F2P and Loot Boxes in MMO Cash shops. Lets talk.

So why aren't more people outraged at Free to Play games with cash shop lucky boxes?

Probably because, contrary to what you think, most cases of this does not qualify as "gambling". If I pay real money for a chance at spinning a virtual wheel for a random outfit in a video game - that in itself does not qualify as gambling.

"Oh but CS:GO uses cosmetic skins so how is it different?"

The problem with CS:GO is due to a variety of extra factors. First, there's a direct way (provided by Steam themselves) to cash-out your skins (the Steam marketplace).

"Oh but that's not real money, that's just Steam-currency!"

Yeah, and anyone who believes that's not real currency doesn't deserve to argue about this topic. It's literally a 1:1 conversion, with the same label attached ($, £, €, etc.) for direct purchase of goods which are commonly and almost exclusively sold for real money (video games).

Second, CS:GO has several third-party websites with regulated ways to cash-out your cosmetic items for actual currency outside of Steam's system. This isn't a 'post on the forums and hope the person trading first doesn't get scammed'-type system either - it's actually regulated, and works incredibly efficiently.

Third, CS:GO has a variety of third-party websites that use these cosmetic items in place of real currency to bypass local gambling regulations to illegally operate casinos in a grey area of the law.

So yeah, there's a lot different between the CS:GO issue and what you're describing. In fact,

to get rid of these terrible exploitive systems, that targets the vulnerable amongst us with "cute" and "flashy" stuff?

what you're describing is more akin to "claw machines" and other arcade games. Do you think those should be considered gambling and subject to age-restrictions and removal from most public places where they exist?

/r/MMORPG Thread