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posted by cmn32480 on Monday January 08 2018, @03:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the 1-in-365,214,231-chance-of-getting-the-good-stuff dept.

Loot boxes in video games give the player a random item, perhaps a weapon or a skin, typically in exchange for payment. Should they be viewed as a legal sweepstakes or as an illegal lottery? This video examines the legal issues and explains how loot boxes could be structured to avoid running afoul of gambling laws (which vary by state) in the U.S.. The video concludes that many current implementations of loot boxes are really illegal lotteries, and conjectures that major game companies use them anyway because the risk of being prosecuted isn't enough to dissuade them.

Previously: Belgium Moving to Ban "Loot Boxes" Throughout Europe, Hawaii Could Restrict Sale to Minors


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @10:58PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @10:58PM (#620253)

    That's just it. Your idea of "government' does not solve any of the problems you worry about. Your house is built on sand.

  • (Score: 2) by Wootery on Wednesday January 10 2018, @12:36PM

    by Wootery (2341) on Wednesday January 10 2018, @12:36PM (#620443)

    Your idea of "government' does not solve any of the problems you worry about

    It does, actually. I rather like that the NHS exists, and that the state will pay to care for those who can't care for themselves. I rather like that my government regulates who gets to design skyscrapers or buy a gun.

    The free market is not, as you seem to think, a silver bullet. Market failure is real. Under-regulation is real.