I Know It When I See It

What is gambling? Laws say one thing, reality screams another. The answer’s simple: Call it all gambling, strip the euphemisms, and regulate it.

Since the onset of the online poker era, the gambling industry has grappled with what seems like a simple question: What is gambling? Is poker a game of skill or gambling? Are daily fantasy sports bets or contests? What about sweepstakes, prediction markets, and freemium games?

The problem is, no one can agree on a single answer — because there isn’t one. There is the technically legal answer (what the statutes and courts say) and the practical reality (spirit and intent).

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Complicating matters is the law and courts are often silent, allowing new products to attach themselves to the closest law of their choosing. Lawmakers and regulators are then left to sort out the practical reality, which can take years.

These debates aren’t new, but they’ve grown thornier as technology blurs the lines and industries exploit loopholes faster than regulators can close them.

Roger Gros, who recently wrote an article for Global Gaming Business, asked the same question: "What Is Gambling?"

Roger is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable people in the industry, so when Roger starts questioning his beliefs, you know things have gone entirely off the rails, even if there was always some subjectivity to it.

“It was pretty clear to me early on what gambling was. Maybe my interest in matching baseball cards should have qualified, but that didn’t involve real money, so maybe not.”

That clarity, he admits, has faded: “Just until a few years ago, I was pretty clear about what gambling was… But then sweepstakes casinos arrived… And now we have “prediction markets.”

Gros’s uncertainty reflects a broader truth: ambiguous laws let gambling be whatever you want it to be. As long as you replace gambling with skill, bets with entry fees, and lines with markets, you have something that looks, sounds, and feels like gambling but technically isn’t.

It’s linguistic sleight of hand, and it’s everywhere. Sweepstakes casinos thrive on “free play” models where players buy virtual coins with real money, sidestepping gambling definitions. Prediction markets let you wager on election outcomes or global events, but they’re framed as “data-driven forecasting.” Even freemium games—think mobile apps with in-app purchases—skirt the edges, enticing players to spend on chance-based rewards without calling it a bet.

And right now we have a lot of “well, actually…” arguments from people with vested interests. Companies profiting from these gray areas insist their products are distinct, while regulators and lawmakers wrestle with outdated frameworks. The creativity is almost admirable, if it weren’t so maddening.