When is a Raffle Considered Gambling?
by Damien Barrett 
Jan 22nd 2006 at 12:00PM
A guild on Lightbringer decided to start holding different raffles to help
increase the War Effort to get the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj open. They were offering great prizes and gold from their guild
vault for people who were contributing materials to the Effort and it appeared to be working, as their server began to
rise in the rankings. Then a Blizzard Game Master
(GM) sent the raffle organizer an in-game mail saying that what they were doing was against Blizzard game policy since
it was a form of gambling.In the end, the GM actually ended up placing a warning on the guild leader's account for performing illegal gambling.
My take on this? Blizzard is making a mistake. As much as I despised the casinos that were available early in the game and was extremely pleased to see them go, I think Blizzard is significantly over-reacting to this guild's attempts to make the new game content more interesting. While their raffle may be able to be defined as gambling by its literal definition, I really don't see a problem with how they're running the raffle. It's helping their server achieve a goal, providing a better incentive to participate in the War Effort, and increasing teamwork on the server--something that'll be sorely needed once the Gates are opened.
There's still no official word from Blizzard (a blue post), but I'll be eagerly watching this thread for an explanation (or apology?).
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Events, Guilds, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
forzaq8 Jan 22nd 2006 1:35PM
there is a lot of other servers running raffles and promising a looting spree in MC and we didn't hear they got in trouble
maybe its a problem of how they ran the raffle ?
A_B Jan 22nd 2006 1:55PM
Under most state laws, a raffle is a permitted form of gambling when it is used to support a non-profit organization or other charitable institution.
In this case, it sounds like the guild is performing a not-for-profit activity in attempting to increase the amount of materials collected and not simply to increase the "profits" of the guild. Therefore, it would appear to be what is normally exempted under state law.
To be clear, Blizzard can do what they want. It's their game and they can ignore all the reasons non-profits are allowed to conduct raffles, which are in fact a form of gambling.
But, it does appear that their blanket exclusion of all forms of gambling has resulted in a knee-jerk reaction in this case.
rhys Jan 22nd 2006 4:33PM
"This is not the appropriate avenue for an appeal. However, this particular case is being reviewed by the appropriate parties."
Baron Samedi Jan 22nd 2006 7:13PM
If Blizzard uses sucha broad definition of gambling, could one consider killing a mob a form of gambling as well? Or placing an item for sale on the AH?
Also, I wonder about these companies claiming ownership over not only the content they generate, but the content/actions of all users on the system. At what point do users of the system gain rights as well? There's a limit to what can be done even in a private establishment IRL. Would the same rules apply to a virtual establishment?
RighteousDork Jan 23rd 2006 10:03AM
For a company that doesn't seem to take much of a stance on people selling gold on eBay and through other sites, I'm surprised to see them drop the hammer so hard on this. "Illegal gambling" seems kind of harsh. This is all being done within the parameters of the game. I don't see what the big deal is. Characters should be allowed to trade whatever they want within the confines of the game. This is like banning the guy on my server who likes to play hide and seek and gives money to the first person who finds him. I'm hoping this was nothing more than a GM getting a little too sensitive about the subject. Does anyone remember reading anything about this in the EULA?
phix Jan 23rd 2006 11:21AM
Killing a mob is a form of murder, and all witnesses should be brought before a trial by jury.
OMFG ITS A GAME, GET OVER IT BLIZZARD, WAY TO REALLY LAME UP THE GAME.
Its absolutly not a form of gambeling, Why do you have auctions then, omg this makes me so pissed off. You can bid on items in auctions. The auctions them selfs are a gamble, now if only i started to win i would think it was different, but all i do is lose money.