the game has gambling whatsoever. it only has poker aesthetic. it uses the term “ante” to mean “level”, it uses traditional poker hands, and it uses chips to define points. otherwise it’s just a non gambling card game. it would be like putting this rating on go-fish, or solitaire because they use the same cards that poker does.

the association with gambling is entirely superficial. what has everyone up in arms is that there are many games with micro transactions that are especially a roll at the slot machine and intentionally designed using gambling psychology that people lose thousands of dollars at every day. those games don’t have their gambling mechanics considered at all by ratings boards. it shows that pegi doesn’t put much work into their ratings. one game that looks like gambling but isn’t gets and 18+. the many games that have real predatory gambling tactics but hide them are free to do so with impunity.