Virtual Currency Systems: MMOs and Sweepstakes Casinos Compared

Any sweepstakes casino comparison is bound to at some point come up with a fascinating issue in the minds of game creators; what is the difference in the architecture of the virtual currency utilized on sweepstakes websites versus the economies (the systems) which have driven massive multi-player online gaming communities for decades? They appear to be very much alike. Players create and expend virtual currency, players can purchase premium currency, and the platform regulates supply. However, the legal constraints, the ways in which redemptions occur, and the fraud risk issues under the hood are sufficiently disparate as to necessitate an engineer to understand specifically when the similarities cease.

Where the Two Systems Actually Overlap

MMOs and sweepstakes casinos share much more similarities in their back-end architecture than most people who do not work within these industries would assume. Both represent closed economies; each of which has the ability to control the issuing of its own currency and dictate the manner in which currency may be earned, used (spent), and transferred. The primary means by which each type of platform keeps players engaged is through currency-based engagement mechanisms using accumulation loops designed to keep users engaged based upon the number of hours users spend at the platform. Finally, because both platforms deal with large volumes of user transactions, each must implement robust systems capable of identifying and preventing economy abuses.

Additionally, the psychological underpinnings of the two models are very similar. Even though earned currency and purchased currency are ultimately interchangeable and therefore functionally equivalent, there exists a psychological difference between them that is exploited by both types of platforms. An example illustrating this principle is an MMO. A player who has spent hours farming gold views his gold as having a different value than a player who has acquired the same quantity of gold via purchase. Similarly, a sweepstakes platform exploits the same principle when it bundles sweeps coins as a “bonus” with gold coin purchases. While the addition of sweeps coins adds perceived additional value to the platform’s products, it does so without compromising the fundamental legal structure required to maintain the model.

From a purely back-end architecture perspective, the commonalities between MMOs and sweepstakes casino platforms include:

• Wallet Systems: to track the balance, transaction history and bonuses for all currencies used by users
• Economy Balancing Tools: to allow operators to adjust earn-rates, spend-costs and promotional-distributions
• Rate Limiting: to limit the rate at which users may acquire new currency in order to prevent exploit-driven inflation
• Logging Infrastructure: sufficient to reconstruct any transaction in the event of a potential dispute
• Anti-Cheat/Anti-Abuse Detection Systems: to detect both automated exploitation attempts and manually perpetrated forms of fraud

System Architecture Comparison

The Free Entry Requirement: No MMO Equivalent

The most significant architectural differences of the two systems are none which MMO’s have ever encountered before. In fact, every sweepstakes based casino platform is compelled by law to make available a fully-functional and completely-accessible method for players to receive sweeps coins with out having to pay for them. The provision of a “free-entry” system into a sweepstakes-based casino is NOT an option; it is mandatory. As such, developing the free-entry system is non-negotiable if you plan to develop a successful sweepstakes casino.

Fraud Patterns and What They Require

Both platforms have been vulnerable to fraud; however, due to differing types of fraud being committed on each type of platform, each will likely necessitate unique fraud-detection strategies. In addition to the typical MMO fraud mechanisms (i.e., account compromises, duplicate items, real-money transactions outside of the platform, etc.), this form of fraud also includes “botting” by creating characters to accumulate currency within an online game. As such, the primary impact of MMO fraud is often limited to disrupting economy balance and/or altering player experiences.

In contrast, sweepstakes casino fraud attacks the redemption process. Sweepstakes casinos offer promotions in the form of bonus sweeps coins. Fraudulent activity involving these promotional sweeps coins occurs when individuals utilize account creation methods to acquire numerous accounts and redeem the promotional sweeps coins associated with each account. Another method used to obtain sweeps coins involves identity theft during the Know Your Customer (KYC) registration phase. Finally, while less commonly seen than other forms of fraud, coordinated redemptions occur as well. These are attempts to redeem sweeps coins accumulated through abuse into real money. Due to the fact that the financial implications associated with sweepstakes casino fraud are significantly greater than those associated with MMO economies; therefore, the required scope of the detection and prevention systems as well as completeness of audit trails should similarly increase.

What Developers Moving Between These Spaces Should Know

As an MMO developer tasked with contributing to a sweepstakes casino build your economy architecture will initially feel similar (wallets, account balance, transaction history, etc., also your experience in configuring earn rates). However, the unknown aspects are those that hold some form of legality; namely: a free-entry method, two-tiered currency model for eligible prizes, Know Your Customer (“KYC”) and redemptions process, and compliance logging requirements. Those elements are not fringe conditions to be addressed after development begins. Rather they are key design elements that dictate how the overall system architecture develops. Developers who have successfully integrated compliant designs for their sweepstakes do not view sweepstakes as something that constrains or limits their ability to develop a robust economy within a game. Instead, it is part of the original architectural discussion. That perspective change regarding where a developer comes from (i.e., MMO vs. sweepstakes) is likely the biggest mindset change that developers transitioning from MMO type projects to developing games that include sweepstakes elements need to be aware of.