Yesterday I sent this message to Cryptic Game Support and they told me to post it here for the Devs, so here it is, word for word as they saw it.

On Earthdate Sunday, October 25, 2010 12:35:00am I began weekly mission “Spin the Wheel” second episode of Series 2 “The Devidians”. In that mission after you talk with Ze’mara for the first time you are given the objective to “Play Dabo!” I would like to lodge a complaint against this for two reasons.

1. Dabo is a gambling game and maybe you were not aware of it, but gambling is offensive to me and others I have talked to, Star Trek Online players even. To be forced to do that which you find to be wrong by your religious beliefs with no alternative was not fair in the least. For this I hope to not see this in any future missions.
   
2. Perhaps you were also ignorant of the fact that gambling is addictive. There are many out there who have gotten addicted and tried to break the habit. Some have succeeded and are glad of it, but, one little slip and they’d be back to being addicted. You just provided that slip by forcing us to gamble. On top of which, it was a rigged game in our favor; I won 20 bars of Gold-Pressed Latinum. This was appreciated on account of the top reason, thank you, but it adds credibility in a gambler’s mind that winning isn’t too hard. Any ex-addicts could be pulled in instantly. Then that reawakened desire transfers to real life and they lose their real money. To cause such hurt through your game is cruelty to put it mildly. For this I had better not see any more of this.

Use your minds before you leap. Consider your customer’s lives before you force them into a lifestyle they wish to avoid. But the very fact gambling is doable on STO isn’t a help for either reason, to not get addicted for the first time, or to reopen the addiction whence you have it. I will thank you in advanced for your cooperation. Thank you!

P.S.—And sorry for being so straightforward, I was advised to tone the mood down but it means a lot to me, so I left it as was/is.

P.S.2—I have noticed Dabo accolades added to my list, I and others will now need to see those forever. Constant reminders and especially so for gamblers.

Seriously? A game inside a game where you can gamble an in-game resources with no real-world value?

Addictive behavior is always possible. You could just get addicted to STO, even without any specific "Gambling" addiction?
And... Being offended by something is always possible, too. I think the subset of gamers that are offended by gambling is not something Cryptic can worry about.

all you need to do is take 1 spin then you never have to see it again.

I don't believe people have a right to NOT be offended.

I have always wondered if winning drops in groups through the need/greed/round robin system, would be considered gambling. Hell, wouldn't the fact that just any item has a chance to drop from any npc be considered gambling.

I agree, everyone has a right to be angry about something forced upon them when it goes against their beliefs/religion. But aren't most video games a case of the luck of the draw in terms of loot?

The game can't conform to every individual's personal religious or moral beliefs. If your particular religious belief finds the act of gambling offensive, or you feel you're going to become addicted by playing the dabo for the misison, then you should have dropped out of the mission. No one is forced to do the Weekly missions. Doing them is a personal choice, as is doing any mission in the game. The fact that you chose to proceed with the gambling, even though it violated your own beliefs, says more about you then the game.

Not quite that black and white Cosmic, the individual is paying to play the game and as such is entitled to experience newly released content. By not doing this one mission, the individual can not complete the rest of the series and therefore is forced to "gamble" to progress.

You're not forced to gamble. You can simply choose to forego content and do something else in the game; just as you can choose to never make a Klingon faction character if you don't like PvP. Paying to play a game doesn't mean the game won't have thing in it that disagree with someone's personal ideologies. A person can choose to not do a weekly series for any of a number of issues. No one is forced to do all the content in any game if they do not wish to. It's nice if you can do all the content in a game but if someone has ideals outside of the social norm they should expect to miss out on some things to adhere to those ideals.

gam·ble (gmbl)
v. gam·bled, gam·bling, gam·bles
To bet on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest.


If you go by the definition of gamble. Then you are not forced to gamble in the mission you win no matter what happens. That my friend is not an uncertain outcome

oh wow... all these little nit pick complaints.. its a wonder cryptic still feels motivated to create any more content episodes for fear of gettn attacked because of something silly. what next? get rid of the bars because alcohol is offensive? Its ok guys, cant make everyone happy