April 05, 2007
