Maybe you’ve heard it before, that there are “sweatshops” mostly in Asia (China in particular) that offer leveling, farming services or selling of gold and items. WoW is the most in-demand game for this.

While the managers and the companies running these sweatshops make millions of dollars every year, a typical employee who does the dirty work takes home only around $150 a month.

These operations are vast and pressure is toxic. But some of those who are in this “gray market” admit that they are helping poor kids earn a little something.

In an article by James Lee at 1up.com, he said that “for every reseller of gold, there’s a wholesaler who supplies it to gamers with real money to burn”.

The real money is made by the people with the resources and the right programs. Rich Thurman earned $100,000 by farming 9 billion gold in Ultima Online. A longtime user of the macro easyUO, Thurman says he had “up to 30 PCs running at once, automatically collecting gold for me.”

More details after the jump

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