Singapore may ban free-to-play games

A new bill has been submitted to the Parliament of Singapore for consideration. He can impose severe restrictions on shareware games in the country.

A law designed to regulate online gaming in the region was introduced last month.

According to lawyers of the Singapore company Stamford Law, the wording of the bill is too vague, since gambling is defined in it as “including an element of randomness of the game in which the bet is money or its equivalent.” All video games in which there is an element of randomness or the so-called kompu gacha may fall under the bill in this way.

The principle of kompu gacha is as follows: the player randomly purchases virtual goods, and the probability of obtaining a valuable item is artificially underestimated by the developer. If the user manages to collect a complete set, he receives a reward. Kompu gacha is used in shareware titles for monetization, which means that after the new law comes into force, such games may be banned.

The bill is expected to be passed next week.

We should add that in China the issue of regulation of online gambling has already been raised. It is also planned to ban kompu gacha there, and the same difficulties with the formulation of the concept of “gambling”.

In Japan, games with kompu gacha are officially outlawed, and yet the principle continues to be actively used.

A source: http://www.gamasutra.com