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I was really hoping that the pushback on videogame gambling by minors would gain more regulatory momentum, not less. I think it's going to take longer to see r

by icu 5y ago

I was really hoping that the pushback on videogame gambling by minors would gain more regulatory momentum, not less. I think it's going to take longer to see regulation stick due to a lack of first hand knowledge of lootboxes by politicians and judges, who to be fair, are of a generation that just do not understand the subject matter.

zht 5y ago
im sure they understand the lootboxes of cash they get here and there on a nudge nudge wink wink basis
kmeisthax 5y ago
I don't think legislators are entirely ignorant of the problem. They probably don't want to even try regulating artists; and the companies selling these lootboxes have insisted that any regulation would impinge upon freedom-of-speech. The regulations we have on gambling applies because the games involve wagering money; things like loot boxes[0] get around this primarily by not offering anything of value. Of course, the counterargument (which I agree with) is that these have the spirit of gambling - i.e. being designed to maximally fuck with the heads of people who are even slightly vulnerable to dopamine. You will probably get politicians to agree with you on that, but they won't want to waste political capital on an antipartisan[1] issue. Sure, it might have popular support, but it harms the country's interests to be regulating things that make money. [0] And their historical antecedents such as TCG booster packs, figurine blind bags, coin-op arcade games, and so on [1] Political issues can be broadly categorized into "partisan", "bipartisan", and "antipartisan": - Partisan issues are ones that typically find their way into a political party's "agenda". They are issues that one or more parties support and one or more parties oppose. Examples include basically any wedge issue in American politics. - Bipartisan issues are ones that are obvious to a supermajority of politicians. These are issues that "everybody supports" and pass Congress with wide margins. Examples include things like copyright law. - Antipartisan issues are ones that are obviously bad to a supermajority of politicians, regardless of whatever popular support they might have. Examples include things like right-to-repair.
- sofixa 5y ago
  The article is about the Netherlands, so basically none of your arguments are applicable.

by icu 5y ago

zht 5y ago

im sure they understand the lootboxes of cash they get here and there on a nudge nudge wink wink basis

kmeisthax 5y ago

I don't think legislators are entirely ignorant of the problem. They probably don't want to even try regulating artists; and the companies selling these lootboxes have insisted that any regulation would impinge upon freedom-of-speech. The regulations we have on gambling applies because the games involve wagering money; things like loot boxes[0] get around this primarily by not offering anything of value. Of course, the counterargument (which I agree with) is that these have the spirit of gambling - i.e. being designed to maximally fuck with the heads of people who are even slightly vulnerable to dopamine. You will probably get politicians to agree with you on that, but they won't want to waste political capital on an antipartisan[1] issue. Sure, it might have popular support, but it harms the country's interests to be regulating things that make money. [0] And their historical antecedents such as TCG booster packs, figurine blind bags, coin-op arcade games, and so on [1] Political issues can be broadly categorized into "partisan", "bipartisan", and "antipartisan": - Partisan issues are ones that typically find their way into a political party's "agenda". They are issues that one or more parties support and one or more parties oppose. Examples include basically any wedge issue in American politics. - Bipartisan issues are ones that are obvious to a supermajority of politicians. These are issues that "everybody supports" and pass Congress with wide margins. Examples include things like copyright law. - Antipartisan issues are ones that are obviously bad to a supermajority of politicians, regardless of whatever popular support they might have. Examples include things like right-to-repair.

sofixa 5y ago
The article is about the Netherlands, so basically none of your arguments are applicable.