When Games Become Gambles – Criminal Law Implications Of ‘Pay To Earn' NFT Games

Online gaming is big business, and only growing in size.¹ An important aspect of this booming market are non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which permit users to buy, sell and trade ownership interests in in-game assets. The global marketplace for NFTs has enabled an evolution in gaming, from the traditional 'pay to play' model (you buy the game, you play) to 'play to earn' (you play the game, you earn an NFT, you sell the NFT) – most famously, helping rural villagers in the Philippines earn income from home during pandemic lockdowns. The game they played, called Axie Infinity, recently passed US$4 billion in total trading volume.²

Making money from gaming may sound too good to be true – and in some cases, it is. Where 'pay to play' and 'play to earn' intersect to become 'pay to earn', the 'game' can become a 'gamble' for both the user and the operator.