Click to Win: The Risks and Rewards of Pay-to-Play Digital Games of Skill or Chance Jimmy

摘要

It is hard to go on Facebook these days without see ing your friends tout their latest record point total on Bejeweled Blitz or their bountiful crop harvest on Farmville. With the rise of social media, casual games have added to the overall growth of online videogames. These games have also progressively moved to smart phones, mobile devices, and now to slate computers like Apple's iPad.Who knew that a mobile game about Angry Birds could inspire devoted play and colorful Halloween costumes? Casual gamers play mostly for pride, but there is a growing trend towards applications (some of which require money or other consideration from entrants) that award players money or prizes. Text-to-win mobile phone sweepstakes are already common. The Vir gin Group now even operates an Internet videogame tournament business, which allows gamers to win cash prizes by beating other players in videogames. What if a big leap further was taken one day so that users could wager and win money in this world of digital games? Imagine taking bets on whether you can beat someone else or the computer in a test of online Scrabble. Or picture virtual currency from casual games like Farm ville being earned and cashed into real dollars.The pos sibilities are endless, leading many game developers to see big future dollar signs from pay-to-play games on digital platforms.