Problem is, most of the focus on the “gambling issue” is how random items drop and they have value. But because it’s a virtual value, it’s not considered real gambling even though it’s a game of chance. (However, even casino also use valueless tokens to represent real money value.)

Where the concern should be, however, is on Listing Fees; they’re gambling in itself. Placing an item on the Auction House is a gamble, and you will lose real money if you don’t win. This is the reason why RL auctions avoid fixed listing fees (e.g. charges if you lose). Blizzard can also control volume, and encourage more players to increase or decreasing item listings. Just like a casino controlling the odds.

Hardly anyone has talked about this subject and I’ve been having a hard time finding out information on this topic.

The best source of information I could find was here – http://daeity.blogspot.com/2011/08/rmah-is-gambling-indeed.html

And I found a forum comment where basically gambling occurs when 3 pieces are present: chance, consideration (paying something to play), a prize. Zynga poker is not considered gambling because you can cash in, but you can’t cash out any real money.

Diablo 3 has all 3 of those things in addition to all over the other metagames that can be considered gambling. By eliminating the Listing Fee altogether, however, Blizzard can avoid legal complications. They even comp free listing fees for players to get them playing their metagame. My belief is that they’ve found a loophole in online gambling laws because the prizes are virtual.. but they have forgotten about the Listing Fee gambling game.

What’s also interesting is that there isn’t any system in place to prevent minors from playing Diablo 3 and they will be deploying this to countries all over the world. And many have very strict online gambling laws.

Your thoughts?