> Keep in mind here that, if he could "steal" stuff in the game, it's because the game is DESIGNED that way. In many online games, being able to steal things is simply part of the game. The fact that his in-game actions allow him to make money doesn't change this fact. It's similar to winning money in poker -- it isn't stealing the money if the person you won it from wagered it willingly.

Quite right, but the wrong angle. Regular law doesn't apply in the wonderful otherworld of the MMO, in which wandering around with sharpened weapons and setting people on fire are actively encouraged. If something is possible in the game world, the designers are implicitly stating that you're OK to go ahead and do it.

The problem comes around the edges. If I broke into someone's account and messed around, then I've done something literally illegal entirely outside of the game world. If, as in a similar case a while ago, I sneak into someone's account and sell off their game-expensive gear, then I'm guilty.

(As an aside, something doesn't have to be tangible to be stolen. It just has to be regarded as someone else's property.)

The victims in this case had their stuff stolen, but by playing the game they acknowledged that their in-game stuff may be stolen.

(EVE Online takes this idea to the extreme, allowing players full freedom to bring down player-led governments and so on. You don't hear them complaining for exactly the reason that they know it's part of the game.)

The issue here is really one of bots. Most MMOs don't allow you to use them, and I imagine this one would be the same. In that case, his using a bot would mean he broke the contract. That would be the only thing he did wrong, and I can't quite see that being an arrestable offence.