Is Gacha Gambling? Genshin, Pokémon TCG Pocket and Why Pulls Are So Hard to Stop
Gacha games let you pay for a random draw. You spend premium currency, you get a pull, and the pull might be the character you want or it might be a weapon you'll never use. In most countries that isn't legally gambling, because you always get something and you can't cash it out. But the mechanics are the same ones casinos use, and if you've ever "just done ten more pulls" at 1am, you already know how it feels.
How gacha works
The name comes from Japanese capsule-toy machines: put in a coin, turn the handle, get a random toy. In games like Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero, Wuthering Waves, Fate/Grand Order and Pokémon TCG Pocket, the handle is a "pull" or "wish" or "pack", and the coins are premium currency bought with real money.
Each pull has published odds. The top-rarity drop is usually well under 1% per pull, and the rate goes up as you get close to a pity counter that guarantees one eventually. Many games also have a 50/50: when you hit the top rarity, there's a coin-flip chance it's the featured character or a standard one. Lose the 50/50 and the next one is guaranteed, but you've just doubled the cost.
What a character really costs
Using Genshin Impact as an example: a pull costs 160 Primogems, hard pity is at 90 pulls, and the biggest top-up is 6,480 Genesis Crystals for $99.99. Ninety pulls is 14,400 Primogems, so reaching hard pity from zero with paid currency costs a bit over $200. If you lose the 50/50, guaranteeing the featured character can take up to 180 pulls, or $400 and more. Getting a character's extra copies (constellations) multiplies that again.
Most players don't pay all of that, because free currency from playing covers part of it. But the paid part is where the money goes, and it's always a little more than you planned.
Pokémon TCG Pocket works on packs instead of pulls, with the same idea: random cards, rare ones at tiny odds, and premium currency to open more packs once you run out of free ones.
Why gacha is so hard to stop
Variable rewards. You never know when the big one comes. That uncertainty, more than the reward itself, is what keeps people pulling. It's the same reason slot machines are more addictive than vending machines.
Pity makes it feel like progress. At 60 pulls, stopping feels like throwing away what you've spent. At 75, you're "almost there". Sunk cost does the selling.
Limited banners. Characters often run for a few weeks, then disappear for months. Every banner is a deadline.
Currency layers. Dollars become crystals, crystals become Primogems, Primogems become wishes. By the time you pull, nothing reads as money.
First-purchase bonuses and monthly passes. A cheap monthly pass feels like the sensible, low-spender option. It's also a subscription that keeps you logging in every day.
So is it gambling?
Legally, it depends where you live. Belgium has treated paid loot boxes as gambling since 2018, and several countries require games to publish odds; Apple's App Store rules require it too. In the US, gacha isn't regulated as gambling.
Psychologically, it doesn't matter much. Researchers have repeatedly found links between spending on loot boxes and problem-gambling symptoms. If pulling feels like a compulsion, you've chased a loss, or you've spent money you needed, treat it like gambling, because that's how your brain is treating it.
How to stop spending on pulls
- Find the real total. On iPhone: Settings → your name → Media & Purchases → View Account → Purchase History. On Android: Play Store → profile → Payments & subscriptions → Budget & history. Many gacha games also show your top-up history in the in-game shop or account page.
- Decide your budget before the banner, not during. "I'll spend $0 on this one" or "I'll buy the monthly pass and nothing else" is a decision you can keep. "I'll see how it goes" is not.
- Block in-app purchases. iPhone: Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store Purchases → In-app Purchases: Don't Allow. Android: require authentication for every purchase.
- Remove saved cards and Apple Pay from the account you game on.
- Skip banners on purpose. Pick one upcoming banner you'll skip completely. Most people find skipping one is much easier than they expected, and the next one is easier still.
- Ask for a refund for purchases you regret at reportaproblem.apple.com or through Google Play. It's not guaranteed, but it's worth asking once.
Cake, an iOS app in development, gives the urge somewhere else to go: put something you'd actually want on a cake sized by its price, and every pull you skip fills a slice. A $100 top-up skipped is a real thing, not a 90-pull countdown.
Common questions
Is gacha considered gambling?
Not legally in most countries, including the US, because you always receive an item and can't cash out. Belgium treats paid loot boxes as gambling. The mechanics, random rewards with tiny odds, are the same ones used in gambling, and studies link heavy loot-box spending to problem-gambling symptoms.
How much does it cost to get a 5-star in Genshin?
Hard pity is 90 pulls at 160 Primogems each, about $200 in paid currency without first-time bonuses. If you lose the 50/50, guaranteeing a featured character can take up to 180 pulls, around $400.
How do I stop pulling on gacha games?
Set your budget before a banner starts, block in-app purchases on your phone, remove saved cards, and skip one banner on purpose. If you can't stop despite trying, treat it as a gambling problem and talk to someone.