When Does Gacha Gaming Become Gambling?

The game Diablo: Immortal has stirred some controversy online over its microtransactions — yep, it’s making players spend tens of thousands of actual dollars for a chance to win game items like character upgrades or bonus armour.

Since its release back in June, the game has already made over $100 million in only two months even though it’s a free-to-play mobile game. And the backlash has re-opened conversations around ethical gaming, especially the blurred line between playing and gambling and whether games that a lot of young people play should be encouraging the latter.

Microtransactions, Loot Boxes, and Gacha Games

Microtransactions are exactly what they sound like — small, quick purchases you can make in a game. You probably know what they are even if you haven’t actually heard of them before. For example, in your phone’s app store almost all the apps have a little note saying “in-app purchases”.

There’s different types of microtransactions in games. Sometimes they can be cosmetic upgrades like new armour that you can pay for,  and other times they can affect your actual gameplay like boosting your stats. The ones that affect how you play tend to stoke up controversy. As you get to higher levels, it starts to feel like you have to pay or you’ll be at a disadvantage.

And to add more fuel to the fire, there’s also microtransactions that add an element of luck. Known as loot boxes, players can earn or buy sealed containers that have different items or rewards. Games that are based around this loot box system are also known as gacha games, which have become wildly popular in recent years.

Named after cute capsule toy vending machines in Japan called ‘gachapon’, gacha games and loot boxes capitalise on the excitement of opening a little present and not knowing what’s inside. They’re fairly common to free-to-play games and there’s a bunch of optional in-game purchases. But as you progress further in a game, they start to feel less optional as players who do buy the extra items gain a competitive advantage.

Why Are They Controversial?

Research carried out in the UK last year found that loot boxes “are structurally and psychologically akin to gambling”. 

The report, commissioned by the GambleAware charity, found a strong link between loot boxes and “problem gambling behaviours”, suggesting that players who buy loot boxes may be more likely to gamble as well. Loot boxes are used in free-to-play games, which means they are played by a lot of children who are then exposed to a gaming mechanic that closely resembles gambling.

Part of the reason why gacha games and loot boxes are so addictive is that players can spend endless amounts of money to get boxes, all for a chance to win the reward they actually want. If they don’t win initially, players tend to buy another one, and another one, and another one. These microtransactions add up…these kids who spent almost $1000 AUD of their parents money, and this teen who blew his university savings are prime examples.

What Have We Done About Them?

But even with all the negative attention and controversy around gacha games, like Diablo Immortal, they still make bank. It reportedly takes $16,000 for a player to get an important item and takes over $500,000 to max out your character completely.

Despite Diablo Immortal being all over Reddit and Twitter as yet another money hungry gacha game, it’s still hugely profitable making around $1 million a day. Belgium and the Netherlands were the first countries to ban the game due to their laws around loot boxes. In Australia, loot boxes are still fair game, though that’s not surprising for a country that holds 20% of the world’s poker machines.

For game developers who want to see revenue, the kind of money generated from gacha games and loot boxes is hard to refuse. While the impacts they are having on young children is yet to be fully understood, it doesn’t feel like something we should be rolling the dice on this one.