I'm sorry if the following post comes off as a bit angry. I'm writing this off the cuff and am very aggravated by the situation. Today I received an email from Google Play Support stating that Luck be a Landlord has been geo-blocked in the following countries: United Arab Emirates,
  • Bonesince1997@lemmy.mlEnglish
    972·
    2 years ago

    “Luck be a Landlord is a roguelike deckbuilder about using a slot machine to earn rent money and defeat capitalism. This game does not contain any real-world currency gambling or microtransactions.”

    For those curious about the game. Game details from Metacritic.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1037·
      2 years ago

      So it’s literally a slot machine simulator…

      And the guy who made it doesn’t understand why it’s being taken down for gambling?

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
          726·
          2 years ago

          No because that’s not killing anyone.

          But a slot machine simulator is still gambling even if it doesn’t really pay out.

          So a slot machine simulator getting banned in countries that ban gambling makes perfect sense.

          But the creator apparently thinks it’s because those countries just love capitalism so much…

          I don’t know what’s hard to understand

          • bogdugg@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            161·
            2 years ago

            a slot machine simulator is still gambling even if it doesn’t really pay out

            Uhh, no? That’s not what gambling is?

          • PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            81·
            2 years ago

            What about Vampire Survivors, as well as numerous other games, using spinners or other slot-machine-like animations to represent RPG drops? Should all of these games be banned for the same reason? If anything, many of these better re-create the slot machine experience with their flashy effects and more substantial results.

            • pruwyben@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
              6·
              2 years ago

              In Super Mario Bros 2 you use a slot machine to get extra lives at the end of each level - I hope they’ve banned that game too.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
              22·
              2 years ago

              I’m not exactly up to date on mobile games…

              But if their primary gameplay is a slot machine simulator, then yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re also banned.

              Although people who play a lot of mobile games would explain the type of replies I’m getting. So it probably wasn’t intentional, but you did help, thanks!

          • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            82·
            2 years ago

            Well the UAE for instance recently made a deal with a Las Vegas casino. Wynn Resorts.

            Exceptions are made, clearly.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
              110·
              2 years ago

              I googled that.

              It’s set to open in 2027 because they’re confident by then it will be legal.

              But it’s 2023 and it’s not legal. So sure, if in 2027 it’s legal and this mobile slot machine simulator is still banned, maybe it would matter

              • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                01·
                2 years ago

                Really, Luck Be A Landlord just needs to call them ‘duty free luck draws’ or something. Or disguise the slots as horse races. Gambling is rampant in places like the UAE, it’s just gamed,(haw). So that’s all LBAL would need to do. I doubt it’s worth the effort for the sales in the countries banning it though.

          • Guy_Fieris_Hair@lemmy.worldEnglish
            41·
            2 years ago

            FPS games aren’t actually killing anyone.

            And a slot machine simulator is not actually gambling. Gambling is the wagering of something of value (“the stakes”) on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. (Wikipedia) . If you are not paying or receiving money you are not gambling. You are just playing a game.

          • Homeschooled316@kbin.social
            31·
            2 years ago

            Present evidence that fake gambling causes real gambling. Not evidence that it actives dopamine receptors. Actual gambling.

            Fantasy and fiction don’t cause maladaptive behavior. One day society will accept that this is still true for audiovisual media, just as it had to be slowly accepted for music, just as it had to be slowly accepted for books.

      • P03 Locke@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        71·
        2 years ago

        Anybody who has played the game will know how much of a dumbass take this is. It’s no more a “slot machine simulator” than Doom is a “military training simulator”.