Re: Just Another Necessary Reminder That Valve Promotes Underage Gambling

On 30/12/2024 05:24, Xocyll wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the
entrails of the porn spammer to utter  "The Augury is good, the signs
say:
 

>
While it's great fun to point fingers at Epic, or Microsoft, at EA or
Activision for their scummy, quasi-legal behaviors, let's not also
forget that the darling of the PC Gaming industry, Valve, is neck-deep
in supporting not only gambling, but underage gambling.
>
A huge chunk of Valve's income derives from selling lootbox items used
as 'tokens' by gambling websites, and the company turns a blind eye to
the practice even as it rakes in billions. Its uses psychologically
manipulative practices to ensnare its victims, and uses the same shady
tactics as other gambling companies to find loopholes that keep it
(just barely) on the right side of the law (and sometimes not even
then).

 If they sell "lootbox" items used as "tokens" on gambling sites, isn't
it the gambling sites responsibility to not have underaged people on
their sites?
 If they can't use the tokens, the underaged won't buy them.
 If some bar does a weird promotion, like bring in a rose, get a free
beer, you gonna blame the florist for an underaged kid buying a rose and
trading it for beer?
 Not illegal to buy a rose, or sell one, the bar is committing the
illegal act by trading a kid a beer for that rose.
 Assign the blame where it belongs, with the gambling sites that are not
keeping underaged gamblers off their sites.
 

Legally I think they are ok, certainly no expert, because Steam doesn't directly allow you to convert your skins to real money although that can be done by 3rd party websites. Ethically I don't think they have a leg to stand on as although lootboxes may not technically classed as gambling they have all the hallmarks of why gambling is regulated. The also know how skins may be used but do nothing about it. If they wanted to they could remove all the lootboxes, make the contents buy able directly. I'm pretty sure Valve have read the studies looking at the link between lootboxes and problem gambling.
The problem with that is Valve no longer get a take of the real life economy based around skins.