Pokémon Trading Card Game Live

Digital Cardboard Crack: The Gamblification of Digital Card Games

This paper, co-authored by Ying-Ying Law and Cameron Vanloo, examines the "gamblification" of digital card games, focusing on digital card packs as a form of loot box that confers competitive advantage.

• Digital card packs are argued to be a particularly potent form of gamblification because they combine chance-based rewards with direct competitive advantage while eliminating the secondary markets that existed for physical trading card games.
• The UK government declined to extend the Gambling Act 2005 to loot boxes, relying instead on industry self-regulation, a position under growing pressure from public concern and potential legislation.
• Physical card pack distribution has historically been self-regulated and likened to surprise mechanics such as Kinder Eggs, in contrast to the more varied and opaque probability systems used in digital titles.