Will Australian Law-Makers Spin Trouble for Jagex?

Federal Senator Nick Xenophon is no stranger to the fight against gambling. Some might say that it's his personal crusade in politics.  But until now his focus has been the big concerns, like betting shops and huge poker games.

Only now his attention has been caught by a series of high-profile stories involving young Runescape players. Huge bills have been run up on their parent's credit cards, as they spin the wheel for in-game profit.

In private correspondence, Xenophon's spokesperson Anna Gordon explained, "According to gambling research experts, fantasy-based games like Runescape are as addictive as poker machines because they operate on the same processes, especially as some games allow players to bet using real money through credit cards or PayPal.

"However, because any credits or ‘winnings’ can’t be cashed-out the games are exempt from Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act."

It's precisely this law which Xenophon is seeking to amend.  He will be introducing his proposal to his fellow legislators, when the Australian Parliament meets in February 2013.

To be fair, the majority of Runescape players probably care little for the wider question of gambling ethics. They're largely the kind of risk-takers who will frequently risk hard-won weaponry against a huge boss fight.  But Squeal of Fortune has wider implications to them.

It allows real world money to be used to effectively purchase experience and items. For the first time, the size of your wallet impacts upon the edge that you have in the gaming world.  The poor grind repetitive tasks in game-play, while the rich buy it with micro-transactions.  In a time of recession, this heightens the sense that it simply isn't just.

Which is why many turned to their governments for help.

The Interactive Gambling Act, in Australia, provides the framework within which companies can offer gambling services on-line.  If money can be won or lost, then it's covered by the legislation, but only if the rewards are real world.

Jagex have dodged this bullet by ensuring that all of the potential prizes in Squeal of Fortune can only be used within Runescape.  It may be an XP lamp, which boosts the player's skill abilities, or a weapon which gives an edge in combat.  But they are all fundamentally pixels. 

Anna Gordon continued, "The amendment proposed will mean that if actual money can be lost on the game it will be defined as a “gambling service” and therefore prohibited."

Jagex is likely to argue that no money is ever 'lost', because the player always wins something. It might be a relatively useless in-game item like a cabbage, but it's still a prize. This isn't a view shared by Federal Senator Nick Xenophon, who will be advising that these are precisely the kind of loopholes which have to be plugged.

These are big stakes for both parties.  If Xenophon is successful, then it's inconceivable that Jagex will side-step the problem by making Runescape unavailable in Australia.  That would be a massive player-base locked out and a hit to their profits which couldn't be absorbed.  Nor would they simply stop Squeal of Fortune being available in that country only. The logistics of altering the game code would be very cost prohibitive.

In short, if the feature can't be run in Australia, then it's unlikely to be included anywhere else.  It could well mean the end of the unpopular cash-cow for the whole of Runescape.