Video games regulators in South Korea say MMO publishers there have obstructed an investigation into "jackpot items," predicated on the idea that players risking in-game currency for random-item payoffs is in fact a form of gambling.
While publishers have cooperated so far as to provide the virtual items' names and virtual costs involved, they haven't coughed up the payout percentages to the government. For those who live in U.S. states with gaming commissions, this is somewhat like the audited figure that's intended to give slot machine parlors a modicum of transparency. Instead it ends up providing humorous double-entendre billboards like "Loosest slots in Central City."
Back in Korea, publishers say such payout info is proprietary and a business secret. Government officials think the MMO publishers are hiding something.
South Korean Game Rating Board Targets Jackpot Items in MMO's [Game Politics]