Linden Lab, hallowed creator of the Second Life virtual world, has announced that all in-world casinos and miscellaneous gambling joints are herewith to be shut down. That means that the large chunk of users that enjoyed using in-world casinos and betting Linden Dollars on events both inside and outside the game world will now have nothing left to do.

Perhaps more to the point for Linden, the move will cut off the revenues earned from those owning Casino-style islands in the game, the owners of which are some of the top contributors to the Linden coffers through currency fees and land rental.

Online gambling is illegal in the States, and the FBI had been running an investigation into Second Life to determine if it was breaking any laws, so it’s good to see that the war on terrorist funding has not been in vain. Obviously.

No word on whether this will appease the FBI or whether they will demand arrests of either Linden staff or gamers. But don’t expect Linden to stand up for your privacy if they come after you – Linden’s new Terms of Service states they will comply with all subpoenas from law enforcement to give away as much information about your as the Feds require.

As one Second Lifer puts it, „Definately, no more sploders & raffle balls. Can also see prize pot games getting the ax because they select winners by random. Seems the only way to pick up a few L$ that hasn’t been nuked by LL is camping. I understand the policy, and I do agree with it for the most part, but it just seems like SL is being forced to taste more and more like tofu with every new policy… bland and flavorless.“