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Underground Gambling Concerns

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Dec 2020

Franquito

Posts: 10 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I am writing this forum post to express my strong disagreement with Jagex's handling of underground gambling within the Runescape community. When the Duel Arena was removed, I initially believed that Jagex was taking a stand against the toxic behavior associated with the gambling community. However, recent revelations suggest that Jagex has merely pushed this community underground, allowing one of their mods to regulate the black market industry.

Removing the Duel Arena, which facilitated safe stakes between players, and replacing it with an underground black market that Jagex oversees to avoid regulatory scrutiny is a terrible idea. We are already witnessing the damage caused by black market gambling on our community, as seen in the recent drama between DeathMatching CCs that has spilled over into the wider Runescape community.

Jagex must either reimplement the Duel Arena, providing a safe and fair way for players to engage in high stakes gambling, or completely ban all players who try to circumvent the gambling restrictions. It is unacceptable to allow one of their own employees to hang out and help moderate these underground gambling sites. As the toy horsey says, "Just say neigh to gambling," but is Jagex too afraid of losing their toxic gambling community to put an end to this?

Furthermore, the special relationships between Jagex and certain players, which grant them privileges that others do not have, such as initiating investigations or bans against players they dislike, raise concerns about account safety. How can players feel secure that their accounts will not be wrongly targeted under these circumstances?

Jagex needs to engage in some serious soul searching and reevaluate their approach to gambling and account safety within the game. As a community, we must voice our concerns and hold Jagex accountable for creating a fair and enjoyable gaming experience for everyone.

19-Apr-2023 15:42:29

Miu

Posts: 16,955 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

There is no doubt in my mind that Jagex is not actually concerned about staking. They only removed the Duel Arena to remove official support for it. This is so that they don't get regulated, as some countries are enacting laws against gambling and similar in games. It is a pre-emptive attempt to avoid regulation and fines.

Removing the Duel Arena actually opens up stakers to many more scams, since it's now underground.

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19-Apr-2023 17:26:12

Dec 2020

Franquito

Posts: 10 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I wholeheartedly agree that Jagex's actions appear to be an attempt to evade regulatory scrutiny. If they were genuinely committed to combating issues like real-world trading (RWT), doxing, hacking, and scamming, they would not be endorsing underground player-run communities that likely have even more of these problems than when there was an officially sanctioned area for this type of gameplay.

Jagex's decision to avoid regulators is alarmingly dangerous, especially when we consider that gambling regulations are put in place to protect vulnerable individuals, such as children and those struggling with addiction. It is no secret that a significant portion of the gambling community in Runescape isn't just staking in-game gold; they are using it as an intermediary for their real-world currency of choice. Countless people have lost thousands of real-world dollars by trading Runescape gold to fuel their addictive behaviors.

It appears that Jagex is more concerned with profiting from people's addictions and avoiding regulation than genuinely looking out for the well-being of their player base. This approach not only undermines the trust players have in the company but also tarnishes the gaming experience for those who play the game for enjoyment and social interaction. Jagex must reevaluate their priorities and focus on creating a safer and fairer environment for their players, rather than trying to dodge regulatory oversight.

As players who are disappointed with Jagex's handling of this situation, it's crucial for us to reevaluate our relationship with a company that seemingly doesn't prioritize our best interests. We must consider whether continuing to support and invest time and money into their games is the right decision when there are alternatives that may better align with our values and expectations.

It's worth mentioning that the original creators of RuneScape are currently working on a new MMORPG, which could potentially offer a better player experience.

19-Apr-2023 17:59:51

1st Conquest

Posts: 565 Steel Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I honestly don't know what is going on with the middleman deatmatching in osrs, I don't really play osrs, but 1 group seems to have build a monopoly and get away with it. I'm pretty sure Jagex is already aware of the specific players involved in all this controversy and I won't bother naming them. If possible it would be nice to get a clear official statement when possible. I've gone from an activity player to an inactive player.

19-Apr-2023 23:00:07

333333333

Posts: 36,620 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Why does people care for virtual items???

19-Apr-2023 23:06:41

Jan 2015

Tenebri

Posts: 39,236 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

they didnt remove duel arena to replace it with underground gambling. technically the underground gambling was there. and it was heavily used in the duel arena. the duel arena as you described it, was not the case, the duel arena was a safer harder to detect area for wealth transfer, it would be a backlash against jagex keeping it.
the duel arena was a cess pool of illegal activity. them removing it helped loads to combat the illegal activity in the game.


in regards to the bots that gamble. what do you think can actually be done?

these bots are literally the hardest to get rid of. there is no requirement at all to be one. when one gets banned another 3 will arrive

when a player mod is in view of them, they are scripted to teleport away instantly.

what keeps them here is players using them, that is the hardest pill to swallow. its why they arent in rs3 as people in rs3 dont do that. so there arent gambling bots there.

the easiest way to stop these bots. is to get the community to stop bloody using them!

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20-Apr-2023 01:35:02

Dec 2020

Franquito

Posts: 10 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"in regards to the bots that gamble. what do you think can actually be done?

these bots are literally the hardest to get rid of. there is no requirement at all to be one. when one gets banned another 3 will arrive"

In response to your post, I understand that the discussion wasn't specifically about the level 3 gambling bots. However, since you brought them up, I will address the issue. I think that Jagex should be able to find more effective ways to tackle these bots, especially considering their resources and expertise. However, they have no interest in doing this as those bots make them money.

While I'm not a Jagex employee, I believe there are numerous potential solutions that could help mitigate the problem of these specific bots. For example, implementing restrictions on level 3 accounts with no stats and no quests, that limit the number of messages they can send per hour in the GE, could be a simple yet effective way to curb their activity.

This is just one potential solution, that I came up with as a player, and doesn't even involve complex bot detection methods, which Jagex should be more than capable of developing. It seems reasonable to expect that Jagex could prioritize tackling bot-related issues if they genuinely wanted to address the problem.

Furthermore, it's important to consider the role that players have in perpetuating the issue, as you mentioned. If the community were to stop engaging with these bots, their prevalence would likely decrease. However, it's also essential for Jagex to take responsibility for maintaining a fair and enjoyable gaming environment for its players, and that includes addressing bot-related concerns.

We do after-all, pay a monthly subscription fee, which is meant to not only create new content but also maintain a fair and enjoyable gaming environment for the players. Jagex is failing to do this on many levels.

20-Apr-2023 02:46:33

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