Beast Sos.1457 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) If this game is also targeted for kids then why is there gambling? BLC and ecto gambling being the 2 I can think of off the top of my head. Is there no law against this? Is Anet using a method to get around the system? I find this quite unethical. Edit: It seems like some people are misunderstanding the point. I'm not saying that adults shouldn't gamble, even though its probably better if no one does. The issue is the game is targeted at 13+. As a consumer, the age rating should be the enough for me to know if the game is appropriate for a specific age group or not. If I'm a parent buying a game that says 13+, why should I then need to worry about content for 18+ to be in there? Whats the point of the age rating if thats the case? For those people saying "well I do it and I'm fine!"...You know the world doesn't revolve around you right? You're experience is not indicative of every experience or even the common experience for that matter. The argument "But I ....." means nothing. This isn't about you. For every 20 kids that does ecto gambling, if even 1 becomes addicted to gambling that should be enough for us to not want kids around it. Theres reasons you have to be 18+ to gamble. I personally think they should increase the age rating of the game but obviously that won't happen because $$ is prioritized over the well being of children/society. Edited October 25, 2022 by Beast Sos.1457 20 2 3 15 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorudo.9054 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 ssssssssssssstttttttttttt, don't say anything, the netherlands doesn't know that yet so shush. 1 9 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danikat.8537 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Whether or not there's a law depends on where in the world you live, since laws are different in each country. In this case it will also depend partially on the game ratings boards, and many of those are used by several countries (for example most of Europe uses PEGI ratings), but the enforcement still depends on the national government. You can find out the specifics for your country online. But it may well be more complicated than just a flat-out ban (or allowing everything). For example I know PEGI does factor gambling into their ratings but they're mainly concerned with whether you can win and lose money in the game and if it teaches you games which are used for gambling in other settings. So for example a realistic poker game would get a higher age rating even if you can't bet money on it, because it teaches you to play poker. Which I think explains why they don't consider ecto gambling an issue, it doesn't really resemble any form of real gambling, you can only spend real money on it very indirectly (buy gems, convert them to gold, buy ecto) and can't win real money. Black Lion Chests are more of an issue, and buying keys is banned in at least 1 country, but it's an area where a lot of nations laws haven't caught up to modern technology and trends, so the short version is it's allowed everywhere else. Again the specifics will vary but often the important factors are that buying gems is a service and legally they have no value so you're technically not spending real money on black lion keys, and you're guarenteed to get something (which also has no value legally) so officially you will always break even and it's therefore not classed as gambling. 7 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexZero.7910 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 I fail to see an issue here outside of bad parenting. If you don't want your teens to gamble unistall the game. 10 4 2 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labjax.2465 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Because the video game industry has long had lobbying to allow it to get away with whatever it wants to get away with and has faced little pushback because of the type of governments it's generally operating under. You could just as well ask why the game industry is not unionized, something it desperately needs (I wouldn't be surprised if this post of mine gets deleted for even speaking the word). 9 1 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farohna.6247 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 It doesn't involve actual currency (BLC can be opened with in game keys, not just purchased). Not saying that's right but probably why. No actual money is won or lost. OP is ok with alcohol in the game? Are you with your kids playing games of chance (Bingo, cards, etc.) in real life with friends? Just curious as to what would be considered suitable for 13+. 3 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Salazar.5430 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) @Beast Sos.1457 Becase you can't exchange that back to real monay And no thers no law against it You culd also consider that way Mystic Forge as gabling machince 🤡 Edited October 24, 2022 by Noah Salazar.5430 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaraki.5784 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Only when (almost) every country in the world will have the same law as Netherland about games gambling, we will finally get rid of this gambling plague which is affecting videogames for too long already! 6 1 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebulous.2934 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 eh, getting the monthly chase item from black lion chests hasn't been too difficult for me. The most I have spent to get a monthly chase item I wanted was 75 keys and one golden key. (I used the statuettes from the 75 regular keys to buy golden keys, and got the item on my first gold key attempt.) For that matter I had been holding keys from the last key sale so I only bought 25 keys that month. Trying to evolve a unit in a Korean style mobile mmo is so much more expensive! and the drop rates for getting the featured unit are always ridiculous like .2% Oh you want to max out your pay-to-win unit? Just hit .2% three times! I did the math for one that offered the chase unit as a guaranteed drop every ten pulls, except ten pulls added up to $600 usd! Black Lion chests are tame by comparison. The only thing that even comes close are the permanent service contracts in the black lion chests, and I still managed to get two of those over the years. The trick is to remember that the monthly chase items will be offered as statuettes some time later, so only buy keys you can afford to buy right now, you will be able to get it later. Never open chests only to try to get the contracts. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raknar.4735 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Same reason as to why TCGs like Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh & Magic: The Gathering are accessible to minors. 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashen.2907 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 2 hours ago, Zaraki.5784 said: Only when (almost) every country in the world will have the same law as Netherland about games gambling, we will finally get rid of this gambling plague which is affecting videogames for too long already! Indeed. Only when every country in the world treats their adult citizens like property and children will we finally be rid of people thinking for themselves and making their own decisions about how they choose to behave. 5 2 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarius.9285 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 26 minutes ago, Ashen.2907 said: Only when every country in the world treats their adult citizens like property and children or, you know, just ban gambling cause there's obviously nothing to gain from it.... 6 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan Didly Tastic.7169 Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 Because this is a videogame sold for money and bureaucrats are extremely slow to adapt to the tech landscape. You're right to be bothered and anyone covering for it should rethink their political stances, yet I am sorry to tell you but most laws pale in comparison to the laws of monetary exchange. Want it to change? Push for changes where you live that pressure lawmakers to facilitate movements and laws that place building community and social systems and services, to hold people up, rather than enrich the select powerful few of your nation. Sorry to bring the depressing realities of real life into this but you asked a depressing real life question. Shrug 5 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracula.1709 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Agreed. I abhor all forms of gambling. I've literally watched it destroy a persons life. Teaching children to gamble is HIGHLY deplorable. All these games have it. 6 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Min.5834 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) So... So I guess swimsuits and swim wears are not suitable for a game rated 13+ and gambling is ok. TIL. Edited October 25, 2022 by MintyMin.2718 3 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashen.2907 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Sarius.9285 said: or, you know, just ban gambling cause there's obviously nothing to gain from it.... Like computer games? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taclism.2406 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 why do I live in a world where people conflate lootboxes, gambling imaginary money , and gambling real money also pretty sure I learned as a kid, from ingame lotteries, that gambling always leads to bankrupcy on the long run. Better learn that there than irl 2 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy.2951 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Cos they dont ask you for a sub fee, and most of the content they develop is kinda free if you log in, like LWseasons and lots of stuff. Except expansions, which are already very cheap 30 euros and 15 euros in years after. 1 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KgsRoCks.5103 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 I spent way too much gold on ectogamblin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padrion.7382 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Well, Arenanet doesn't sell loot boxes, they're just selling the keys to open them 😜 I agree: I wouldn't let my kids play a game with that much monetization going on. You have to be really hardened against advertisements to enjoy it. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Fro.6953 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Because it's a game. It's not like 13-year-olds are pulling out a personal credit card and buying 100 BLC keys. Some adults might have another problem. But let people gamble their game gold if they feel so inclined. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labjax.2465 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 10 minutes ago, Chicken Fro.6953 said: Because it's a game. It's not like 13-year-olds are pulling out a personal credit card and buying 100 BLC keys. Some adults might have another problem. But let people gamble their game gold if they feel so inclined. Idk if it's happened in GW2, but there are def horror stories of kids running up their parents credit card on video game MTX. And contrary to the narrative constructed carefully by game lobbies of the rich whale who is targeted with these schemes, whales can easily just be someone who has issues with gambling, with compulsive spending, etc., and can't actually afford it. 3 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarius.9285 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 8 hours ago, Ashen.2907 said: Like computer games? do you gain computer games from gambling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakeneko.5826 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 13 hours ago, Farohna.6247 said: It doesn't involve actual currency (BLC can be opened with in game keys, not just purchased). Not saying that's right but probably why. No actual money is won or lost. It is gambling, Belgium has banned anything that involves real money -> item with chance of rare drop. Hope rest of EU will follow soon - lootboxes are plague that needs to be destroyed. 4 1 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie.5370 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) 15 hours ago, Beast Sos.1457 said: If this game is also targeted for kids then why is there gambling? BLC and ecto gambling being the 2 I can think of off the top of my head. Is there no law against this? Is Anet using a method to get around the system? I find this quite unethical. Ecto gambling imo should be DELETED: Lost a few good friends to this kitten. Most ppl avoid it like the plague, but a few players have succumbed to its addiction and lost everything they have or even worse ( and this is obviously an irl gambling problem/addiction) used real money > buy Gems > convert to Gold > Buy ectos > Get addicted > win-lose-lose-win-lose-lose > Lose all gold, buy more Gems: And so on and so forth. Everyone without an addictive problem, can easily say simple stuff: Walk away, only gamble what you can afford to lose etc. but Ecto Gambling in the game does not help matters to these folk with such problems. One guy I know, caught in its addictive grasp, was converting so much Gems > Gold, when his wife found out: It nearly cost him his marriage!?! Needless to say he had no choice to uninstall and never came back: Nice dude just with obvious addictive personality, he couldn't stop playing it especially when he felt down on his luck in game. Why it's still in the game idk. I don't particularly think Ecto Gambling is in the same league has BLC chests, since you can largely buy most of the stuff from BLC in TP, and I guess to avoid it being a pure gamble: Anet cleverly puts in the Guaranteed Drops, so its not a pure Gamble. In-time if you accrue enough Black Lion Statues, you can just buy the BLC skins from NPC further down the line. Do your weekly farm key character run (52 keys per/year), map completions etc: Free keys! Guaranteed drops[edit] https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/b/bd/Black_Lion_Statuette.png Black Lion Statuette (guaranteed) https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/c/c3/The_Evon_Gnashblade_Trick-or-Treat_Bag.png The Evon Gnashblade Trick-or-Treat Bag (guaranteed) Edited October 25, 2022 by Greg.7086 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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