The link between gambling and video games has been a hot topic debated in recent years, especially regarding loot boxes. Now it seems that the new GTA Online casino, launched this week, is being tightly regulated and is unavailable in several countries. Given the negative opinion around loot boxes, it is likely that the game developer, Rockstar Games, will ban gambling in the identified regions and keep this casino functionality restricted.
Some players question the nature of this restriction, given that loot boxes are still allowed, but some governments have already expressed their dislike for the practice, requiring them to be considered illegal. The upgrade makes it possible to buy in-game casino chips with player’s GTA money. This is not a problem itself, but the issue is that is possible to buy GTA money with real money. So, indirectly, the player can play for real money, and that is a big problem in many countries.
More and more governments are interfering in the video game sector because of the ways developers try to make money from their games. The discussion was launched by EA loot boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront II. Amid all the controversy, Rockstar Games has prepared a list that warns which countries ban the use of the virtual gambling house. Online gambling is illegal in many of the 50 countries, which by definition means that the update does not comply with the law.
This list includes countries such as Argentina, Portugal, Paraguay, Peru and some US states, but despite the lack of gaming regulation, Brazil is not on the list (See full list below).
The tricky thing about this case (for countries where online gambling is basically legal) is the correlation between real money and GTA money. During the discussion of loot boxes, one of the prominent arguments was that the game items to be won could be resold for real money, giving the game items monetary value. In GTA it is virtually impossible to exchange in-game winnings for real money. GTA Online is now in a gray area. In countries with no law on this, players can play without restrictions in Los Santos, for example, with the Three Card Poker, Blackjack and Roulette games.
Asked by GMB, eSports expert Felipe Rodrigues says GTA brings a playful way to live life and that the casino is a way to flaunt virtually, which in real life is more complicated and risky. According to him, the rigidity of European regulation is astonishing and the rules that have been applied to the games are similar to those of real casinos.
“In my view, the astonishment that arises is the speed of European regulation on the subject. There was a launch of a digital casino and the same rule that applies to casinos in physical environments, the license requirement, applied to them. Something that in other less experienced markets would take longer,” says Felipe Rodrigues.
About Brazil, the expert states that the country is living a legal moment prior to what is happening in Europe, where betting is starting to be taken out of illegality but there is no clear regulation indicating whether to bet on a casino within a playful environment, as a game, it's illegal or not.
“In the jurisprudential field, there is still no law that also concerns the im(possibility) of betting in a playful environment, within a game. And it would take an analysis to assess the nature of the activity whether it would be eminently gambling or selling accessories in a game. But in my view, what the law does not prohibit is allowed, according to the principle of legality”, explains the expert.
Felipe Rodrigues also states that for a deep analysis of the judiciary would be required the occurrence of a concrete case and that the lack of redemption of money disrupts the betting structure within the game.
“In the legal and regulatory environment such a situation is not foreseen, much less forbidden. For me, if there is no real money redemption, it is not a gamble, but merely buying virtual accessories within an equally virtual environment. If money is redeemed, the Portuguese thesis that the license is required would apply. Because of the principle of equality,” he concludes.
Despite all the controversy, the gaming site IGN Brazil held a gameplay where they experienced the functions and adventures of the much talked about online casino GTA.
In the video the player goes through the experience of a casino being received by an employee, meeting the boss of the place and playing in various modalities such as roulette, a recorded horse race and different machines. In the end, the player goes to the bar for a luxurious bottle of champagne studded with sparkles.
List of 50 countries where GTA Online Casino is banned:
Source: GMB
