Last week, Rockstar gave Red Dead Online players the opportunity to settle down with some friendly games of poker, but it would appear that this new activity isn’t in the cards for players in some regions thanks to regional gambling laws.
After some players noticed the minigame’s absence and reached out to Rockstar to find out what was up, the studio responded that “poker won’t be available in countries where online gambling is restricted or illegal.” Despite the fact that RDO’s poker games use in-game currency rather than premium currency, which means that “winnings don’t have an actual real-world value,” Rockstar seems to be taking preemptive measures to protect itself from any legal entanglements further down the line.
Considering the ongoing kerfuffle over other gaming-related conflicts with local gambling laws, particularly recent developments regarding the legality (or lack thereof) of loot boxes — which have been deemed illegal in Belgium and highlighted as a concern (though not banned) in France, Ireland, the UK, and the United States — it’s understandable that Rockstar is choosing to play it safe. Nevertheless, this is a particularly interesting case in that it is one of the first instances of concerns over gambling laws resulting in the exclusion of a feature that is not directly monetized.
