A Tale of Two Worlds: New U.S. Gambling Laws and the MMORPG

Back in late April I finished an article titled A Tale of Two Worlds: New U.S. Gambling Laws and the MMORPG. That article has been published in the now available August edition of the Gaming Law Review. I must admit that some of the substantive MMORPG analysis is a bit simplistic (mostly in defining the volume of real money transactions as they relate to World of Warcraft), in part due to to audience considerations, but the legal analysis is quite thorough. While my SSRN revisions are still under review, the paper is available to those who may have access to the journal through academia or other means.

For those interested, here is the reference information:

Abstract

Full Citation:
Mark Methenitis. Gaming Law Review. 2007, 11(4): 436-439. doi:10.1089/glr.2007.11404.

Gaming Law Review, Volume 11, Number 4

[UPDATE: Just to clarify, the simplification was in the following regard: I assumed, for the purpose of the paper, that Blizzard’s ban on real money transactions was completely effective, rather than just mostly effective. The concept of the “black market” complicated the comparison to a high degree and would have easily doubled the length of the paper. It also plays to a greater assumption that Blizzard will, in all likelyhood, continue to crack down and may eventually wholly eliminate real money transactions, even those on the “black market” type level.]