Alan C. Posted June 30, 2013 Posted June 30, 2013 ”LAN party tax” hits Swedish gamers Gamers in Sweden suffer a hard financial blow as authorities decide to tax so-called LAN parties. From now on, organizers of multiplayer get-togethers will be forced to pay a fee of up to $5,000 in order to receive a "permit" to connect PCs and video game consoles for gaming purposes. The ruling was made by the Gambling Board, the supervisory authority for gambling and lottery, in accordance with the liberal government’s revised slot machine regulation of last year. The thriving gaming culture in Sweden – which hosts DreamHack, the biggest LAN party in the world – is expected to be struck hard by the decision. Video games, too, are included under the new authorization. ”In the eyes of the law, these are slot machines. There is no difference,” Johan Röhr, general counsel at the Gambling Board, told the computer magazine M3. According to Röhr, the new rules do not apply to, for instance, Internet cafes, where computers are mainly connected for purposes other than gaming. In addition to the new tax, LAN organizers may be forced to pay an extra inspection fee should the Gambling Board decide to supervise the party.
Lowe D Posted June 30, 2013 Posted June 30, 2013 I'm reminded of something Steve Summerstone said in a podcast: a possible reason for marijuana's illegality was that it does not increase worker productivity, whereas coffee does. LAN parties and video game culture do not help increase productivity, especially among young men with technical skills, which today is basically the only class that creates wealth. You might make a similar argument around online poker, in the States.
Andersfilosof Posted June 30, 2013 Posted June 30, 2013 Thought you owned your computer and your internet? Wrong[|-)]
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