The Linden Lab policy on wagering is clear…

(Taken from the Linden Lab blog)….

Policy

It is a violation of this policy to wager in games in the Second Life (R) environment operated on Linden Lab servers if such games:

(1) (a) rely on chance or random number generation to determine a winner, OR (b) rely on the outcome of real-life organized sporting events,

AND

(2) provide a payout in

(a) Linden Dollars, OR

(b) any real-world currency or thing of value.

This includes (but is not limited to), for example, Casino Games such as:

o Baccarat
o Blackjack
o Craps
o Faro
o Keno
o Pachinko
o Pai Gow
o Poker
o Roulette
o Sic Bo
o Slot machines

So, their rules are clear.

And I, for one, see why they imposed it. I know a lot of people bitched and complained about the gambling ban, but Linden Lab are based in San Fransisco and therefore must adhere to the laws of their country and state. No gambling allowed. So I have no problem with the gambling ban in Second Life.

What does interest me, however, is how Linden Lab define ‘luck’ or ‘chance.’ Evidently poker has an element of chance, being specifically mentioned as one of the games that is prohibited. And yes, of course it does. How well you do in a poker hand depends on which cards you are dealt and which cards are drawn on the table. Luck. And regardless of the fact that a certain level of skill does come into play, the fact is that skill alone does not suffice. Linden Lab dictate that any games that ‘rely on chance or random number generation to determine a winner’ count as wagering. As there is chance in cards being dealt, this is gambling. Fair enough.

But apparently a game in which you wait for randomly generated numbers to be drawn and try to match them with numbers on a randomly generated grid…. well that isn’t gambling. No…. no element of chance there, according to the Linden Gods.

I’m talking about Zyngo. For anyone who has not yet ventured into the many casinos… shit, I mean ‘zyngo parlours,’ in Second Life, let me explain. Zyngo (a Linden Lab approved ‘non-gambling’ game) is a particularly popular game whereby you are presented with a grid of numbers. From there, a series of numbers are drawn out at random and you must match these to the numbers on your grid. There are other factors too, like angels or devils which can be drawn and respectivaly increase or reduce the points you have. And what is proving increasingly popular is the auto-play feature on Zyngo. This allows you to just hit a button and the machine will match the numbers as they drawn for you. So you do not even have to look at your grid.

Umm… how is this not classed as gambling in Second Life? I don’t see how there is even a tiny element of skill involved in it, let alone how it could be deemed 100% skill. Oh, crap, wait… I think I see why this is permitted actually….

Ah yes… it must be skill. No chance involved. How could there possibly be chance involved when one Zyngo parlour alone spends this much money on classifieds? And when all of them combined probably count for a significant proportion of the total classifieds revenue Linden Lab received? No, no. No chance involved here! It’s all skill. In fact those highly skilled auto Zyngo players spends years and years and years perfecting the art of hitting ‘right click…pay’ on the machines. They really do.

/end sarcasm.

Fucking bullshit.

This, to me, is another example of policies not being enforced. They banned camping, traffic bots and traffic falsification in Second Life… but people camp and use bots and play their traffic games. And nothing is done about it. They ban gambling in Second Life, but then approve Zyngo machines because apparently random number generation does not count as an element of chance.

I have read and heard all sorts of theories on why this is not classified as gambling in Second Life. One being that the creator was able to demonstrate to Linden Lab that those with experience of playing were more successful than those without experience. So what? Unless those with experience are capable of controlling the output of numbers with some ‘highly skilled’ psychic event outcome, witchcraft, magic bullshit mystical fucking skill, then it does not matter. Any element of chance is considered gambling. I don’t care if they get Michael frikkin Flatley to play Zyngo while demonstrating his wonderful Irish Jigging skills… it’s still luck.

Ok, so fine. Ban gambling in Second Life. But keep it consistent. What’s the point in having rules that some people are allowed to ignore. It’s like courts in real life dictating that theft is legal providing you pay half of what you take to your local police force. What a load of crap.