Loot boxes in video games may look like a form of gambling but, legally speaking, they’re not, according to French gaming regulator ARJEL.

In its 2017-18 activity report, the French regulator noted that loot boxes may qualify as gambling since they evoke a “near miss” feeling, which is similar to what players feel when they play slots machines. This feeling of “near miss” is what encourages players to keep on trying, according to ARJEL.

What kept the French regulator from declaring loot boxes as a form of gambling was the fact that the items from these microtransactions did not generate real-world monetary value.

However, ARJEL’s position got a bit more confusing when it opined that loot boxes, whether or not they fell under the national gambling definition, undermined the objectives of France’s public policy on gambling.