Linden Lab

Hi Smoovious, To the extent that your activities would fall within the definition of "Operator", such activities would require a license. For more information on the destinction between a "Region Owner" and "Operator", please review the Skill Gaming Policy. Thank you,

Hi Aizur, Thanks for your question. In the situation which you have oulined, there would not be an additional application fee for an update to your original Creator or Operator application. There's no limit to the number of skill games that you disclose on the application. If additional space is needed, you can attach the additional details to the Salesforce case that was or will be associated with your application, Thanks!

Hi PaisleeRose, If the game permits pay-to-play, it would be subject to the Skill Gaming Policy. Thanks!

Hello all, We'll be back to read and answer more questions tomorrow. Thanks and best regards,

Hi Cam, Games of chance are and have been prohibited in accordance with our Wagering Policy. If you encounter such items, you may submit an AR to our support team for investigation. As for contests, Second Life residents will need to make this determination on a case by case basis to the extent that they believe that their "sploders", contest boards, and other objects are deemed a game of skill (instead of chance which is still prohibited under our Wagering Policy), and will need to comply with our updated Skill Gaming Policy. In the event that we become aware of any violations of our policies, we retain the discretion to take action pursuant to such policies. best regards,

Hi Octavia, Provided that region content is in compliance with our existing terms of service and policies, an adult maturity rating would not affect the skill gaming region designation.

It appears that our response may have been taken out of context. A game of skill is defined as "a game, implemented through an Inworld object: 1) whose outcome is determined by skill and is not contingent, in whole or in material part, upon chance; 2) requires or permits the payment of Linden Dollars to play; 3) provides a payout in Linden Dollars; and 4) is legally authorized by applicable United States and international law. " Thank you,

Hi Sassy, The application fee is $100, and upon approval, license fees will be waived through the end of 2014. Following this initial period, a reasonable license fee will be assessed quarterly, but the exact amount is yet to be determined. When the quarterly license fees have been determined, we'll add this information to our FAQs.

Hi Yingzi, Skill gaming is defined as "a game, implemented through an Inworld object: 1) whose outcome is determined by skill and is not contingent, in whole or in material part, upon chance; 2) requires or permits the payment of Linden Dollars to play; 3) provides a payout in Linden Dollars; and 4) is legally authorized by applicable United States and international law. " Thank you,

Hi Phil, As mentioned previously, Second Life residents will need to make this determination on a case by case basis to the extent that they believe that their "sploders", contest boards, and other objects are deemed a game of skill (instead of chance which is still prohibited under our Wagering Policy), and will need to comply with our updated Skill Gaming Policy. Thank you!

Hi Phil, If the game permits pay-to-play, it would be subject to the Skill Gaming Policy. best regards,

Hi KT, Not at this moment, no. However we will maintain a list of Approved Participants, as well as a category for approved skill gaming regions on the Destination Guide. Thank you

Hi Samm, Please see my reply to Perrie here. Thank you and best regards!

Hi Tex, You are correct, in order to play you will need to have payment information on file in accordance with the updated Skill Gaming Policy. best regards,

Hi Freya, Objects unrelated to skill gaming must continue to be in compliance with our exisiting Terms of Service and Policies. Beginning August 1, 2014, if you become aware of any violations of the Skill Gaming Policy, please submit an abuse report with our support team. Thank you!

Hi Perrie, Second Life residents will need to make this determination on a case by case basis to the extent that they believe that their "sploders", contest boards, and other objects are deemed a game of skill (instead of chance which is still prohibited under our Wagering Policy), and will need to comply with our updated Skill Gaming Policy. regards,

Hi Anshe, To the extent that your activities would fall within the definition of "Operator", such activities would require a license. For more information on the destinction between a "Region Owner" and "Operator", please review the Skill Gaming Policy. best regards,

Hi Innula, Each application - including the legal opinion from your attorney - will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Please consider our Skill Gaming Policy and Skill Gaming Program Terms & Conditions in your and your attorney's evaluation of skill games you would like to submit for approval. Thank you!

Hi Tex! Great first question. You do not need to be a Premium Member to have payment information on file. The Skill Gaming regions will not be restricted to only Premium memberships. Thanks!

If you’ve read the blog, FAQs and Wiki documentation on our revised Skill Gaming Policy and have comments and/or questions, you can post them here. We’ll be keeping an eye on this forum thread regarding Skill Gaming.  

UPDATE: the deadline has been moved to September 1, 2014 (previously was August 1) Gambling is strictly prohibited in Second Life and operating, or participating in, a game of chance that provides a Linden Dollar payout is a violation of ourTerms of Service. However, games of skill are legally permitted in many jurisdictions, and we’ve seen that many Second Life users are interested in playing such games for Linden Dollars. Therefore we are updating our gaming policy in Second Life. The details of the revised policy can be found here, and this is a summary of how it will work: Skill games that offer Linden Dollar payouts will be allowed in Skill Gaming Regions only. This is a new region designation that will apply beginning August 1, 2014 September 1, 2014. Those Second Life residents who wish to convert their regions to Skill Gaming Regions can do so by contacting Linden Lab in accordance with Linden Lab’s Land Policy. Due to the additional administrative and compliance-related costs associated with these regions, the monthly maintenance fees will be greater than those for regular regions in Second Life. We will include Skill Gaming Regions as a new category in our Destination Guide (unless the owner requests its removal). As a resident, you will be able to check the setting of each region to verify that it has been recognized by Linden Lab for the placement, operation, and use of approved Skill Games. Only operators approved by Linden Lab will be allowed to run skill games that offer Linden Dollar payouts on Skill Gaming Regions. Those wishing to become approved operators can apply now. Due to processing and compliance-related costs associated with maintaining this program, there is a one-time nonrefundable application fee as well as a quarterly license fee (waived through December 31, 2014, upon approval of an application) for those designated as approved operators. We will maintain a public wiki page of operators. Creators of skill games that wish to make them available in Second Life may do so only through Skill Gaming Regions and only after the games have been approved by Linden Lab. Creators of skill games that offer Linden Dollar payouts can apply to become an approved creator and to have their games approved now. Due to processing and compliance-related costs associated with maintaining this program, there is a one-time nonrefundable application fee as well as a quarterly license fee (waived through December 31, 2014, upon approval of an application) for those designated as approved creators. We will maintain a public wiki page of approved creators and their approved games of skill. Access to Skill Gaming Regions will be restricted to Second Life users who are of sufficient age and are located in a jurisdiction that Linden Lab permits for this kind of online gaming activity. If you are in a permitted jurisdiction and you meet the relevant age requirements, you will be able to access these regions just like any in Second Life. If you are not eligible, you will receive an error message. However, you are responsible for knowing which jurisdictions are prohibited and the requisite ages of participation and not attempting to access a Skill Gaming Region if you do not qualify. Attempts to circumvent our controls will constitute a violation of our Skill Gaming Policy and Terms of Service. In summary, skill games that offer Linden Dollar payouts will be allowed in Second Life, but each game, its creator, its operator, and the region on which it is operated must be approved by Linden Lab. These changes are effective as of August 1, 2014 September 1, 2014, and applications for approved creators and approved operators are now being accepted at Echosign. If you live in a jurisdiction where gaming is permitted and you plan on playing these games in Skill Gaming Regions in Second Life, you should not need to do anything differently. However, adding payment information on file now is a good way to ensure you’re able to play as soon as Skill Gaming Regions are live. We understand that this updated policy may raise some questions, and so we’ve created an FAQ page to address what are likely to be the most common ones at this point. We’ll be sure to update that as needed and will keep an eye on the forums and other community discussion channels so that we can help clarify anything that might seem confusing as this update goes into effect.

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Psychotic Clown Photobomb" by Shalimar Poliatevska. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

As mentioned above by Ivan, there is a jira filed that can be seen here: https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/BUG-6608 A grid status blog here: http://status.secondlifegrid.net/2014/07/07/post2308/ And updates can be followed on the main grid status blog here: http://status.secondlifegrid.net The grid status blog will update once the unscheduled maintenance is completed. Thanks!

Hello, There is a jira filed that can be seen here: https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/BUG-6608 A grid status blog here: http://status.secondlifegrid.net/2014/07/07/post2308/ And updates can be followed on the main grid status blog here: http://status.secondlifegrid.net The grid status blog will update once the unscheduled maintenance is completed. Thanks!

Status on this can be tracked on the grid status blog here: http://status.secondlifegrid.net/ Here is the blog post mentioning this issue: http://status.secondlifegrid.net/2014/07/07/post2308/