Bryan Camp (Texas Tech) presents The Play’s the Thing II: The Taxation of Electronic Gaming at Indiana today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium hosted by Leandra Lederman:

This article proceeds as follows. Part I describes the world of electronic gaming, which
encompasses not only casual gaming on the internet but also electronic gaming in
casinos. Part II reviews the foundational concept of “gross income” to show how current
legal doctrine is influenced by both economic theory and the need for practical
accounting. Part III looks at the unsettled nature of current tax treatment of redeemable
game credits and critiques the current thinking expressed by the IRS, courts and
commentators. Part IV then defends the idea that gains received from electronic gaming
should properly be accounted for and taxed only when actually redeemed for cash or
cash-equivalent.

• Bryan Camp, The Play's the Thing: A Theory of Taxing Virtual Worlds, 59 Hastings L.J. 1 (2008)