gambling
Sweden scrutinizes loot boxes under gambling laws
Loot boxes might not be as welcome in Sweden come next year. A Public Administration minister told a news station that in-game lockboxes could...
Washington state senator proposes lockbox gambling investigation in new bill
Hawaiian politicians are getting some company on the lockbox front from a compatriot in Washington state.
State Senator Kevin Ranker has introduced legislation there that...
Game Theory explores the psychological exploitation at work in lockboxes
"It's as easy as one, two, insert your credit card number here!" So begins the parody at the beginning of the first of two...
Lockbox roundup: MMO studios on ‘elegant’ lockboxes, legal issues, and the ‘cosmetics only’ angle
You know the lockbox thing is reaching saturation when there are so many things to cover we have to resort to a roundup. Nevertheless,...
How video game lockboxes use psychology to manipulate you
We here at Massively OP can't get rid of lockboxes, but by gum, we're not going to roll over and give up on fighting...
Apple now demands lootbox odds disclosures from Appstore games
No matter what type of mobile device you run as your daily driver, you're probably going to be surprised to hear that Apple is...
Gaming industry roundup: SWBG2’s poor sales, Gambling Commission, slot machines, and parody games
Don't agree that lockboxes, lootboxes, and gambleboxes were the biggest story of the year? We've collected so many news tidbits just on that over...
Hawaii state rep Chris Lee urges gamers to contact their local governments about lockboxes
Say you were a legislator concerned about the lootbox/lockbox gambling issues in gaming. How would you actually go about drafting a law that targets...
Red Dead Redemption publisher president defends lockboxes
Not everyone in the video game industry is shying away from lockboxes or denouncing them outright. Take-Two Interactive President Karl Slatoff took the side...
Hyperspace Beacon: What potential lockbox gambling laws could mean for SWTOR
Late yesterday I read these words Google-translated from Belgian news site VTM: "The Minister of Justice wants to prohibit purchases in video games if...
Belgium seeks to ban lockboxes as gambling, plus Hawaii and France weigh in
Capping off the Great Star Wars Battlefront II Fiasco of November, Belgium's Gambling Commission and the Dutch Gaming Authority both began investigating lootboxes/lockboxes to determine whether...
The Netherlands joins Belgium in investigating lockboxes as games of chance
Earlier this week, we reported on a move by the Belgian Gaming Commission to investigate lockboxes/lootboxes in games like Star Wars Battlefront 2 to...
Star Wars Battlefront 2: The AMA, Wall Street, and the Belgian gambling commission
In case you ever wanted to sniff the distinct scent of internet dumpster fire, you probably should've gone to the Star Wars Battlefront II...
EVE Evolved: EVE Online’s CCP Games is gambling with the livelihoods of employees
Last week we broke the story that EVE Online developer CCP Games is backing out of the virtual reality games market, closing its Altanta...
Economist argues that the ESRB is wilfully promoting gambling to children
If you've been following the lockbox/lootbox controversy over the last couple of weeks (or last multiple years, ahem), then you know that opponents of...
MMO lockboxes: Market impact, regulation, and the letter of the law
GIbiz posted an article earlier this week peppered with quotes from Mat Piscatella, an NPD US games market analyst who suggests that the recent...
MMO blogger dives into the theoretical math behind lockboxes
MMO blogger Serrenity, whom many of you will recognize from his clever comments here on MOP too, has a compelling blog post on his...
Leaderboard: Do you buy lockboxes in MMOs? Take the ‘purity’ test
A week or two ago, Massively OP reader Sally Bowls proposed a Leaderboard too intriguing to pass up. "How about a poll on your...
UK lockbox gambling regulation petition receives baffling government response
A formal UK petition requesting that video game gambling laws be adjusted to include language covering lockboxes passed 10,000 signatures earlier this week, ensuring...
Activision secures patent for software to trick you into buying cash shop stuff, seriously
Hey, gang, this is absolutely wonderful. Activision has filed and been granted a patent for software designed to push you into buying cash shop...
