Gatcha games for non-transferable characters: probably shouldn't be marketed to children, and should be legally required to display odds, but not quite capable of triggering the full gambling addiction.
Gambling for in-game items which can be resold for real money: this is just an illegal casino with extra steps.
Yup, it's just a pachinko.
If I'm spending my money on a slot, I have the chance to get my money back. Gatcha takes my money forever and when the game is gone, so is everything I spent and won. For that reason, Gatcha games and loot boxes are even more predatory, because they are giving an advantage to people and pumping up their sense of pride.
The risk there is of gambling addicts "borrowing" money with the intent of winning back their losses/debts, losing and repeating (as claimed with the Sliker situation that prompted this all). Throwing good money after bad is presumably much less common/excessive when you can't cash out
Yes - and you (and all the customers) know that upfront. Which means you can't use the "chance to get my money back" delusion as an excuse to throw good money after bad. Hardly anyone ever does that and then stops; inevitably they take the winnings back to the casino and lose them again.
> giving an advantage to people
Gatcha (or any other pay for improvement) + PVP is also a pretty terrible combination, since it encourages people to whale their way up the scoreboard.