Is Balatro gambling?

Balatro is one of the video game sensations of 2024. After its launch in February, it took just four weeks for the game to break the one million sales mark. Celebrated by players and many experts in the industry, there has also been some controversy in recent months. In particular, the central use of poker elements has raised the question: Should Balatro possibly be categorised as a game of chance?

Gambling mechanics in video games have been a hotly debated topic for some time now, repeatedly leading to legal and ethical debates. In recent years in particular, titles such as ‘FIFA’ with its loot boxes or ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ have brought the term ‘gambling’ into the gaming sector with their skins markets and caused a worldwide stir. For example, we reported on a crazy campaign in which MontanaBlack spent 40,000 euros on CS:GO boxes or the first proposals for regulating loot boxes and similar elements.

Balatro, a roguelike card game that delves into the world of poker, has now joined this heated atmosphere. The central game mechanic, in which poker hands are formed in order to progress in the game, led to massive concerns from regulatory authorities shortly after its release in spring 2024. They apparently saw the combination of poker components and typical roguelike repetitions as a potential gambling risk, which ultimately led to Balatro being temporarily removed from various digital stores.

The solo developer LocalThunk vehemently defended his game. Among other things, he argued that the decisions in Balatro are not based on luck, but on strategic thinking and skilful deck-building, and recently underpinned this position with an unusual measure:

In his will, he stipulated that his creation should never degenerate into a gambling product. LocalThunk has repeatedly positioned itself as a strict opponent of gambling in the past. This development not only raises questions about the legal categorisation of games such as Balatro, but also about the boundaries between games of skill and gambling in the digital world.

Short-term expulsion from various game stores

The temporary removal of Balatro from several digital stores was a drastic event that came as a surprise not only to the developer, but also to the gaming community. After the title was initially categorised as unproblematic, the game experienced an unforeseen turnaround in spring 2024 when various platforms removed it from their offerings.

This decision came as a great surprise. Balatro had initially been given a PEGI rating of 3 years and above and a USK rating of ‘0 years and above’ in Germany. However, the PEGI subsequently rated Balatro as ‘conspicuous in terms of depictions of gambling and content that educates people about gambling’, which put developers and publishers in a precarious position.

This reassessment was particularly controversial as the team stated that they had already been in dialogue with the PEGI about the poker elements before the game was released. It was assumed that the elements in question, which are clearly embedded in the context of a strategic card game, would not evoke any gambling associations that would justify such a categorisation.

The sudden change in the age rating led to distribution problems and briefly jeopardised the future of Balatro. The publisher Playstack expressed its dismay on X (formerly Twitter) and promised to find a solution as quickly as possible. They emphasised that Balatro is not a game of chance and took a strict stance against such offers:

‘Balatro does not allow or advocate gambling and we firmly believe that the rating decision is unfounded. Balatro was developed by someone who is strictly anti-gambling and great care has been taken to ensure that the game contains no gambling mechanics of any kind.’

In Germany, the game was finally available in the stores again, but now with an age rating of 12 and above.

The will stipulates: Balatro must never become a game of chance

LocalThunk, the developer of Balatro, has reacted to the reclassification of the age rating and the ongoing debates with a rather remarkable measure: According to his own statement, he actually included a clause in his will stating that his game must never be classified as gambling or converted into a gambling mechanic. This extraordinary action, which LocalThunk made public on Twitter, truly seems to be an expression of his deep personal conviction and ultimately acts as a strategic prevention against possible future changes that could jeopardise the core of his game:

‘It may not make sense on the face of it, but I hate the thought of Balatro becoming a real gambling game so much that I recently stipulated in my will that the Balatro IP must never be sold or licensed to a gambling company/casino.’

This concern is not new and may really be more than a marketing coup, as LocalThunk has previously spoken out against the integration of gambling mechanics in the industry. Embedding such a clause in a will is legally unusual, but shows how seriously LocalThunk takes the issue of gambling classification. In this case, the stipulation ensures that Balatro will not be converted into a gambling mechanic, even if the game passes into other hands or the publisher's business strategy changes.

Conclusion: Is Balatro a game of chance or not?

Image source: Screenshot vom Gameplay-Video bei https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/