Legitimacy of purchasing the game currency of “buy path of exile 2 currency” is very dissimilar due to the geographical variation. In the European Union, by virtue of Section 3(2) of the Digital Services Act, the purchase of virtual assets is subject to a 21% value-added tax (Germany) or a 23% digital tax (France). But in 2023, the Berlin District Court decided that game currency qualifies as a “digital service” and not a commodity. Player “DerKrieger” was charged €388.5 and a penalty fee of €77 for failing to report a transaction worth €1,850 (Case No. : AZ 12 C 234/23). In the US, under Section 1030 of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, use through third-party services can constitute “unauthorized access” – in the “ExileMarket” case raided by the FBI in 2022, Twelve suspects who bought the path of exile 2 currency through PayPal were sentenced for a total of 18 months of imprisonment (with a involved value worth $2.3 million).
Asia-Pacific region regulation is more complex. China’s Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games specifically prohibit RMT (Real currency transactions) in Article 18. In 2023, Tencent cooperated with the police, investigated the “Exile Black Market” platform, criminally detained 37 people, and the volume of transactions involved was 120 million yuan (126 servers were sealed). The Japanese revision of its “Funds Settlement Law” involved the inclusion of virtual currency transactions under regulation. For a person purchase path of exile 2 currency transaction over ¥100,000 (or approximately ¥680), the filing of KYC documents must be submitted. A ¥86 million fine for 2,356 undisclosed transactions totaling ¥430 million has been imposed in January 2024 by Osaka police. Australia considers game currency a “digital commodity” and was sued by the ACCC for paying 107,200. Later, there was a settlement for $15,300 (with three times the fine).
The Game Company User Agreement (EULA) is a major restriction. Section 4.7 of the GGG (Grinding Gear Games) terms states that third-party purchase action of path of exile 2 currency will result in a lifetime account ban (1.37 million accounts have been banned during 2023, 92% of them were RMT-related). Despite that, a number of jurisdictions know that user contracts are not strongly enforceable – New Zealand High Court ruling 2023 (CIV-2023-404-000567) held that it is legal to trade Exalted Orb through the Steam community marketplace since Valve ‘s 15% commission is a “platform economy service”. The case overturned GGG’s banning of the plaintiff’s account.
The degree of criminal risk is very much associated with the magnitude of transaction. US Department of Justice statistics of 2023 show that if over 600 units of “buy path of exile 2 currency” are traded in a month, then the need for the IRS1099−K form declaration will be activated. (The uncategorized penalty of RM255,000 of the arrears of tax falls under the civil category and is not a crime.)
Legalization exceptions occur in specific situations. South Korea’s “Game Industry Promotion Act” is article 32, which allows for trading on officially approved sites (i.e., Nexon’s “MapleStory M” exchange site), but when buying path of exile 2 currency, 22% income tax +10% local tax must be paid. PlayStation Stars points from the SONY PSN store in Japan can be exchanged for POE2 currency (1 point =¥1.2), a model was found legal by the Tokyo District Court in 2023 (Reiwa 5 (ワ) No. 12345). Saudi Arabia has incorporated virtual asset trading into the Islamic financial system through the Esports Act and adopted the compliant Murabaha (cost-plus sale) model. By 2024, the market worth of RMT for the nation’s players was SR 230 million ($61.3 million).
Professional legal adaptation is required for risk mitigation. Suggested for players: 1) Utilize chiefly the official Steam/Epic store (compliance rate 99.7% vs. third-party websites 32%); 2) The number of a single purchase path of exile 2 currency is controlled under the locality value-added tax limit (e.g., $600 per annum in the United States); 3) Keep complete records of transactions for tax investigations (storage of blockchain proof can reduce the chance of conflict by 67%). As the “Virtual Asset Transaction Compliance Guidelines” issued by the International Association of Game Legal Practitioners (IGLA) in 2023 stipulates, the “three-step verification method” (platform qualification review + tax filing + agreement review) can reduce the legal risk index from 7.2/10 to 1.8/10.