Anger at Second Life gambling ban

Residents of Second Life are up in arms after the popular online virtual world's creator imposed a ban on gambling activities. Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, introduced the gambling ban at the end of July, citing "conflicting gambling regulations around the world". The new policy prevents Second Life residents from running games that rely on chance (or the outcome of a real-life sporting event) and provide a payout in Linden Dollars or real-world money or thing of value. In a blog, Linden Lab said: "Because gambling activities may be controlled by the law where the bettor lives in some places, and in others affect the operators of wagering games, we have decided to take a broader approach by prohibiting all games that meet the criteria in our policy." It also said that there "will be no reimbursement if Linden Lab removes objects or activities that violate this policy". One resident told Web User: "I've been a member since November 2006. In all the time I've been a member, the world has been loaded with casinos and I recently decided to buy a poker table. I've had the table just over a month, which cost me L$25,000 (around £50), and overnight Linden Labs, without warning, has decided to ban gambling making my poker table useless." "I also bought a few slot machines and a little race track which are also now useless because of this new policy. I'm now out of pocket without the offer of compensation for such a drastic policy change." Second Life, which launched in 2003, lets players create animated characters and buy property, socialise with other players, and work to earn virtual currency. It is inhabited by a total of 8,566,913 residents.

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