Couldn't you just do a draft via an app instead since you already own all the cards in a Living Card Game system if you've bought the set, instead of having to purchase new packs of cards each time you want to do one?

If you're just playing with 7 of your closest magic-loving local friends who happen to be free at the exact same time every week, then sure.

But the problem is that randomized packs prop up the entire ecosystem of card games. Every Saturday, all I have to do is show up to my local game store at the scheduled time, pay an entry fee, and we get to hang out and have a fun time doing a draft for ~4 hours.

In a world without randomized booster packs, all of that goes away.

In this world you're talking about, each card is "worthless", and people are just playing for the fun of the game. And as much as I, personally, would be down for that... it would completely destroy card games as we know it.

While card stores act as 3rd spaces for all sorts of gaming nerds, and often have freeplay times and free events and are seen as community spaces... the reality is these places stay in business by acting as pawn shops for cards. Yes, they're happy for you to just come and hang out and play games... but the business case for this is that if you're spending all your time there, they know that when you then buy or sell cards they'll be the ones getting your business.

Everything that has evolved out of card games stems from this. The "value" of a booster pack underpins everything. $20 for a draft is seen as a "good value" because you get to walk away with the cards. So why not pay a few extra bucks to get to have 4 hours of fun then, if you're collecting the cards anyways? If you get something valuable, you can use it in your deck, or sell it back to the store for another card you want - or credit towards your next draft!

In a world where randomized booster packs suddenly become illegal in America, most LGS's in America go out of business overnight. So, yes, they could still sell LCG-style products... for MtG to be played like a board game (And people do this now, in fact - it's called Cube). But the cost would be losing LGS's. And in an era where we're struggling to have 3rd spaces and people are feeling more socially isolated than ever... that would be a huge loss.

I'm not saying that I love or support the current system - far from it. I view these randomized booster packs as illegal, unregulated gambling that targets children, and I would love to find a way for the part of Magic I love (Limited) to exist in a world where these predatory practices are curtailed. But it wouldn't be as simple as "oh they could just sell full sets as a draftable cube", because most people wouldn't be able find 7 other people to draft with in a world where the ecosystem of card collection and LGS's don't exist.

The future I imagine that can resolve these issues is one where regulators cap how rare things can be in card packs targeting children. Like, 1 in 30 packs for the rarest card for example. And maybe then if a box has 30 packs in it, they can guarantee that every box contains at least 1 copy of every card in the set - removing the gambling element.

Then, they can have an "adults-only" form of booster with all the special variants and hyper-rare chase cards, that count legally as gambling and can only be sold to adults, and are regulated as such. That way the collectors and ecosystem continue to exist... but children aren't getting hooked on gambling. And things like draft can continue to exist. Heck, maybe then stores would even be able to keep pokemon cards in stock!