Magic: The Gathering, or MTG, Wizards of the Coast’s collectible card game, has enthralled enthusiasts for decades with its strategy and collectibility. But of late, controversy has emerged as critics have accused the game of being very much like gambling. The debate has become hot across the globe, and in countries like Canada, where the laws around gambling are most stringent, it’s a growing hot-button topic.
At its heart is how MTG products are profited from and sold. Booster packs, containing a standard set of cards, work in the same way as loot boxes – mechanisms where players buy a chance at getting high-value cards. This chance-based reward mechanism has been likened to slot machines and scratchcards.
Where MTG is Different from Legal Gambling
Although Magic: The Gathering is comparable, it is still a strategy game and not a gambling product. Players use their own collections to create decks and compete against each other using skill, knowledge, and strategy. Purchasing booster packs may be like gambling, but the actual game does not involve wagering money for instant monetary gain.
By and large, gambling legislation is focused on three things: consideration (you pay to participate), chance (random outcome), and prize (something of value to win). MTG addresses the first two, but controversy exists about the third. The prize in MTG is not money, but a game advantage or a collector’s value.
Canada’s Position on Gambling and Collectables
At the provincial level in Canada, gambling is regulated, but most provinces are similar. Money games of pure chance are under gambling law, while money games of skill are not.
That difference may rescue MTG, but regulators could just as easily check its pack opening systems under lottery and simulated gambling law.
In fact, similar digital models are already on the radar of lawmakers. The government of Canada has explored loot boxes in video games as part of the Consumer Protection Act. If digital card games like Hearthstone and digital booster packs in the hot seat, there may be a possibility of paper card games like MTG being explored as well.
Aside from that, there is no current attempt to label MTG as gambling in Canada, but political pressure may be able to influence future interpretations, especially if pack buying keeps being packaged for the youth market or associated with a high-stakes contest.
How the Conversation Compares to Online Gambling
If one compares MTG to online gambling, there’s a clear distinction in intent and setup. Sites that host real gambling such as your run-of-the-mill online casino site are designed to host betting with real money and games of pure chance. MTG is a hobby game in which financial risk is not necessary, but rather a choice, and not inherent to the activity.
However, generating more money from the game fans the flames of the argument that aspects of the MTG universe are uncomfortably close to gambling.
Conclusion
Magic: The Gathering is not actually gambling in Canada, at least not yet.
But its application of randomised rewards, topped with escalating card values and speculative buying, continues to move the boundaries. For regulators and gamers, the challenge is to navigate a balance between the integrity of a cherished game and growing concern over gambling-like mechanics. As the debate rages on, it could affect the way collectable games are constructed in the future.
