Comment by DonHopkins
3 years ago
It's not gambling simply because there is no possible way you can come out ahead, therefore you are just paying for entertainment. Nobody ever got quarter out of a PacMan machine, no matter how well they played.
But games with persistent inventory like World of Warcraft are different than PacMan machines, because you could sell your items for real money.
Not really a counterpoint, but a neat aside: pinball machines used to be actual gambling machines, back when they took nickels. They were common in pool halls my father frequented.