VIDEO GAMBLING
Virtual gambling VIDEO GAME STUDIOS, ANXIOUS TO HOLD THE ATTENTION OF PLAYERS ARE INCREASINGLY EMBEDDING CASINO GAME FEATURES WITHIN THEIR GAMES WITH LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS THAT ARE BEING DECIDED BY THE COURTS. MARC DUNBAR AND DANIEL MCGINN REPORT
In 2016, Marc Dunbar published a seminal article 1 examining the legality of gambling in virtual worlds. The article traced the genesis of case law on the topic and concluded that, while gambling with virtual currency in closed-loop virtual worlds was generally considered to be permissible by reviewing courts at the time, the variance present in each state’s regulatory regime would require careful analysis and an eye towards developing precedent if working within the space. Since the article was published, there have been several new developments. The number of free-to-play games has grown exponentially since 2016, as have the player bases and profitability of such games. Free-to-play mobile gaming revenue is projected to exceed US$75 billion USD in 2023. 2
As the market expands, so does the innovation within these gaming environments as each studio seeks to keep hold of both the attention and the wallets of players. One method of doing so that has proven to be popular, effective, and lucrative, is to introduce aspects of casino gaming into the conventional video gaming environment. Virtual casino gaming and virtual currencies 3 have become mainstays of free-to-play games on mobile devices, consoles, and computers. As revenue climbs, player bases grow, and new potential customers enter the market. The industry continues to evolve with more gaming variety, different incentives, and novel advertising to capture a share of the available pot and monetize the database of players frequenting the virtual gaming environment.
1 Available at https://www.imgl.org/publications/imgl-magazine-volume-3-no-1/gambling-in-virtual-worlds/ 2 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1107021/f2p-mobile-games-revenue/, last accessed April 19, 2023. 3 For the purposes of this article, the term “virtual currency” will refer to fictitious proprietary representations of “currency” created by game de- signers for use within social gaming environments which by the terms and conditions of the game have no value in the real world and cannot be monetized into “real world” fungible currency via a “currency exchange” sanctioned by the game creators.
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IMGL MAGAZINE | JULY 2023
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