The line between online gaming and gambling is fading

Historically, gaming and gambling were considered completely separate activities. Gaming was a mostly free, skill-based activity while gambling was a chance-determined activity for which the player had to invest money to win money.

But, according to research from academics Dr. Daniel L. King and Dr. Filipa Calado, these differences have been diminishing over the last decade. Social networks offer social games that are traditionally gambling games, like slot machines, poker, and roulette. Though these games are free-to-play, they encourage players to make in-game purchases with money to improve game performance.