Balatro dev prevents it from becoming a gambling game in cleverest way possible

Balatro stands a very real chance of being my 2024 game of the year. It’s an inventive take on card games and roguelikes that uses the rules of poker as a universal baseline. The score-chasing of arcades combines deck-building and rule-bending joker cards to create some wild combinations. Balatro is an ingeniously original game that already has its imitators, but that hasn’t stopped consistent comparisons to real-world gambling. It’s gotten so bad, in fact, that the game’s creator has now written a clause in their will to keep Balatro as far away from casinos as possible.

You read that right, Balatro creator ‘LocalThunk’ is so concerned about casino companies co-opting their creation that it’s been written into their will. The roguelike game doesn’t promote gambling, but the common misconception that it does has become so severe that LocalThunk is taking action.

“From the outside, this might make zero sense but I hate the thought of Balatro becoming a true gambling game so much that when I recently created my will I stipulated that the Balatro IP may never be sold or licensed to any gambling company/casino.”

LocalThunk’s concerns are rooted in legitimate concern, as Balatro was briefly delisted across myriad storefronts earlier this year. A ratings board upped Balatro’s age limit from 3+ to 18+ overnight, with many storefronts reacting by delisting the game. The delisting alleged that Balatro “contains prominent gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling,” which publisher Playstack denied.

This age rating issue was quickly resolved, but presented a fundamental misunderstanding of what Balatro actually is. There’s no real money, no wagers, or risk to player’s wallets. While yes, the game does use the fundamental card combinations in poker to build its ruleset, claiming that this teaches gambling misses the point.

Balatro is a game about scoring points, with the wild Jokers and poker hands acting as a vehicle for that goal. There are no wagers when you put forth your hand; instead, you calculate combinations to score as many points as possible.

If you’re still deep in those runs and want some help, we’ve broken down exactly what the Balatro Blank Voucher does and why you need it. Otherwise, there are plenty more card games to keep you busy.

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