I feel these games are less dangerous than gambling is. It seems to me gambling has a greater ability to suck money out of peoples pockets. It's also the case these games are doing nothing magic the gathering hasn't been doing for decades.
There is zero reason these games should not have 13+ restrictions however. Under 13 and you're too young to play these games. Don't care if this means there's a bit of a double standard.
The ban we have on gambling seems weak. From trading card games to loot boxes to those arcade games that look to be skill based but are entirely up to chance, children are allowed to do all. The rules feel very inconsistent to the point that they appear arbitrary in nature.
When someone wants to setup a casino that awards players with real money for winning, it's heavily regulated. Sure, they're allowed to set extremely favorable odds for the house, so it's still a scam. But they actually have to publish those odds and abide by them. And lucky players do actually come out ahead. Slot machines do occasionally pay out jackpots. The most important regulation, IMHO, is we do not allow minors to participate in this activity. This regulation doesn't seem very controversial.
But what if someone sets up a casino where there is no chance of a cash payout? No matter what, the player loses 100% of the money they put in. For some reason we do not regulate this kind of casino at all! It's totally wild. This kind of casino should be the MOST regulated, or banned entirely. Worst of all, we let children participate!
Slot machines that use worthless virtual currency, award only virtual currency, but let you buy virtual currency with real currency? Playing one of those is worse than playing a real slot machine, or even playing a rigged real slot machine! At least both of those have some non-zero chance of paying out real money.
Lootboxes in video games? That's gambling with a 0% payout. All you get are worthless JPGs. And we let children participate!
Crane games at the arcade? Those are just vending machines with programmed odds. They are gambling! We let children play them.
Baseball, Pokemon, or Magic cards? Other collectibles that come in blind boxes or sealed packs? These are gambling! Sure, some will argue that these are different because no matter what you are getting some minimum prize. A pack of Pokemon cards will always contain 10 cards no matter what. Well, what if I make a $5 slot machine that at minimum always pays out 50 cents no matter what you spin? How is that different from a $4.50 slot machine that has the potential to pay out $0? Changing the odds and payouts doesn't make it not gambling.
IMHO, all of these activities should be completely banned for children. No games of chance whatsoever if they cost real money per-play.
As for adults, consenting and informed adults can throw away their money if they want. But all of these activities should be heavily regulated. And the casinos that don't pay out a cent should be MORE heavily regulated than the normal ones.
I think gambling is harmful similarly to the worst of drugs. I would much rather see cocaine legal than gambling. I just think children are a demographic the least vulnerable as there is always a guardian to put stop to it, they can't lost life saving etc. I am all for limiting gambling (or outright banning many forms of it). I see the whole loot box thing as very low priority though and I think better results can be obtained by education and maybe even slight exposure to the exploitive mechanisms. If anything it's better if a child learn the hard way and lose pocket money than an if an unaware adult gets suckered in and lose their live savings, family, job.
Gambling is already banned for people under the age of 18 in nearly the whole world. Why should digital gambling be exempted from this and instead we would need to "educate" children about its dangers? If it's gambling it shouldn't be for children.
You have to be 21 to play the slots in Vegas. It's recognized as not a good idea to allow casinos and gaming rooms to extend access to addictive gambling games to children.
Gambling is also banned for everyone in many states, not just children, as the damage to society of allowing enterprises to prey on addictive personality types and create misery is recognized.
These laws need to be applied to online games as well.
I think it’s the targeting. I’m no prude by any stretch and am in favor of both legalized gambling and prostitution. But I wouldn’t want either to be marketed or directly available to minors.
That extends to gaming platforms and the trend toward randomized loot boxes. It’s not “like gambling”. It is gambling. Arguably worse though as there’s no regulatory oversight.
The research seems pretty thorough, though frankly none of it is surprising to me, nor do I think it should be.
Gambling by any other name is still gambling.
Though these game companies have managed to improve on the formula by being able to target children, and by selling in-game currency that don't have a 1:1 correspondence with real money.
That being said, given the recent pushes and introduction of even more legal online betting, I sceptical of the situation changing anytime soon.
This isn't limited to video games though, just look at Magic the Gathering. They're just as aware of the shakiness of the legal ground their on with respect to not being considered gambling. The manufacturer does not, and likely cannot, acknowledge the difference in value between the different cards. They pretend like the piece of cardboard worth 10,000$ is identical to the ones given away for free.
Like many drugs, gambling is heavily regulated because of puritanical values, not because regulation helps reduce the social impact. These games are not gambling at all, and share no more in common with gambling than any other form of capitalism.
And yes, it would be totally fine. If you don't like it you don't have to play Street Fighter II. And given that it costs 50 cents a play and has a steep learning curve, that's effectively what they do in a roundabout way.
> Feel free to exploit young underdeveloped brains to addict them to gambling for profit
Games are designed to keep you interested and engaged-- that's just what a game is. Children's games have included gambling since toys have existed (dreidel, jacks, marbles, to name a few). Children learn about the real world through play, and gambling is a part of that. Risks give benefits or consequences that are often unpredictable. I don't see the explicit benefit of excluding these gambles from children's games.
Well, one causes harm and the other doesn't, so they are different situations.
But, in the case of gambling it seems like there is some middle ground. You shouldn't permit companies to program kids to gamble through videogame mechanics for example, and companies should have some regulations bc otherwise it goes from predatory to extremely predatory, but doesn't seem like it should be illegal.
Unfortunately it's a tough thing and hard to even have a conversation about.
Should gambling be illegal? If you believe in human freedom then no, it shouldn't, so maybe you're barking up the wrong tree here. Let's focus on the fact that A) this practice is generally turning the AAA industry into grindy garbage and B) this stuff is targeted towards kids
There is zero reason these games should not have 13+ restrictions however. Under 13 and you're too young to play these games. Don't care if this means there's a bit of a double standard.
reply