[Sei]

Yeah, you essentially pay Gaia for the right to rent virtual items and accumulate gold. That's one of the points in the ToS that everyone signs when they join (sorry, I memorized most of it, forgive me!).

Originally Posted by Gaia Terms of Service

Termination.
You agree that Gaia, in its sole discretion and for any or no reason, may terminate any account (or any part thereof) you may have with Gaia or your use of Gaia Online and remove and discard all or any part of your account including its inventory of any virtual items, Gaia Gold, Gaia Cash Member profile, or any Member Submission, at any time. All items, Gaia Gold, Gaia Cash, and other aspects of your account are considered to be a limited license to you for your use while your account is in open. Due to the limited nature of the license, the inventory in your account, your Member Submissions and any other virtual items (including Gaia Gold and Gaia Cash), creations or submissions are considered to be forfeit when you close your account, when the account is banned for violation of the Terms or otherwise terminated as provided herein or in the event that Gaia discontinues the Site. Any fees paid hereunder are non-refundable. Gaia may also in its sole discretion and at any time discontinue providing access to Gaia Online, or any part thereof, with or without notice. You agree that any termination of your access to Gaia Online or any account you may have or portion thereof may be effected without prior notice, and you agree that Gaia shall not be liable to you or any third party for any such termination. As discussed herein, Gaia does not permit copyright infringing activities on Gaia Online, and reserves the right to terminate access to Gaia Online, and remove all content submitted, by any Members who are found to be infringers. Any suspected fraudulent, abusive or illegal activity or any of the other prohibited conduct as set forth herein shall be grounds for immediate termination of your use of Gaia Online and, in certain circumstances, referral to appropriate law enforcement authorities. These remedies are in addition to any other remedies Gaia may have under these Terms, at law or in equity.