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ARTICLE · 29 NOVEMBER 2011

Making Sense Of Virtual Dollars

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Financial institutions and currency transactions are highly regulated in the United States. That much is common knowledge.

United StatesMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Thayer Preece
Thayer Preece
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Financial institutions and currency transactions are highly regulated in the United States. That much is common knowledge. However, game developers may not realize that by creating a system of virtual currency within a game that can be purchased with or redeemed for real currency, they could be opening themselves up to legal issues arising from this morass of federal and state laws, regulations, and rules.

Regulation of virtual currency in online games is a largely untested field. Online game companies and their legal advisors are making their best guesses as to how these systems will be treated by courts and regulatory bodies. However, most agree that the laws and regulations discussed below may apply to virtual currency, depending on how the currency system is implemented. (Please note that this article is only intended to provide an overview of regulations that may be applicable to virtual currency systems—in order to determine whether any of these laws apply to

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