• Crikeste@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    I would say yes, they are unregulated gambling. People also spend ludicrous amounts of money on cards. Though I don’t think that should factor into whether or not something is or isn’t unregulated gambling. It’s the chance product, not the money spent on it.

    • joemo@lemmy.sdf.org
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      10 months ago

      So those cards have been around forever, and no one complained about them.

      People care about these loot boxes because it’s easy for a young kid to get their parents credit card and rack up a ton of charges because they see a cool skin and don’t realize that ultra rare or 1/1000 chance to drop means that they won’t get t without spending a ton of money.

      By definition gambling can be defined as playing games of chance for money. Well they aren’t going to win money, their reward is a collectable item.

      Or to take risky action in hope of desired result. I don’t really see how this fits that definition either. There’s no risky action.

      I would prefer if there were no loot boxes because I’d rather know what I’m getting, but people are focusing on the wrong thing here.

      • Arbiter@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Valve literally runs a marketplace that allows people to sell their skins for cash.

        This is like playing for tokens that the store across the street will conveniently purchase from you.

        • joemo@lemmy.sdf.org
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          10 months ago

          So the issue isn’t the loot boxes and gambling to get items, it’s the resale? That’s a different issue.

          Also it’s not “cash”, you can only spend that money back into steam.

      • Crikeste@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Trading cards and gambling addiction have been studied for years. TCGs may not function the same as a slot machine, but it does trigger the same thing in your brain.

        And that is what’s dangerous.

      • moody@lemmings.world
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        10 months ago

        So those cards have been around forever, and no one complained about them.

        There have definitely been complaints about gambling in relation to collectible cards. I don’t think anything has come of them in legal terms, but many complaints have been voiced.