There are somewhere around 3 billion people in the world today who are actively playing some video game or other. Even people who have no particular interest in Playstation or Xbox are likely to have at least one game downloaded to their smartphone or tablet.
During 2020 as lockdowns were introduced, millions of more people started to take an interest in video games. Individuals who were already keen gamers started to play more, and some began to stream their efforts to an audience.
For the most part, video games are fairly harmless entertainment. When they are at their best they can teach many skills including teamwork, creativity, and communication. Minecraft is a great example of this.
However, when games are at their worst they can skirt controversy. One area that has caused concern over the last few years is the possible links between video games and gambling.
Do video games have any real link to gambling?
Many games require players to make decisions and take a risk. Perhaps choosing between two paths in a forest, or drinking an unlabeled potion in an RPG. Most of these decisions are game-based and bear no relevance to what most people see as gambling.
The problem now is that video games are a big business. There are billions of dollars spent on gaming every year, and the developers want to make the biggest profits possible. This has led to a blurring between some areas of video games and gambling.
For instance, if you wanted to play online poker at a casino you would understand that it was an adult-only game and that you would be gambling with real money. However, some video games have elements in them that also cost money, have an element of chance, and yet are not regulated in the same way.
What are the different types of gambling in games?
Many games have their own mini or sub-games in them to keep the player entertained. Some of these games are purely for entertainment and others are there to increase a player’s in-game currency.
The Witcher for instance has a game called dice poker. This lets the player make some extra money that can be used within the game, although no real money is used to play.
More than one video game has introduced casino mini-games to players, including many Mario titles. The concern is that gambling could be getting introduced to children this way.
However, the bigger concerns regarding gambling in video games largely concern loot boxes and skin gambling.
What is skin gambling?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive introduced skins back in 2013 to players. This was a phenomenon and became hugely popular.
Skins are a digital way of changing the cosmetic finish of weapons in a game and now feature in many titles. They can also boost certain attributes and stats depending on what game you’re playing.
They can also be worth a lot of money. Rare skins have sold for over $100,000 at a time, and they are constantly being traded online. They can also be gambled.
Skins are used as collateral when gambling on the outcome of Dota2 or CS: GO for instance. Third-party sites then let the owners of these skins cash them out for real money.
What are loot boxes, and are they bad?
When it comes to the controversy over gambling and video games, loot boxes are the big bad. If they were a character, they would be the end boss, or super boss, as far as many campaigners are concerned. The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating loot boxes, as have governments in the UK and other countries.
Loot boxes offer a player the chance to find additional items to be used in a game. Depending on the game being played, these boxes might contain health, weapons, skins, or other items or attributes.
These boxes normally cost money to open and the prize inside is hidden. This is what has led many to label them as a form of gambling, a bit like a raffle.
The real problem lies for some with the amounts of cash being thrown at them. Many children and adults have run up large bills on loot boxes, and some regularly spend hundreds of dollars a month on them. In fact, 5% of players generate about 50% of the total revenue made from loot boxes.
How many games have loot boxes in them now?
It is difficult to say an exact number as there are different versions of games released for different regions. This is in part because some countries have already outlawed loot boxes.
However, in 2019, more than 70% of the top ten games on Steam contained loot boxes. Highly popular titles including Overwatch, Fifa, and Fortnite have loot boxes.
On a side note, one of the best reasons to play Fortnite is that their loot boxes are transparent. This means that a player can see what is inside before they spend their cash.
Are loot boxes gambling?
This is the thorny issue that is dividing the gaming world. Some developers are against loot boxes, while others see nothing wrong, or only see profits, depending on your point of view.
In 2019 a vice president for EA addressed UK Members of Parliament. Kerry Hopkins described loot boxes as being a bit like Kinder Eggs, and nothing like gambling. Presumably, this is not a comparison that EA uses in the states as Kinder Eggs are illegal there.
The mental health chief of the NHS in the UK had a different point of view. Claire Murdoch said game companies were preparing youngsters for addiction by showing them how to gamble on games of chance.
Which countries have banned loot boxes?
Some countries have already clamped down on loot boxes. Brazil is currently looking at restricting the use of them in video games, the UK, US, and Germany, are also concerned about their impact on them.
Belgium and Holland have outlawed them, and China has introduced very strict controls. Games in China have to clearly show the chances a player has of receiving certain items from loot box purchases.
Japan got there first though. There is a genre of games there that comes under the term gacha. Complete gacha was banned in 2012 in Japan as these games required in-game purchases to receive items randomly. Often the game couldn’t be completed without certain items and so players were spending repeatedly to win.
The changes in gambling laws and how they affect gaming
More countries may follow Belgium and Holland and ban loot boxes. Some developers may decide to follow the route that Fortnite has by making the boxes transparent, and others may just revert to in-game purchases instead.
As the laws surrounding gambling change, it will affect certain games and how they are played. China is currently cracking down on casinos in Macau and it seems that they may get tougher on video games too.
While in the USA, gambling laws are becoming looser as sports betting is now being introduced in most states. Online gambling is now more available than before, and a player can visit lvbet.com to place a sports bet legally.
Whether the UK and the US will ban loot boxes remains to be seen, but if laws get passed, game developers will have to find other revenue streams.
Summary
On the one side, there are many experts in mental health, and addiction, who are pointing towards direct links between gambling and loot boxes. The co-founder of Epic Games agrees and says that loot boxes cause harm.
However, EA bosses disagree and say that every loot box carries a prize. Critics might say that a game developer would say this as they have a financial motive to do so.
Clearly, many governments agree that loot boxes can be harmful to children and adults, so perhaps it is time to change the way they are used. Perhaps China has the best approach by making the odds of winning completely transparent.
Then at least, the player is aware that the odds are stacked against them.