Here’s something new, an original crime: selling non-existent tokens to fund a non-existent casino in a virtual environment.
The online casino developer Sand Vegas Casino Club, based in Cyprus, has been ordered by Texas and Alabama securities regulators to cease selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs.) They allege the company was illegally selling unregistered securities and committing fraud.
The company allegedly offered thousands of Gambler and Golden Gambler NFTs in a “high-tech fraudulent securities offering” to raise money to fund a virtual casino in the metaverse, which is an internet-based virtual environment. They were promised profits of as much as $81,000 annually.
This is the first time any government authority has issued such an order. It is also a first for U.S. regulators seeking to impose order on NFTs, which are one-of-a-kind digital art that has no physical existence. Because NFTs are so new, they are a ripe environment for scam artists to take advantage of the unwary.
It is thought that this action by state authorities might create interest in the federal government. Especially so since NFTs are the rage among investors.
