Does Gambling Require Skill

• Does Gambling Require Skill Training
• Does Gambling Take Skill

Wagering and gaming:

Does Gambling Require Skill Training

• Skill Gaming Policy

Billing issues:

Your choice of luck or skill-based gambling depends solely on your goals. Do you want to entertain for a while or you're looking for long-term profits?

Account and tax documentation FAQs:

Does Gambling Take Skill

• Does Every State Allow People to Gamble on Games of Skill? Whether or not people can gamble on games of skill varies from state to state. Furthermore, the importance of the element of skill in determining the legality of a game varies by state. Some states require that skill be the deciding factor in the outcome of the game.
• Texas law does not allow for casinos. The gambling law specifically prohibits 'keeping a gambling place.' However, Native American lands are not subject to the same state gambling laws, and there is at least one legal casino in Texas on native lands. Social Gambling in Texas. One big exception in Texas gambling laws is social gambling.

Other:

This agreement (the “Skill Gaming Policy”) describes the terms on which Linden Research, Inc. (“Linden Lab”) offers you access to Skill Gaming (as defined below) in Second Life. This offer is conditioned on your agreement to all of the terms and conditions contained in this Gaming Policy and Linden Lab’s Terms of Service (the “Terms of Service”), including the policies and terms linked to or otherwise referenced in this Skill Gaming Policy or the Terms of Service, all of which are hereby incorporated into this Skill Gaming Policy.

By operating, accessing, using, or participating in Skill Gaming in Second Life (including permitting others to operate Skill Gaming in a region in which you control), you agree to and accept this Skill Gaming Policy, including all policies and terms linked to or otherwise referenced herein. If you do not so agree, you decline this Skill Gaming Policy, in which case you are prohibited from operating, accessing, using, and participating in Skill Gaming.

1. Defined Terms
   • “Creator” shall mean a Second Life resident recognized by Linden Lab through the Skill Gaming application process as the creator of an approved Skill Game, in accordance with Linden Lab’s requirements.
   • “Gaming Resident” shall mean a Second Life resident identified as eligible to participate in Skill Gaming upon entry to a Skill Gaming Region.
   • “Inworld” shall mean within the Second Life three-dimensional virtual world environment.
   • “License” shall mean permission from Linden Lab to participate in the Skill Gaming Region as a Creator or Operator. Permission must be obtained through the Skill Gaming application process.
   • “Operator” shall mean a Second Life resident recognized by Linden Lab through the Skill Gaming application process to place and operate approved Skill Game(s) in a Skill Gaming Region, in accordance with Linden Lab’s requirements.
   • “Region Owner” shall mean a Second Life resident who licenses Inworld land from Linden Lab.
   • “Skill Game” or “Skill Gaming” shall mean 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. Games in which Second Life residents do not pay to play are not within the scope of this Skill Gaming Policy. “Skill Games” are not intended to include and shall not include “gambling” as defined by applicable United States and international law.
   • “Skill Gaming Region” shall mean a Second Life Full Region (65,536 sqm) recognized by Linden Lab for the placement, operation and use of approved Skill Games.
2. Gaming Residents
   1. Should you wish to participate in Skill Gaming in Second Life, you represent and agree that you: (i) are at least nineteen (19) years of age; (ii) have the legal authority to agree to this Skill Gaming Policy; (iii) reside in, and are accessing a Skill Gaming Region from, a jurisdiction in which participation in Skill Gaming is legally authorized; and (iv) are of legal age to participate in Skill Gaming in your jurisdiction.
   2. In order to enter a Skill Gaming Region, you must establish and maintain a Second Life account with accurate, current and complete information about yourself, including a valid payment method. Any Skill Gaming conducted in a Second Life region that has not been recognized as a Skill Gaming Region is not permitted.
   3. If you fail to satisfy any of these requirements, you are not permitted to enter any Skill Gaming Regions.
3. Operators
   1. Should you wish to operate Skill Games in a Skill Gaming Region in Second Life, you represent and agree that you: (i) have received, and paid for, an Operator License from Linden Lab through the Skill Gaming application process; (ii) will only operate Skill Games that have been approved by Linden Lab through the Skill Gaming application process; (iii) will abide by, and remain in full compliance with, the Skill Gaming Program Terms and Conditions; and (iv) will maintain accurate, current and complete information about yourself, your Skill Games, and your Skill Gaming Regions through your Second Life account and the Skill Gaming application process.
   2. If you fail to satisfy any of these requirements, you are not permitted to operate Skill Gaming Regions or Skill Games within Second Life.
4. Creators
   1. Should you wish to create a Skill Game for use in Second Life, you represent and agree that you: (i) have received, and paid for, a Creator License from Linden Lab through the Skill Gaming application process; (ii) will only offer Skill Games that have been approved by Linden Lab through the Skill Gaming application process; (iii) will abide by, and remain in full compliance with, the Skill Gaming Program Terms and Conditions; and (iv) will maintain accurate, current and complete information about yourself and your Skill Games through your Second Life account and the Skill Gaming application process.
   2. Each Creator shall:
      1. Ensure that “[slgaming]” will be included as a prefix in the root object name field of each Skill Game;
      2. Ensure that the “llTransferLindenDollars” Linden Scripting Language function will be used for all outgoing Linden Dollar transactions for each Skill Game; and
      3. Verify that each purchaser of its approved Skill Games has been approved by Linden Lab as an Operator through the Skill Gaming application process. Linden Lab will maintain a list of Operators.
   3. If you fail to satisfy any of these requirements, your Skill Games will not be permitted for placement on any Skill Gaming Regions.
5. Skill Gaming Regions
   1. Each Region Owner who wishes to designate Inworld land as a Skill Gaming Region shall contact Linden Lab in accordance with its Buying Land policy. A premium shall be added to the monthly tier of each Skill Gaming Region to compensate Linden Lab for the additional infrastructure to support the Skill Gaming program (the “Region Fee”). For avoidance of doubt, any Second Life region that is authorized as a Skill Gaming Region shall be charged the full Region Fee for a given month, even if it was not approved as a Skill Gaming Region for the entire month. The responsibility for payment of the Region Fee remains with the Region Owner.
   2. Each Skill Gaming Region must be a Full Region in Second Life (65,536 sqm). For avoidance of doubt, the full Region Fee will apply even if Skill Gaming is not operated in the entire Skill Gaming Region.
   3. Each Region Owner of a Skill Gaming Region assumes responsibility for verifying that all Skill Games operated in its Skill Gaming Region are operated by Operators approved by Linden Lab through the Skill Gaming application process. Linden Lab will maintain a list of Operators.
   4. There shall be a limit of six (6) Operators per Skill Gaming Region.
6. Prohibited Jurisdictions
   1. Second Life residents who reside, or are physically located, in prohibited states are not permitted to access Skill Gaming Regions (“Prohibited Jurisdictions”). Knowing circumvention of those restrictions by a Second Life resident, Region Owner, Operator, or Creator shall constitute a violation of this Skill Gaming Policy.
   2. The determination of Prohibited Jurisdictions as set out in this Section 6 reflects a policy decision by Linden Lab and should not be regarded or relied upon by Second Life residents, Region Owners, Operators, Creators or third parties as a determination of the legality of any particular Skill Game or Skill Gaming Region in any particular jurisdiction (whether within or outside the United States). Residents who choose to participate in Skill Gaming are representing and warranting that their conduct is lawful in the jurisdiction in which they are located.
   3. Linden Lab reserves the right to amend the list of Prohibited Jurisdictions in its sole discretion and immediately at any time.
7. General Terms and Conditions
   1. The only recognized means for operating a Skill Gaming Region is through the Skill Gaming Program. Linden Lab may allow certain third parties to operate a Skill Gaming Region (each an “Operator,” as further defined above) in accordance with the Skill Gaming Program Terms and Conditions. All Skill Gaming in a Skill Gaming Region shall be conducted by an Operator.
   2. Skill Gaming is not permitted in the Second Life area in which Linden Lab is the estate owner (the “Mainland”).
   3. It shall be a violation of this Skill Gaming Policy to create, operate, or offer Skill Games in Second Life without a License or outside an approved Skill Gaming Region, or to circumvent the prohibitions set out in Section 6.
   4. It shall be a violation of this Skill Gaming Policy to create, operate, offer or participate in a sports book or sports betting on actual sporting events in Second Life. This prohibition does not apply to fantasy sports that are lawful under applicable United States and international law.
   5. It shall be a violation of this Skill Gaming Policy to create, operate, offer or participate in activities that are prohibited or require a governmental license or other approval under any applicable United States or international law.
   6. Linden Lab reserves the right, but not the obligation, to monitor and enforce this Skill Gaming Policy. If you violate this Skill Gaming Policy, in its sole discretion, Linden Lab may:
      1. Remove all related objects or regions from Second Life;
      2. Suspend or terminate your account(s) and any applicable License(s) without refund or payment;
      3. Suspend or terminate the account(s) and any applicable License(s) of any party associated with, or related to, your violations of this Skill Gaming Policy;
      4. Withhold and confiscate or otherwise dispose of any funds associated with the violative activity; and/or
      5. Report any relevant details, including user information, to authorities and financial institutions.

On Tuesday May 6, PBJ Games set out to completely disrupt the market of online skill gaming with the launch of Dollar Candy, an HTML5 app. The app makes legal, 60-second skill games accessible to the gambling-loving masses across major mobile and tablet devices.

Online gambling has long been a hot-ticket item for the political world, but skill gaming – playing games of skill for money – hasn't been as big of an issue. As a result, the industry amassed $671 million in 2013 alone and is projected to haul in $3 billion by 2017. Skill gaming distinguishes itself from gambling in that skill gamers win based on skill while gamblers win based on luck; while online gambling is legal in only three US states, online skill gambling is legal in 36 different states.

“Until now, the skill gaming market has been dominated by a narrow niche group of specialized gamers who invest hours in learning and mastering skill games that generally require a PC to play and aren’t accessible on all devices. Furthermore, the ultra-competitive skill gaming world is notoriously hostile to ‘newbies' and susceptible to computerized cheating,” says Ian Ippolito, CEO of PJB Games.

Dollar Candy, then, is designed to be learned in as little as 20 seconds, take only 60 seconds to play, and resist spam robo-cheaters since it relies on distinctly human reasoning and skill sets. Additionally, traditional PC skill games require a 15 to 45 percent fee on payouts while Dollar Candy’s fee is only 10 to 11 percent. According to their data, 3 out of every 4 Dollar Candy players either make money or break even.

“Before, real money skill games were only accessible to a small niche group of gamers willing to invest hours of time to learn and put up with substantial quality and accessibility issues,” says Ippolito.

It begs the question, though: how is the element of luck removed from Dollar Candy? First, all players in a tournament receive the exact same game board, which eliminates the ‘luck of the draw' found in card and video games.

Further, no random events occur to individuals during gameplay, which prevents lucky or unlucky breaks. Additionally, no player is allowed to purchase power-ups or any special gameplay advantages over others.

So, check out the US map that PBJ Games has drawn up, and if your state is colored in green, you're good to go for some skill-based gambling. If your state is grey, contact your local lawmakers and make a push to legalize money skill-gaming. In the mean time, I'm going to kick back and win some ca$h.