TCG packs face regulation in Singapore

Singapore is planning to regulate packs sold for Trading Card Games (TCGs), such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and other games of a similar quality. The Ministry of Home Affairs has told The Straits Times, a local media outlet, that the measure is designed to ensure that young people do not get harmed from the blind boxes mechanic, which the office considers to lead to gambling-related risks.

TCGs use a mechanic for obtaining additional cards, which are necessary to construct a stronger deck, known as booster packs. A booster pack contains a fixed number of cards, usually with fixed numbers of each grade, but the exact cards inside are not known. The Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam confirmed in mid-February that these business models would be regulated, referring once again to the blind box mechanic. The new measure is not specifically meant against TCGs, specifically, as it is a part of a wider regulatory framework set to protect consumers against a mechanic that incentivizes them to spend money for a possible reward, which many jurisdictions have been scrutinizing over its resemblance to gambling-like experiences. Just recently, the Office of the Attorney General in New York filed a lawsuit against Valve, the creator of Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2, alleging that by offering players the option to buy and then sell digital goods, and specifically skins from loot boxes, the company was facilitating illegal gambling.