A UK Court of Appeal has determined that gold pieces in Old School RuneScape can legally be considered property under the Theft Act 1968. The ruling R v Andrew Lakeman [2026] addresses whether virtual currency in the long-running MMORPG can be stolen in the eyes of criminal law.
The decision stems from a case involving a former Jagex employee accused of unauthorized access to nearly 70 player accounts. The defendant allegedly used privileged access from their position at the company to transfer large quantities of OSRS gold out of these accounts.
That stolen gold was then converted into real-world value by selling it for Bitcoin. Jagex assessed the total haul at £543,123 (roughly $700,000), calculated using the in-game Bond exchange rate as a reference point.
The trial court initially rejected the theft charge. Their reasoning held that OSRS gold was merely “pure information,” and therefore fell outside the scope of property that could be stolen under the 1968 statute.
The Court of Appeal disagreed. Their ruling explicitly states that gold pieces within Old School RuneScape qualify as property capable of being the subject of theft offenses.
The judgment makes clear this determination applies specifically to the Theft Act context. The court emphasized they weren’t declaring virtual items to be property for all areas of law such as taxation, inheritance, or civil ownership disputes.
This distinction matters because the case involves unauthorized account access and real-world monetization. The conduct alleged here differs fundamentally from losing items through normal gameplay mechanics like PvP combat or in-game scams.
OSRS has long maintained a grey market for real-money trading despite terms of service restrictions. Jagex operates Bonds as a semi-official bridge between real money and in-game wealth, which provided the valuation method prosecutors used.
What this means for virtual theft
The ruling adapts a 56-year-old statute to modern digital economies. It establishes precedent that virtual currencies with demonstrable real-world value can be stolen when obtained through unauthorized access rather than gameplay.
The court also noted that determining who “owns” virtual property remains a separate question. For theft purposes, property can “belong” to multiple parties including those with control or possession-like rights.
