Let's talk about gambling

Time for some gamer news instead. EA and in a more limited fashion, Blizzard, is now being investigated by the Dutch and Belgian government on whether loot boxes count as gambling.

Loot boxes, for the uninitiated, are packages which contains items that you can be used in game but the catch is, you don't know what the items are going to be. They can be that extremely rare goods that you can use to be OP, that new cool skin that you've seen other people use or it can just be shite.

Some people (especially game publishers and certain developers) have argued that this does not count as gambling since you are definitely getting something of value from the loot boxes. It might not be what you want but you are still getting something of value.

On the other hand, loot boxes contain a random element within them and the pleasure/desperation that you get from opening them can lead you to spending more money on them. And that is the genuine worry that most people have in regards to loot boxes: that they are addictive and will cause you to spend more money than is necessary.

Quick disclosure here. I play Paladins and I also play Symphogear, both of which I enjoy and adore (Paladins more than Symphogear because the former is actually a game and the latter is just auto-pilot but with the ladies from Symphogear). But even then, I wouldn't hesitate to call the loot boxes in these games gambling because of the random nature of the drops and how you are given the option to spend money to get the shit that you want (Symphogear doesn't technically have loot boxes but you pay 20 to 200 song stones in order to flick a pendant which gives you 1 or 11 new cards at random).

So yeah, I'm definitely on the side of loot boxes = gambling because of the random nature of these puppies. But here's the thing. I don't really mind them too much as long as they are used properly. Here's my proposal on how to use loot boxes. Use only in-game currency to purchase them. No premium currency bullshit. If you want a guaranteed rare item, set up a shop to buy them directly without hassle. Sure, it can be at a higher price than normal but I don't think people will complain too much.

Right?