Is the GTA 5 Casino a Sign of Things to Come?

Posted by Harry Kane on Sunday, December 1, 2019

Whilst you may not be a fan yourself, you cannot deny the immense success of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Powered by the Rockstar Games brand, the franchise has sold well in excess of 250 million copies since its inception in 1997, with the later releases contributing heavily to this sum.

In fact, it’s the GTA 5 title that remains the single most popular, with this chapter having inspired a number of iterations that have generated more than $6 billion in worldwide revenue since its initial launch in 2013.

Make no mistake; GTA 5 has accounted for more than 17.5% of the franchises total sales, with the game’s online mode proving particularly lucrative. But what role has the in-game casino played in driving this success, and will this help to change the face of gaming in the UK?

Introducing the GTA Economy and Its New Casino

The online iteration of this iconic game has been published by 2K Entertainment, which has become a major player in the marketplace since its inception in January 2005.

The launch of GTA Online also coincided with a significant shift in the fundamental design of video games, which have increasingly embraced freemium models that rely on unusual and innovative revenue generating streams.

In this case, developers have sought to create a virtual and independent economy in GTA Online, which is capable of generating additional income through various in-play purchases.

This economy has grown significantly over the course of the last six years, during which time players have been able to invest in virtual currency to buy a host of in-game items, including outfits, houses and (most importantly) cars.

As with most freemium video games, there are a couple of ways through which you can earn virtual currency as a player. The first is to earn this simply by playing the game and completing a number of tasks, with this approach enabling you to grow your virtual income incrementally over time.

However, players are also encouraged to buy stores of this virtual currency in larger lump sums throughout the game, primarily by spending their hard-earned cash on ‘Shark Cards’. These cards can be procured for real money, before depositing the requisite amount of virtual GTA dollars directly into your account.

In August this year, GTA Online saw a thrilling new dimension added to its burgeoning economy, following the launch of the ‘Diamond Casino & Resort’. Here, players can wager their virtual currency on a variety of popular casino games, including slots, blackjack and roulette.

Arguably, this real money establishment offers something inherently different when compared with most online casino platforms, as it’s three-dimension in its design and enables players to walk in-between tables as they would in a brick-and-mortar location/

The presence of voice chat also allows for real-time interaction between friends and strangers alike, whilst the potential to win sizable cash prizes remains a significant incentive for players.

Heralding the Rise of Unregulated Casino Gameplay in the UK?

Aside from the immersive nature of GTA’s online casino, arguably the most striking aspect of this feature is that Rockstar and 2K Entertainment have not attempted to disguise or sugar coat the gambling experience on offer to players.

This is partially surprising, particularly given the controversy surrounding similar types of loot box in the UK gaming market. Loot boxes refer to consumable, virtual items which can be redeemed to receive a randomised selection of virtual goods and prizes, ranging from customisation options for player avatars to game-changing equipment.

Loot boxes have caused huge controversy throughout Europe, with regulators in Holland and Belgium among the first to ban their use in video games. However, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) failed to follow suit after their own review of loot boxes in 2018, with a detailed report claiming that these entities do not officially represent forms of gambling.

More specifically, as the in-game items obtained via loot boxes are confined for use within a specific game and cannot be cashed out, they cannot be legally defined as gambling activity and therefore fall outside the jurisdiction of the UKGC.

The GTA Online casino undoubtedly ticks both of these boxes, whilst the virtual currency and rewards acquired through games of chance can also be considered as delivering their money’s worth.

As a result, Rockstar have been able to promote their online casino without impunity in the UK, without fearing sanctions or sudden regulation from the nation’s gambling commission.

Whilst this is great news for the developers and fans of the game, however, it creates a significant loophole and arguably ushers in the age of unregulated casino gameplay in the UK.

It’s certainly shocking that something which describes itself as a virtual casino and accepts real money wagers from players cannot be classed as gambling under the existing legislation, whilst the inability of the UKGC to act has encouraged some to suggest that the formal definition of gambling may need to be revised to reflect the nature of loot boxes and their level of influence in the modern age.

The Last Word

As a consequence of these developments, we now have a scenario where the success of the GTA Online casino has established a template for others to follow, whilst regulators remain bound by their own guidelines and unable to act decisively.

However, it’s important to note that the UKGC’s biggest motivation remains the safety of underage and vulnerable gamblers in Britain, and there’s no doubt that loot boxes and accessible real money casinos represent a huge threat in the current climate.

Given this and the immense pressure being generated by government representatives (who want new legislation that recognises loot boxes as an official form of gambling), it’s likely that the current legal definition of gambling could be revised at some point in the near-term.

This new legislation will be written in a way that specifically targets entities such as the GTA Online casino, empowering the Commission to regulate this type of real money gambling and impose stringent rules for developers to follow.