“It’s being called gambling because a user, through a number of indirect steps, can turn something into a cash risk by stretching gambling laws beyond traditional limits,” Loiterman said. “If the New York theory wins, it raises uncomfortable questions about things like Pokémon cards or promotional games (McDonald’s Monopoly, for example). Courts will be cautious about going that far.”
New York also argues that Valve secretly supports third-party services that allow players to easily “cash out” their Steam inventory for real money. Whether Valve is culpable for the existence of those services is still an unresolved question in law, as it has been at least since he wrote about its legal implications, Methenitis said. world of WarcraftThird party gold reseller around two decades ago.
“I think the companies are strong enough [legal] Argument if they make some effort to police [third-party resellers]- They obviously can’t completely control what people do outside of their platform,” Methanitis said. “But if they turn a blind eye to it and allow it, then I think they could be found liable.” Loiterman agreed that Valve is “providing the tools that enable them [third-party] “Markets and tolerating them create a certain amount of responsibility.”
“Judges remain alert…”
Ultimately, the lawyers Arce spoke to were generally skeptical that courts would determine that Valve’s loot box system is illegal gambling. Cases making similar arguments about other loot box systems have failed in other jurisdictions, “partly because gambling laws were designed with casinos and lotteries in mind,” Loiterman said. “Judges remain cautious about departing from an emerging consensus.”
Hoeg agreed that “the whole question [in this case] is new, and … courts are (small-‘c’) conservative institutions, generally unwilling to adopt new arguments without direction from the legislative branches.’ Even if Valve’s loot box system “starts to smell like gambling,” Hoeg said he would be “honestly surprised if the courts would go along with the characterization without a new law.”
Hoegh concluded, “I view this as a weak case that is presented primarily for political grandstanding/coverage rather than actual legal impact.” “We’ll see, though.”
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