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Video game gambling schemes known as "loot boxes" or "loot crates" could be banned or restricted by regulators:
We learned last week that Belgium's gambling authority was investigating loot crates in Star Wars Battlefront II over concerns that they constitute gambling. Now, the decision is in, and the answer is a resounding yes, according to Dutch-language publication VTM Nieuws. The commission claims that purchasable add-on boxes, the contents of which are randomized, mix "money and addiction" and thus are a form of gambling.
Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Geens added: "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child." The commission will now reportedly work through the European Union's process to execute a total ban. We've reached out to Belgium's Gaming Commission for more details on its next steps and the legal implications of the ruling.
The country isn't alone in its stance on loot boxes. Just hours ago, Rep. Chris Lee (D) from Hawaii denounced EA's "predatory behavior" in a speech uploaded to YouTube (first spotted by Kotaku). In the clip, Lee also talks of the detrimental affect micro-transactions have on children, with specific reference to Battlefront II, which he describes as a a "Star Wars-themed online casino, designed to lure kids into spending money".
What Are Loot Boxes? Gaming's Big New Problem, Explained
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 23 2017, @06:28PM (17 children)
USians have no single election date on which all legislators are able to be voted out. At the federal level, the biennial elections are for but a fraction of the congressional offices.
Also, what did you mean by "everybody's doing okay"?
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday November 23 2017, @06:43PM (16 children)
The entire house can be swept clean every two years, and it's a nice big fraction of the legislature. Just gotta do it over two six year seasons for the senate. Maybe you should brush up a bit on the American system.
Also, what did you mean by "everybody's doing okay"?
That is what the 95% reelection rate would indicate. And please, save your breath on the excuses. Already heard them all many times over.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Thursday November 23 2017, @06:58PM (12 children)
You are correct that all members of the House of Representatives are up for replacement on Tuesday, November 2-8, of every even-numbered Gregorian year. But even apart from the Senate, I feel the need to remind of these:
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday November 23 2017, @08:14PM (11 children)
Yeah, I'm only trying to point out where the power is. Not getting through to most people though.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 23 2017, @08:27PM (5 children)
Since you recognize that you're not getting through to most people, you may want to change your approach. Otherwise, you're just doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, and you know what is said about that...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 23 2017, @08:41PM (4 children)
What approach should be used?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 23 2017, @09:40PM (3 children)
You could try any approach but the one you've been using over and over again while expecting different results.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Thursday November 23 2017, @10:40PM (2 children)
What other approaches exist?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 23 2017, @11:36PM (1 child)
Aside from the status quo approaches (voting, running for office, helping with campaigns), there are others: educational [thefreedomline.com]; violence (both moral as self-defense and amoral as terrorism against a mostly-victim populace); dependency overload-and-collapse [wikipedia.org] (aka Cloward-Piven); disassociation; and defunding (primarily by working at limited levels or wages so that you provide no net tax revenue).
All are social tools and have their own good use cases (except for amoral populace terrorism).
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday November 24 2017, @07:11AM
Oh jeeze! Shoulda known... My bad
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday November 23 2017, @09:01PM (4 children)
Sure, the power to kick out one doofus to be replaced by another doofus who will do the exact same thing.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday November 23 2017, @09:17PM (3 children)
So, we're supposed to stick with the the old doofus instead? That makes no sense. Why not take the chance? See, that's just proof that the prison door is wide open, yet you choose to stay in the cell. At least you got your 'three hots and a cot', right? Use the nomination process to weed them out. See who finances the campaign and you know who he is going to serve. It's up to us to remind them this is a community service, not a career opportunity. If we don't, we have nobody else to blame. This applies in Europe also. They have representative governments too.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 23 2017, @09:29PM (2 children)
Usually both candidates have a track record of being evil, and people just keep foolishly voting for the 'lesser evil'. The solution is either a third party, or more likely, having a good candidate win a primary over one of the evil candidates and then actually voting for them.
Our system is so stacked against third parties that it's hard to call it representative at all. Any two party system is inherently undemocratic. We have few viable options at this point, and I listed one of them. Primary enough evil candidates and we might be able to fix the situation with third parties.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Thursday November 23 2017, @10:42PM (1 child)
What should Bernie Sanders fans have done to primary Hillary Clinton? What should JEB and John Kasich fans have done to primary Donald Trump?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 24 2017, @11:40AM
place facebook ads?
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday November 24 2017, @06:25AM (2 children)
Not really. When the choice is between bungee or death, bungee wins every time but it's hard to say the people choosing are happy about it.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday November 24 2017, @06:38AM (1 child)
When the choice is between bungee or death...
Well, the choice isn't between bungee or death, that's just what most people instinctively and irrationally choose. Personally, I feel no obligation to play along [twimg.com].
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 24 2017, @07:04AM
Big words. So what are you doing to "walk away" from politics? I know you're super-keen on making sure people pay taxes to the point of cheering on the IRS enforcers, so do you pay taxes? You can't logically claim to "walk away" from a system while still spending at least half of your life supporting it financially.