GTA Online: Casino Royale with Cheese
Grand Theft Auto V was originally released in September of 2013, rereleasing on current-gen consoles and PC one and two years later, respectively. It’s the third best selling game of all time, trailing only behind the likes of Minecraft and Tetris. It has also been ranked on the NPD Group’s top-selling games every month with a single exception (October 2014). Charting over $6 Billion in estimated sales, it seems almost insane to think that a game like GTA V could continue to chart.
But it’s a lot more intricate than that. Throughout the longevity of Rockstar’s crown jewel, it’s been a combination of consistent online mode updates and content releases combined with an incredible community on every platform that drives people’s interest in the game. A recent trend of a PC modded server called “No Pixel” dedicated to in-character role-playing was covered by Kotaku and other outlets earlier this year. Popular streamers seeking out a variety of content, and dedicated consistent roleplayers alike created a moment in time where it was entertaining to see someone work at a vineyard or as a secretary at a doctor’s office. This is in stark contrast to the massive and wacky campaigns Rockstar has put together for players, including a heist to save the world from a doomsday plot. It’s in this odd dichotomy of a game where you can do almost anything you want can be used to appeal to so many players. But recently, it wasn’t violence, role-playing, or the bare titty strip clubs in a game with the occasional voice chats of thirteen-year-old children popping up to call you an idiot for not knowing how to fly the plane causing GTA Online trouble. It’s gambling.
Gambling, or rather betting, isn’t a new concept to GTA V. In several optional challenges, players were able to bet the game’s currency against one another. But with the release of the Diamond Casino in the latest update to GTA Online, people have been raising concerns as you will now be able to spend real money for “Shark Cards,” – microtransactions converting real-world money for in-game currency, as a fast track to having more money to spend in-game for weapons, cars, and other purchasing options in this digital world. Now, with the introduction of their own casino, noting the lack of hookers accompanying their Blackjack, people have raised their heads from the ground like a pack of meerkats to take their shot at GTA V and its “gambling” issue.
Let’s be clear, there is no option to cash out the money made on GTA Online back into real-world currency. So taking in-game currency and exchanging them for casino chips is like exchanging Schrute Bucks for Stanley Nickels. It actually doesn’t matter, because all the money is pretend. If people want to spend $20 for in-game currency and have been doing so for years, why does the inclusion of a fake casino, with fake casino chips, that you exchange with fake money somehow matter now? Because it’s gambling?
People comparing this experience to online gambling don’t seem to remember the online gambling epidemic that occurred with the age of the Internet. Online gambling became so rampant, it caused a massive spike in divorces, foreclosures, and enormous debt, all within a few years. It was especially bad in my community, as I knew happy wonderful families who struggled as one or both parents suddenly had to now struggle with a gambling addiction. All because “online poker” isn’t the same as “real poker”, etc.
I’ve seen arguments online of people trying to claim because children play the game, gambling shouldn’t be allowed. This argument doesn’t hold any water, because the game is rated M for Mature. Others have argued that because it’s gambling, it needs to be regulated like other gambling. This is ludicrous because, unlike actual gambling, there is no real-life payout. Even if it does reinforce addictive behavior resulting in compulsive gambling, the Random Number Generated results in GTA Online’s casino involved is more reliable than any percentages I’ve seen from loot boxes.
If we look at it from the same perspective as loot boxes, I can see an argument fielded wherein the Random Number Generated results are more reliable. However, unlike its box counterpart, RNG doesn’t have a guaranteed payout with something of value. While this is a fair argument, it really comes down to one singular factor: choice. Going to the Diamond Casino is not a requirement in-game, and at no point is there any advertisement or product placement for the Shark Cards. For many players who have amassed fortunes in GTA Online after playing for years, this is a great and reliable way to decrease the inflation needed for new item introduction, effectively locking out new players who can’t drop $2-4 million dollars in-game on the required property to enjoy the missions their friends are.
For whatever reason, the idea of betting seems to be far more acceptable than the idea of institutionalized betting and related games of chance. But it hasn’t stopped players from enjoying the new content. If history tells us anything, it likely won’t have a detrimental effect on the sales of the game either. In June, GTA V was fourth in the NPD Group’s statistics, moving up from fifth the prior month. After all, at the end of the day, the house always wins.
