Risks of financial transactions in online games and countermeasures

As the popularity of online games increases, the number of items and money transactions used within the game naturally increases. However, most game companies restrict cash transactions of game items, money, and accounts between users according to their terms and conditions. If caught, you may be subject to sanctions such as permanent account suspension.

The reason game companies prevent the cashing of in-game assets is to avoid encouraging ‘speculative behavior.’ In particular, according to the Game Industry Act, game-related business operators must not allow or encourage gambling using games. This is because exchanging game money for cash induces excessive gambling and harms a healthy gaming culture.

As such, monetary transactions within online games are risky. Although transactions between individuals may not be illegal in themselves, they are likely to be subject to sanctions because they violate the game company's terms and conditions. In particular, caution is required as you may be punished for fraud if you gain profits through deception during the transaction process.

Let's look at a case I was in charge of in this regard. The client, the suspect, was a user who enjoyed playing online RPG games and often sold game money to other users for cash. One day, the suspect made a deal with someone he met through an anonymous chat room. The other party transferred approximately 20 million won in cash to the suspect and received game money.

However, the other party's game account was permanently suspended due to the game's terms and conditions, which state that illegal acquisition of game money can result in sanctions such as account blocking. According to this policy, the other side, which had about 100 million won in game money and items tied up in the game, ended up making absurd demands on the suspect. He insisted on compensation in cash for 100 million won, the amount of game money tied up in his account.

When the suspect refused to comply with the ridiculous demand, the other party eventually sued the suspect for fraud. To resolve the case, the first thing I did was check the game terms and conditions. According to the terms and conditions, the game company owns the cyber assets traded between the complainant and the suspect, so it was difficult to say that there was an objective transfer of value based on social norms. In addition, the complainant also knew that the use of game money could be suspended during cash transactions, so it could not be said that the suspect deceived the complainant. Thanks to explaining these legal aspects to the police, this case was able to be safely concluded without being sent to the police.

Incidents related to virtual spaces such as games are constantly increasing. You may encounter unexpected disputes during the transaction process, but it may also happen that you do not receive legal protection. Therefore, users considering financial transactions within online games should be aware of the risks and make decisions based on sufficient information, and if they are already involved in a dispute, it is recommended that they seek out an expert who has handled many related cases.
 

Small Business Team

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