What Happens In the Metaverse Stays in the Metaverse

The app Decentraland is buoyed by casinos offering users a chance at crypto wealth

- By Mark Milian

In one of the buzziest metaverses, Decentraland, visitors enter the virtual space through a web browser, choose an avatar, and travel to a vibrant digital hub where they can tour a replica of Sotheby’s London art gallery, attend a virtual Paris Hilton concert, or relax in a JPMorgan Chase & Co. lounge under a portrait of Jamie Dimon.

As it turns out, though, the place people most frequently visit is Decentraland’s casino. Inside, hundreds of people dressed in streetwear and sunglasses sit around (or hover above) poker tables, all rendered in low-figraphics. Every few seconds, the cha-ching! of a cash register and a burst of hand-clap emojis signal someone has won. To play, guests must buy (or borrow) a piece of the casino’s virtual swag—hat, sunglasses, shirt, cigar— that can later be sold for crypto currency. Players can use poker chips to upgrade the items and boost their value. The four poker rooms in Decentraland frequently host about half of the people in its metaverse at any given time.

Gambling has served as an accelerant for many technologies over the years, and the metaverse may be no different. But basing a business on gambling—or anything that looks like it—comes with a lot of risks. U.S. regulators have recently signaled that online betting and cryptocurrencies are two of their top priorities.