In a move that is sure to cause a domino effect with other countries following suit, Belgium has declared loot boxes (where there is a degree of chance) in games as gambling and therefore illegal. This comes after the Netherlands recently did the same thing.
The Belgian Gaming Commission looked at Star Wars: Battlefront 2, FIFA 18, Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and found only Star Wars was not in violation of the country's gambling legislation - and that's only because EA removed the loot boxes from the game after its failed launch.
A statement from Minister of Justice Koen Geens said FIFA 18, Overwatch and CS:GO were therefore illegal and their loot boxes are to be removed. If they're not, the publishers "risk a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to 800,000 euros". When minors are involved, those punishments can be doubled.
I never thought I would see the day where I agreed with a government intervening in video game matters. Loot boxes have gotten pretty out of hand, so I am not surprised it has come to this.
The question is, how long is it going to take for other countries like the US and Australia to also classify randomised loot boxes as illegal gambling? My guess is pretty soon. And then once we're done, we can clamp down on companies like EA exploiting its customer base.
Story source: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/04/video-game-loot-boxes-are-now-considered-criminal-gambling-in-belgium/
Image source: Pixabay