Belgium Declares Loot Boxes Gambling And Therefore Illegal

Fifa 18 is one of the games which is apparently contravening the law

Video game loot boxes are “in violation of gambling legislation”, according to the Belgium Gaming Commission.

Loot boxes give random rewards and can be acquired either through gameplay or by spending real cash.

Those that can be bought for real money must now be removed from video games in Belgium.

Companies like EA, who publish the popular Fifa series, could now be subject to criminal law.

Failure to comply may lead to a fine of €800,000 (£697,000) and up to five years in prison for the publishers.

Belgium’s Minister of Justice, Koen Geens, was keen to focus on how children are confronted with loot boxes, calling the mix of gaming and gambling “dangerous for mental health”.

According to the statement (in Dutch), the punishments of a fine and prison sentence can be doubled “when minors are involved”.

The Belgian decision is in contrast to the UK and US, who have both ruled the loot boxes do not contradict their gambling regulations.

Spokesperson for the company told gaming news website GamesIndustry it would “welcome the dialogue with minister Geens” and denied that any of its games could be considered gambling.

“We strongly believe that our games are developed and implemented ethically and lawfully around the world, and take these responsibilities very seriously,” he added.


(BBC)



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