EA recently released a statement that their "Loot Box" mechanic, a system by which players can only purchase items by buying them in a randomly-generated bundle, does not constitute gambling. If you were looking for a specific item, you may have to purchase hundreds of these boxes. EA argues that since the box you purchase is guaranteed to have some kind of item, the rules and regulations that apply to gambling with legal tender do not apply.

So if a slot machine was guaranteed to return at least 1 cent (which they're pretty close to doing anyway) then they would be exempt from gambling regulations?

Oh wow, that sounds terrible. When I was in the military I remember a base bowling alley having some fake slots machines. You paid for credits and played for points. People really got addicted to it because it displayed the highest scores. I assume if these loot boxes are tied to a multiplayer game with social interaction it would have the same result. Some will always want to impress the rest with their ‘fake’ points/items.

Physical grab bag sales are not new (in gaming, they basically define the CCG segment, sports trading cards used the same model and inspired CCGs; if anything, those physical precedents—where the items can be individually resold—are more like gambling than computer game lootboxes.)

Haven't we had that for a while though with trading card games - e.g. pokemon card packs.

To be honest, I don't think those are any better just because they've existing for a while. MTG is notorious for sucking in people to buy more and more game packs.

And they're not as comparable since game progression isn't "sped up" by putting money into the machine.

Actually, “game progression” (that is, what in-game things you have, what your status is in organized play groups outside of specialized, sealed-box tournaments, etc.) in collectible card (or miniature, etc.) games absolutely is sped up by pouring more money into the randomized sets that are sold.

Also, with those, your paying for a random chance of more valuable products that, in addition to using in play, you can resell for cash. It's quite a bit more like gambling with and for money than lootboxes are.

Just look up the EA Star Wars Battlefront 2 stuff. It's a big old mess. You pay money for crates which randomly drop items that improve the game experience.

Some people consider it gambling because you are preying on the same tendencies in people for your own gain. People also don't get any real value for their "gambling". Other people say this makes it not gambling, etc. That's a very simple oversimplification of the subject - there's a lot of articles out there about it right now.

It's turning a game into a skinner box designed to extract as much money as possible from those who buy the game. It operates on the same basic principles as slot machines.

Pretty much.

The counter-argument goes that people "should know" and be responsible with their money, but I'm not a fan of that argument. It relies on people being perfectly rational actors that they just aren't.

I'm personally in favor of instituting regulation for these things. Even if it is just purely from the "we have to protect the children" angle - children are arguably the main market for these strategies after all.