In a bid to attract new customers, Amazon recently announced a new program in which it would give customers 50 Amazon "coins" to use in playing games and for other purposes. The idea is sort of like what happens at the boardwalk in the summer or at the gaming tables in Las Vegas. Rather than playing with real money (and risking losing real money), gamers play with coins or chips with an artificial "value." It’s easier to lose 500 Amazon coins than it is to lose actual cash.
But in creating an artificial currency, and allowing it to be transferred and exchanged, retailers like Amazon may be getting themselves into potential legal trouble, writes Legal Columnist Mark Rasch. In fact, they may be making themselves into an illegal unregistered money transfer company or even an unlicensed bank. Such is the problem with digital "money."