The GTA V Diamond Casino update, released earlier this year, was a major expansion for the enormously successful game. Bringing new story content, vehicles, and more to GTA Online, the update also included the namesake casino.

1. Reasons Gambling Should Be Legal
2. Why Online Gambling Should Be Banned
3. Should Gambling Be Legalized
4. Why Online Gaming Should Be Banned

However, this area of the content pack resulted in widespread bans. Were these really justified, or just the result of censors who opposed the apparent promotion of gambling? And additionally, should the Diamond Casino be an example of how gambling regulators monitor the triple-A gaming industry?

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The Release (and Banning) of the GTA V Diamond Casino

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Reasons Gambling Should Be Legal

When Rockstar first released the GTA V Diamond Casino expansion, it was met with a somewhat polarised reception. While the casino and its content was something which many fans had been asking for, the expansion was not viewed so positively by regulators; the expansion was banned in more than fifty different countries prior to release.

While the list of countries which banned the Diamond Casino is long and contains many smaller nations such as North Korea, American Samoa, and the Bahamas, there are some major international regions on the list as well. China may be the largest example, but the list also includes larger nations like Poland, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia. Altogether it adds up to a far from insignificant amount of the GTA V online sales market.

Why the GTA V Diamond Casino Was Banned

With over fifty countries levelling bans on the Diamond Casino, the reasons why do vary somewhat. However, they generally fall into one or more of two camps. The first is that the country maintains a total ban on gambling. For example, both China and Saudi Arabia have outlawed all forms of gambling.

As such, it’s not altogether surprising to see the Diamond Casino banned there. The second category are countries which strictly regulate gambling, such as Poland, and where online gambling or gambling in games is banned or subject to very specific guidelines. Belgium, for example, has specifically outlawed loot-boxes in games, while the Diamond Casino was not banned.

So, in general, regulators either banned the GTA V Diamond Casino because they deemed that it amounted to gambling, or because it was seen to promote gambling. (The latter is more likely for countries like Saudi Arabia, where gambling is banned under Islamic Law.) However, when it comes to defining content such as the Diamond Casino as gambling, it isn’t necessarily clear. While it may seem to be an open-and-shut-case; “Of course a literal casino in a game would be classed as gambling,” the legal definitions are actually something of a grey area.

Regulators’ Opinions on Defining Gambling in Games

The blurring of lines between gaming and gambling is something which gambling regulators have grown increasingly concerned about in recent years, as it becomes more common. However, because it is a very new area, specific regulation doesn’t necessarily exist to adjudicate cases. As such, there have been several reports published on classifying gambling in games. For example, a recent report published by the Gaming Regulators’ European Forum (a joint forum comprising regulators from 19 European countries), recently determined that loot-boxes do not constitute gambling. A similar decision is the current thinking of the UK’s Gambling Commission.

Why Online Gambling Should Be Banned

In the case of the GTA V Diamond Casino, players are able to use the in-game currency to gamble on actual casino games and potentially win vehicles and other such luxury rewards. If the GTA V currency were solely in-game, then an argument could be made that gambling in the game is no more real than shooting somebody in-game; while some people may have moral qualms, it oughtn’t be regulated as real-world gambling, just as it isn’t treated as real-world murder.

The Complicating Factor

However, the Diamond Casino mechanics become more problematic in GTA V because of one important fact; that players are able to purchase in-game currency with real money. This means that a real-world cost can be ascribed to the gambling mechanics and rewards, and herein lies the grey area. The money can’t be “cashed out,” for a real-world profit, which is an important distinction in legally defining gambling. However, it can go towards an in-game profit which can still be ascribed a real-world value.

When it comes to micro-transactions, pay-to-win mechanics, and even loot-boxes, such content is generally not considered gambling by regulators. (Although that’s not to say that regulators aren’t concerned about the potential blurring of lines between gambling and gaming.) However, where the Diamond Casino is concerned, the actual in-game gambling is very obviously (and intentionally) gambling.

So, Does the GTA V Diamond Casino Constitute Actual Gambling?

The various component parts of the mechanics in GTA V may not individually be defined as gambling (such as in-game currency, etc.). However, the Diamond Casino itself definitely does. As stated above, the ability to ascribe a real-world cost to the currency brings it into the realm of gambling regulation. Of course, it’s possible to engage with the Casino without ever spending money; i.e., by only using in-game currency earned through activities and time spent in the game. However, the mere possibility of paying for that currency opens it up to regulation.

Should Gambling Be Legalized

There is one additional complication; that Rockstar may theoretically control the likelihood that players win (or not) in the casino. Within the digital space, the studio can control the likelihood of wins much more artificially than in the real world. There may be a variety of factors at play which are not immediately apparent. If so, then regulators would certainly need to be aware of these. However, Rockstar has not commented on whether any such factors are at play.

Why Online Gaming Should Be Banned

All told, the Diamond Casino update may represent a first, and an important distinction, for gambling in triple-A gaming; the implementation of gambling mechanics which are a direct parallel to real-world gambling mechanics, and which players can spend real money on. Clearly, this is content which falls into the realm of regulation (and hence why so many countries banned it). However, the visibility and success of GTA V could now serve to normalise the inclusion of such content in future gaming products. If so, then regulators will need to pay even closer attention to activities within the gaming industry.