It's not named "gatcha" or "gotcha". It's "gacha", derived from ガチャポン.

Like having your bookie in your contacts as 'the scammer'.

>Can we agree to stop calling it anything but gambling? Because it's just gambling.

No. It is not just "gambling" it is a very specific form of gambling, which is unlike most other forms of gambling. E.g. for most other gambling activities, the expectation is that the reward is monetary (see e.g. sports betting, roulette).

This should be clearly demarcated from micro transactions, where a predetermined reward is offered for a fixed amount of money. Lootboxes, where a digital reward (which may or may not be resellable) is given and gatcha mechanics, which are a very specific genre of gambling for digital rewards.

I see no reason why all of these should be treated the same.

>Also, the fact that it's called gotcha (got ya) has always had the hair up on the back of my neck.

Pure coincidence. The name comes from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gashapon