The difference is the effort involved to get to the "gambling". With loot boxes, packs, slot machines, whatever you put your money in, start your process (open

The difference is the effort involved to get to the "gambling". With loot boxes, packs, slot machines, whatever you put your money in, start your process (open the pack, pull the handle) and watch the outcome. With an MMO you have to put time and effort into it. It is, in essence, work. And if you don't like the results you can work some more. It would be the same as selling access to a gold panning stream for a lame real world analogy.