The issues with comparing it to real world or tangible items is you can sell and trade said items without restriction. Once you have the item in your hand you can do whatever you want with it.

OK, some platforms allow you to trade and sell as well (csgo and steam market place) but others such as the skins in overwatch and the rewards in battlefront are not. That alone makes comparing loot boxes to a real world trading card game or a luck dip / pick N dip a bit more difficult.

We also have the problem that the legal definition and the dictionary definition of gambling not matching up... So while loot boxes MAY meet the dictionary definition (and that's subjective as 'risk' is different for everyone. The value of the items are also subjective, especially if there is no market place) it would seem it doesn't meet NZs legal definition.

There is some silver lining though. Certain states in the US are already looking to change thungs and I think loot boxes MIGHT meet the legal definition of gambling in Belgium (not sure if a final ruling has been made on that yet).

The point is, companies are unlikely to make 2 versions of a game. One with loot boxes and one without out... And if for some reason they did, the loot boxes are more likely to be an 'overwatch' model as they won't be able to tie them into the actual gameplay or progression without drastically altering the game for the non loot box version.

I still think it needs to be monitored closely though. It's started going down a very slippery slope and if it keeps going this way someone (government) is going to need to step in and stop it.