This paper’s central thesis is that current gambling regulations do not adequately account for the issue of gambling within Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games. Rather, these gambling transactions fall into shades of gray between what is and what is not legal. The paper proceeds in three parts. First is an overview of gambling regulation. Second, an explanation of the MMO games themselves. From these two elements, the third portion of the paper poses a potential regulatory scheme which could be applied to MMO games to address the issue of MMO gambling more thoroughly than it is presently addressed by any regulation.http://ssrn.com/abstract=987056
Internet Gambling Regulation Present and Future: Technology Outpaces Legislation as the MMORPG Problem Emerges by Mark Methenitis (Vernon Goordich, LLP; Law of the Game)
This paper’s central thesis is that current gambling regulations do not adequately account for the issue of gambling within Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games. Rather, these gambling transactions fall into shades of gray between what is and what is not legal. The paper proceeds in three parts. First is an overview of gambling regulation. Second, an explanation of the MMO games themselves. From these two elements, the third portion of the paper poses a potential regulatory scheme which could be applied to MMO games to address the issue of MMO gambling more thoroughly than it is presently addressed by any regulation.