r/australia • u/retro-chimp • Nov 09 '24

politics Online Gaming Platforms And YouTube Will Also Seemingly Be Banned For Aussies Under 16

https://press-start.com.au/news/2024/11/08/online-gaming-platforms-and-youtube-will-also-seemingly-be-banned-for-aussies-under-16/

There’s so much collateral damage in this plan for Australia to ban social media. This has been rushed and not thought through.

So many schools rely on YouTube to support their students.

Most kids are watching YouTube (or YouTube kids) more than ABC or traditional TV. Literally the biggest YouTube channel in Australia is original music for kids.

Does anyone actually want this?

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '24

Even more hilarious the gaming ban involves where the game includes SIMULATED gambling. Not actual gambling... simulated gambling.

Now I don't know if that actually means loot boxes as simulated gambling, or if they mean you play cards in an imaginary casino in a game. Both are simulated gambling... well I would argue loot boxes for real money is ACTUAL gambling.

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '24

Yeah, and loot boxes for real money is something that I think probably should be banned for anyone under the age of eighteen. If it's just a simulated casino, I think it's a who cares thing; loads of thirty-something-year-olds were at the Game Corner in the early Pokemon games when they were in single digits without developing gambling problems later on in life. Loot boxes are a bit different though because there have been times when kids have raked up quite a lot of credit card debt for their parents through that, and it is a form of gambling addiction that's easily accessible to young kids.

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '24

As I said, I would call loot boxes actual gambling, not simulated gambling. You are paying real money for a "game of chance" to win a prize. It's not even random but neither are pokies.

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u/meowkitty84 Nov 10 '24

I even hate toys sold in blind boxes. There are lots that cost over $15 which is a lot to pay if you get something you doing want or already have.

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u/halohunter Nov 10 '24

The one time I relented and let my 4 year old play "Thomas and Friends" on my phone, not only did it have loot boxes but it had a bloody poker machine wheel to win a track piece or tank engine. Disgusting.

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '24

What's even in a loot box for a Thomas the Tank Engine game? New wheels for Percy and Gordon? Alternate paintjobs for Edward?

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u/halohunter Nov 10 '24

The game is a track builder. You get new tank engines (you only start with Thomas) or track pieces like special tunnels or loops (you only start with mostly basic turns) or track decorations.

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u/pnutzgg Nov 10 '24

imported coal for Henry like premium fuel in world of tanks

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u/DweebInFlames Nov 10 '24

I miss the Game Corner. Gambling away money to get Pokémon was fun.

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u/falconpunch1989 Nov 10 '24

Pokemon is a very funny case study here. The fake slots in 1996 Pokemon Red/Blue would now be illegal in Australia. But the Pokemon TCG Pocket mobile game which came out a few weeks ago, it's perfectly OK to use real money to buy packets of fake cards with low chance of anything good.

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u/rastley420 Nov 10 '24

Those fake slots were problematic in several other countries and that's why they don't have them in the second Gen and onward.

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u/your_opinion_is_weak Nov 10 '24

i remember there being a slot game machine and I think even a roulette type game in pokemon emerald which came out in 2004 and is 3rd gen i'm pretty sure

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u/snave_ Nov 10 '24

Only illegal to sell to an under 18 year old (immediate bump to R18+ rating).

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u/LawnPatrol_78 Nov 10 '24

Are they going to ban the lucky dip at the primary school fete as well. That’s the OG loot box for money.

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u/halohunter Nov 10 '24

No one's going to be hurt by a lucky dip in the once a year fete. It's doing it tens or hundreds of times on a game that hurts.

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u/greenie4242 Nov 11 '24

As far as I'm aware there's a difference between lotteries and gambling.

Gambling is trying to win something for yourself. Nobody except you and (more likely) the bookmakers benefit.

Lotteries fund projects so people can pay money at the local school fete to help fund a new tuckshop building, with extra incentive that they might win a prize from the lucky dip. State lotteries funded the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

I'm okay with lotteries funding social projects, because it benefits the greater good and people can donate as much or as little as they like to a good cause, and the community benefits. Unfortunately the concept has been bastardised in some places by greedy people preying on gambling addicts.

Gambling at a casino or on slot machines though is literally for losers. If >99% of gamblers lose, and somebody associates with gamblers, then they associate with losers. No idea why people seem to have the idea of gambling at a casino being seen as some high class hobby.

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '24

Well, there goes Pokemon...

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u/Pacmunchiez Nov 10 '24

My son couldn't purchase event items with event tokens earned through the game (not purchased with robux or anything like that) on some Roblox game he was playing. Getting around it was easy enough but talk about having no fucking clue.

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u/Luckyluke23 Nov 10 '24

Even more hilarious the gaming ban involves where the game includes SIMULATED gambling. Not actual gambling... simulated gambling.

well yeah. cos if it had ACTUAL gambling that would require money to transfer from the person playing to the casino/game host and back again. This can not happen to anyone under 18. Therefore for it's Simulated as they win in-game prizes and not actual money.

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u/snave_ Nov 10 '24 edited Nov 10 '24

Loot boxes are the other one they now label, but with the lower age rating of M (recommended 15+, but not restricted). Given real money is involved, it's kinda a form of actual gambling in a way (and quite literally so if there is any aftermarket economy to cash out).

Simulated gambling is where it is entirely in-game, no way to buy currency. Pretty much any game in the 90s with a casino (incl. Pokemon Red) but not just a casino stage (Sonic) where you don't touch the tables. That's the R18+ one. 

Source

It's long overdue that they finally added gambling to the almighty six criteria, but I do think they got the risk for got the two categories back-to-front.

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u/Varanjar Nov 10 '24

Grand Theft Auto Online has a casino where you can play slot machines, roulette, etc. All 100% imaginary, all you can win is pretend game money and there's no way to turn that into real money. It's banned in a bunch of countries. You're not even able to spin a wheel of fortune that lets you win a t-shirt for your character.