LogFAQs > #965409919

Metalsonic66 posted...

Booster Packs are gambling

That's not why schools banned the game, though. It was almost always playing for ante that was cited as the problem. Which is why at the time the defense a lot of players used was "no one plays for ante anyway".

But even then, booster packs arguably aren't considered gambling. Most existing laws require a cash pay-off for something to be gambling. Which is why there are so many "letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law" situations that involve winning prizes via games of chance in completely unregulated environments (or fundraisers like Penny Sales/Chinese Auctions). They're deliberately bypassing the legal definition (and the consequences of it) by keeping the mechanics but altering the end result.

Which is the same reason why stores could have little red machines with plastic eggs where you put in a quarter and get out a little plastic toy for decades (and why places like Wal-Mart now sell a bunch of wrapped "random assortment" toys). You're paying to get a randomized prize with varying degrees of value, but you can still sell it to kids because it's totally not gambling you guys.

Basically, we need to have good faith discussions about what gambling actually is, why it matters, and what should be done about it. But almost none of the people involved in those arguments are acting in good faith. And half of them don't even understand what they're talking about in the first place.