gamble
Here’s how the UK gaming industry says it’ll self-regulate lockboxes
Remember a few years ago before NFT scams took over, when politicians realized they could score some press coverage and campaign donations for talking...
EU Parliament adopts resolution to regulate games industry harms from lockboxes to manipulative design
Call them lockboxes, lootboxes, gambleboxes, or gachapon: The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution "ensuring a safe online environment for online...
Four Winds: Lost Ark and the refinement of MMO item enhance systems
In the last edition of Four Winds, I promised I'd cover how three MMOs utilized item enhance systems to facilitate progression, and then I...
Twitch averts streamer strike with proposed ban on some gambling content
Following major drama this week over gambling streams and scamming that resulted in popular streamers threatening a Twitch boycott and strike, Twitch has issued...
Kickstarted MMO Untamed Isles ‘goes into hiatus’ after devs lose funds thanks to crypto market
Just last month we put a spotlight on Untamed Isles, a promising Pokemon-like MMO that raised $528,804 from a 2021 Kickstarter campaign. In fact,...
Dutch court says EA lockboxes didn’t violate region’s gambling law, reels back €10M fine from 2019
It's been some time since the furor over lockboxes and international gambling laws came to light, so let's review: Gambling authorities from the Netherlands...
EA insists it’s focused on ‘engagement,’ not monetizing FIFA players into gambleboxes
Yesterday, Canadian outlet CBC published a massive Electronic Arts document leaked by a supposed "gaming insider" that seemingly confirms what you already thought about...
Judge enforces a Dutch government order for EA to remove FIFA lockboxes or face over $11M in fines
This has been a long and drawn-out battle, so let us review: Back in 2017 when the outrage against lockboxes was at its highest...
Counterstrike: Global Offensive players in Australia get a year-long ban for betting on themselves
It turns out that professional athletes placing bets on their own performances in games is generally frowned upon in most sports. This is true...
The Daily Grind: Does gacha have a place in MMO business models?
Just so, so many of my friends are playing Genshin Impact these days -- and not just playing, but gushing over the fun, the...
EA’s advertisement of FIFA lockboxes in a children’s toy catalogue draws mounting criticism
It would appear that Electronic Arts didn't learn from the last time it pulled this kind of nonsense, but apparently there was still fuel...
New UK parliament report recommends regulation of lockboxes as gambling
Remember last month when UK lawmakers started making fresh noise about classifying lockboxes/lootboxes as gambling to protect children following multiple reports and surveys on...
Class action lawsuit alleges Apple promotes gambling via lootboxes through its storefront
Legal moves are being made against the practice of lootbox monetization against one of the largest targets possible. A class action complaint filed with...
PEGI adds lockbox warnings to rating labels
That sure didn't take long. Earlier this week, we found out that the ESRB would be adding a specific content warning to games in...
ESRB starts putting warnings about lockboxes on its game ratings
You have to imagine that a lot of video game marketers have developed facial twitches today upon the news that they will no longer...
Player who claims a mobile RPG’s gacha mechanics were falsely advertised loses court case
Fair game monetization and gamer spending are topics that are on the minds of many right now, and one of the more slippery monetization...
Lawful Neutral: Examining the infamous MMO lockbox, 2020 edition
I have a soft spot for paranormal horror. I love movies about demons, ghosts, hauntings, possessions. There's one particular movie from the early aughts...
UK parliament committee calls for ban on selling lockboxes to kids, deems games industry ‘wilfully obtuse’
As gamers will recall, the UK government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee panel has been investigating addictive technologies for the better part...
EA’s infamous ‘sense of pride and accomplishment’ post now holds a Guinness record – for Reddit downvotes
By now, we're all familiar with the 2017 comment by EA about how lootboxes provide "a sense of pride and accomplishment." The remark was...
Gaming psychologist Jamie Madigan explains what ‘surprise mechanics’ actually are
We're all familiar with the "surprise mechanics" incident, the absurdist argument in defense of lootboxes from EA's VP of legal and government affairs Kerry...
