Chinese Gov't Addresses Gold Farming

The people in charge of the official economy of China have finally taken notice of the unofficial economy that gamers have been talking about for years.  Late last month, China passed new regulations that forbid real world shopkeepers, waiters, and customers from treating monies used in online RPGs such as gil, kamas, and L$, as if they were yuan. 

The move is a shocking confirmation of the degree to which Chinese businesses take advantage of virtual exchange systems.  The law doesn't ban buying virtual currency, it bans converting that virtual money back into Chinese legal tender.  According to a CNN story, the Chinese government fears that black market economies accepting virtual tender could damage the sanctioned economy. 

Various estimates about the health of the global black market for in-game currency have reached as high as one billion dollars yearly, with perhaps 80% of it coming from China.  If the portion of the market occupied by Chinese companies is anywhere near that large, and enforcement is successful, the price of purchasing in-game money could skyrocket. 

However, the possibility exists for Chinese companies to wash transactions overseas and continue exploiting laborers.  If they can somehow disrupt the digital paper trail linking China-based players reaping gold, and that gold being transferred after an Internet purchase, all this buzz about the death of gold farming, and of relief for the automatically-vilified Chinese player, might be exaggerated.

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