Comments on: Is buying WoW gold illegal?

By: SharpGuy

SharpGuy — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:13:33 +0000

Everyone that is answering no, is thinking you mean illegal as in against the law (as in drugs are illegal). That answer is no.

I think you are asking is it illegal by the game company, Blizzard. And that answer is Yes, it is against the ToS (Terms of Service). You risk getting banned if you get caught, but I dont think you will get caught. I did it ONE time a couple of years ago and nothing became of it (except some nice purple items).

By: JF546

JF546 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:36:19 +0000

It is “illegal” in the sense of World of Warcraft rules. Untimely life bans can be acquainted by gold selling. I’m going to urge you not to, as sometimes you can get scammed and that’s not good either. Bans aren’t good too, just putting that in there.

Please, don’t buy it, you’ll probably get in trouble anyway. And just to put it into real life perspective, are you really going to be happy wasting money on virtual gold in a year or two? And what if you keep needing more and more, and eventually you end up wasting tons of money on it?

Think about it buddy. Summary: It’s illegal.

By: Abroe

Abroe — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:00:48 +0000

its not Illegal. the Police will not arrest you if your found out. it is against world of war crafts terms of service and they can ban you. but if you are careful and don’t preach to the world you bout gold you will not get caught.

By: Kris L

Kris L — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:08:20 +0000

Paying real money for WoW gold is not a WoW sanctioned action … it’s not ‘illegal’ per se, but you could get that character or characters suspended if you buy gold from a third party.
If you want to join a guild, you may look for one that lets guild members get gold from their ‘bank accounts’ in exchange for other items that can be passed on to other player characters. This is the best way to get gold if you don’t feel good enough to ‘earn’ it. Another way is to ask where there are good ‘grinding areas’ where you can go to kill monsters that have gold and other treasure you can sell … go on the ‘chat’ line and ask, and you’ll get good answers at least 70% of the time.

By: Rhinestone Cowboy

Rhinestone Cowboy — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:35:20 +0000

I’m not sure about illegal, but I bet it’s against the contract of adhesion you or your ‘rents signed when he signed up to play the game.

But, if you think about it, the “gold” is proprietary interest of Blizzard. You don’t really own the “gold” or your carachter, but merely have a license to play a game that I’m sure Blizzard can cancel anytime.

Short answer; don;t do it. Plus, why wast real money on a pretend game?

By: Reigar

Reigar — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:49:07 +0000

yes, it is illegal, and unsafe to do, as some sellers do not often follow through with their own promise. its also quite easy to GET gold in WoW, you just need to know how.

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:31:22 +0000

Illegal as in against the law, then no. However buying anything from and outside source (Characters, gear, arena teams, and even gold) is against Blizzards terms of use, and you can have your account suspended and possibly banned permanently.

By: Onyx Fire

Onyx Fire — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:56:11 +0000

It is not illegal, but I doubt any action at all would be taken if it was. However yes you do risk getting your account banned.

By: Pinkly Smooth

Pinkly Smooth — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:13:41 +0000

No but it is considered digital property and they will cancel your account, and they can try to sue you by claiming digital property, but they probably won’t because that is time consuming.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:23:30 +0000

Yes it is against WoW TOS

Ownership/Selling of the Account or Virtual Items.

Blizzard does not recognize the transfer of WoW Accounts or Blizzard Accounts (each an “Account”). You may not purchase, sell, gift or trade any Account, or offer to purchase, sell, gift or trade any Account, and any such attempt shall be null and void. Blizzard owns, has licensed, or otherwise has rights to all of the content that appears in the Game. You agree that you have no right or title in or to any such content, including without limitation the virtual goods or currency appearing or originating in the Game, or any other attributes associated with the Account or stored on the Service. Blizzard does not recognize any purported transfers of virtual property executed outside of the Game, or the purported sale, gift or trade in the “real world” of anything that appears or originates in the Game. Accordingly, you may not sell in-game items or currency for “real” money, or exchange those items or currency for value outside of the Game.