If you thought that Jagex’s ramped-up efforts against gold buyers as well as gold sellers in both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape was a bit sudden and oddly timed, your instincts may have been correct. As it turns out, a court opinion from EU advocate general Kokott related to a case of gold sellers and whether they should pay value added tax (VAT) – especially considering they raked in almost $500K from their operation – was filed just days before Jagex’s renewed efforts against RMT.

The case in question involved a group of Lithuanian gold sellers who effectively bought gold low and then resold it at higher rates, earning “significant income” between 2021 and 2023 of €415,484, or over $480K US. This amount of earnings meant that the gold sellers were ordered to pay VAT, but the group lodged a legal complaint, arguing that RuneScape gold isn’t legal tender, even with recent adjustments to tax law that account for cryptocurrencies.

While it should be noted that the related case hasn’t been finally determined at this time, Kokott’s opinion appears to effectively hang on to the second-hand market trade of real-world money for this gold, which he concludes is why the VAT payment requirement should be upheld by the court, while also pointing out that the law needs to be further broadened to account for technological advancements. This opinion was filed on September 11th, while Jagex’s knuckling down on gold buyers was confirmed a few days after the fact. Funny coincidence, that.