I think the causal difference is ease of access. Digital purchases are a million times easier than the physical purchase that was always necessary for these or other pack-based things (football stickers and trading cards spring to mind).
I can see that changing with digital purchase and delivery of the product but I don't think amazon or other online stores are setup in the same kind of way that videogames with lootbox systems are to minimise the knowledge of how much is being spent. There's a difference in how the packs are purchased, with amazon and online stores you directly purchase a pack with your money straight from your card but in the videogames you actually buy 10,000 points that you then go and spend on various items/boxes in-game to disassociate the feeling of spending the money and make it harder to feel negative emotions about what is being spent. There are multiple things in the system that go deeper than even online purchases of physical card packs. Not to mention that you have to wait for the packs and don't get instant gratification from opening them, so you don't get an instant hit of feel-good drugs from the moment you spend due to immediate opening.
I'm not saying that they're definitely different. Just that there are some material differences that may be responsible for the differences of opinions.
I think the causal difference is ease of access. Digital purchases are a million times easier than the physical purchase that was always necessary for these or other pack-based things (football stickers and trading cards spring to mind).
I can see that changing with digital purchase and delivery of the product but I don't think amazon or other online stores are setup in the same kind of way that videogames with lootbox systems are to minimise the knowledge of how much is being spent. There's a difference in how the packs are purchased, with amazon and online stores you directly purchase a pack with your money straight from your card but in the videogames you actually buy 10,000 points that you then go and spend on various items/boxes in-game to disassociate the feeling of spending the money and make it harder to feel negative emotions about what is being spent. There are multiple things in the system that go deeper than even online purchases of physical card packs. Not to mention that you have to wait for the packs and don't get instant gratification from opening them, so you don't get an instant hit of feel-good drugs from the moment you spend due to immediate opening.
I'm not saying that they're definitely different. Just that there are some material differences that may be responsible for the differences of opinions.