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Is betting on the outcome of your own performance considered gambling? Put another way, let's say you're playing a game of chess with a friend, and you each put $20 into the pot which will go to the winner. Is this gambling? 🧵 #gamedev #indiedev

9/4/26, 2:43 pm2 reposts9 likes

Reid Hannaford

@reid.work

9 Apr

With gambling I usually picture some element of chance, and how "the house always wins." There's a lack of control, which makes it unfair. It gets murkier introducing some chance alongside some skill. Chess is 0% luck, but many games have a bit of RNG that makes it a combo of luck and skill.

Reid Hannaford

@reid.work

9 Apr

So is it about whether skill or chance is the dominant factor in determining the outcome? Chess passes this easily. Slot machines fail. Poker is somewhere in the middle.

Reid Hannaford

@reid.work

9 Apr

It might not even be the element of chance that feels exploitative to me, but just the structural edge a casino (or software equivalent) has over the outcome. Is it unethical if it's truly random with equal weights? Lots of unanswered questions.