The Singapore "Anti-Lockbox Law" Won't Actually Affect Lockboxes

We've got an update on that Remote Gambling Bill in Singapore we discussed last week. In brief, it passed, but it won't affect video games -- for now.

Games in Asia is reporting that "the bill will not affect video games as long as players cannot convert in-game credits or tokens for money or real merchandise outside the game." That jives pretty well with one of the "loopholes" we posited that allows such practices to circumvent gambling laws: that the money only flows from player to developer and never in reverse. In other words, you can buy something that you might convert into cash, but you'll get that cash from a third party, like another player, and not the game's maker. That's different from, say, buying a lottery ticket or gambling at a casino. If you win, the lottery commission or casino itself pays you.

However, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs spoke some dark words, saying "What may be benign today may appear more sinister tomorrow." Somebody oil up that slippery slope...